iiiiii |ublitiiti0ns |nst0ritiil Satittii at |tnu$]|Iljaiuit. CONSTITUTION. rillLADELnil A. 185G. u ^ |«blitiiti0ns ^1 ist0rital S0tins at '§muiMm. CONSTITUTION. PHILADELPHIA. 185G. THE IIISTOEICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLYANIA. ^rtsilicnt. THOMAS SERGEANT. VUi-l^vtsi'iitnts. J. R. TYSON, WILLIAM SHIPPEN, CHARLES MINER, Wilkes-Barre, GEORGE CHAMBERS, Chambersburg. HORATIO G. JONES. FRANK M. ETTING. 9Irtasunr. CHARLES M. MORRIS. 2^iiirariait. TOWNSEND WARD. jEiccutibt ^ommitUi. BENJAMIN H. COATES, ALEXANDER JOHNSTON, J. FRANCIS FISHER, MORTON P. HENRY, CHARLES J. BIDDLE, JOHN JORDAN, Jr., HENRY C. BAIRD, CHARLES S. KEYSER, EDWARD ARMSTRONG. 1856. (^on.6titutiou. Article I. This association shall be called "The Historical Society of renusylvania" — and its object shall be the elucidation of the history of this State ; though other branches of history shall not be excluded. Article II. The Society shall be composed of such persons as have been, or may be, elected, from time to time, according to its laws and regulations. Article III. The officers of the Society shall be annually chosen, by a majority of ballots, at the stated meeting in February, and shall consist of a President, four Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Librarian. No person shall be eligible to the office of President at more than two out of three, or Vice-President at more than four out of five, successive elections. Article IV. It shall be the duty of the President, or in his absence of the Vice-Presidents, in rotation, to preside at the meetings of the Society, to preserve order, to regulate the debates, to state motions and questions, and to announce the decisions thereupon. If neither the President nor any of the Vice-Presidents be present at a meeting, the Society may choose a member to act as President at that meeting. Article V. The Corresponding Secretary shall conduct and have charge of the correspondence of the Society; he shall notify all members of their election — and shall assist the Recording Secretary in the reading of all letters and other documents at the meetings. Article VI. The Recording Secretary shall keep full and correct minutes of the proceedings of the Society, and shall have the same transcribed into a book of record. He shall give due notice of any special meeting that may be called. Article VII. The Treasurer shall have charge of the moneys and other funds belonging to the Society. He shall collect the contributions of the members, and other income of the Society, and shall pay such claims against the Society as shall have been duly examined and ordered to be paid. He shall annually present, at the stated meeting in December, a statement of his receipts and expenditures during the preceding year, with a full report on the financial condition of the Society. Article VIII. The Librarian shall have charge of the books, manu- Bcripts, and other property in the rooms of the Socictj'-, and shall arrange and preserve the same in proper and convenient order. He shall keep an arranged catalogue of the books, manuscripts, and other donations, with the names of the donors. At the stated meeting in January, he shall annually present a report to the Society, embracing an account of his administration of the library, and of its condition during the preceding year. Article IX. Vacancies •which may occur in any of the above-named offices shall be filled by an election at the next stated meeting after such vacancy shall have been announced to the Society; but such election shall be only for the unexpired term of the person vacating the office. Article X. The Society shall hold stated meetings on the second Jlonday evening of every month. Special meetings may be called by the President or one of the Vice-Presidents, by giving at least three days' notice thereof in not less than two of the daily newspapers published in the City of Phila- delphia. The members present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum. Article XI. No alteration shall be made in this Constitution unless the proposed amendments shall have been drawn up in writing and read to the Society at three successive monthly stated meetings. Nor shall any such amendment be considered as adopted unless sanctioned by the votes of three-fourths of the members present at the meeting when the question shall be taken upon its adoption. Article I. The election of members shall be by ballot, and shall form part of the business at every stated meeting. Article II. A member may at any meeting nominate, in writing, a candidate for membership, and the nomination so made may be concurred in and signed by other members. Article III. No person shall be balloted for, unless his nomination, with the names of the members proposing him, shall have been publicly read to the Society at the stated meeting preceding that at which the balloting takes place ; nor shall any candidate be deemed duly elected unless three- fourths of the ballots cast shall have been in his favor. Article IV. Those members shall be deemed qualified voters at the meetings and elections, who have subscribed to the Constitution, and vrho have paid all their dues to the Society. Article V. Before entering upon an election for members, the Secretary shall announce the names of the several candidates, and any member may then, for the information of the Society, speak of their character and quali- fications for membership. Article VI. The names of the candidates and their places of residence shall be designated on the ballot-boxes, and the names of the members qualified to vote shall then be called by the Secretary. The members shall then ballot for the several candidates — a white ball being considered in favor of the candidate. Article VII. The balloting being gone through, the boxes shall be opened and the result of the poll declared by the presiding officer. The papers containing the names of the unsuccessful candidates shall be imme- diately destroyed; but the written nominations of the members elected shall be preserved by the Secretary for future reference. Article VIII. Every new member, upon his introduction into the So- ciety, shall be presented to the presiding officer, and shall sign the Consti- tution of the Society. Article IX. Such members as reside within the City of Philadelphia, shall pay an annual contribution of three dollars. The payment of iweniy dollars at one time, by a member not in arrears to the Society, shall con- stitute him a member for life, with an exemption from all futm-e annual payments. And any member liable to an annual contribution, who shall neglect or refuse to pay the same for the term of two years, shall be notified by the Treasurer, in writing, that his rights as a member are suspended — and in case the said arrears are not paid when the third annual contribution shall have become due, the membership of such defaulting member shall then be forfeited, his name stricken from the roll, and reported to the Society by the Treasurer. Article X. On the Society being informed of the death of a member, the fact shall be entered on the records, and a member may be appointed to prepare an obituary notice of the deceased. The obituary notices of members shall be read to the Society, and they shall be bound together whenever they are sufficiently numerous to form a volume. Article XI. There shall be chosen at the stated meeting on the second Monday of February, in each year, the following Standing Committees, viz: three members of the Society to be a Committee of Finance ; three to be a Committee of Publication, and three to be a Committee on the Library. And the members of these Committees together -with the officers of the Society, shall form an Executive Committee, with full power to direct the business affairs of the Society, and they shall meet at the Hall on the fourth ^londay of every month. AKTictE XII. The Committee of Finance shall have the general superin- tendence of the financial concerns of the Society; they shall audit and certify all bills for payment by the Treasurer; they shall always have access to his books, accounts, and vouchers, and shall examine and audit his annual report. They shall consult with the Treasurer, and authorize and direct the investment of surplus funds. They shall also have power to remit the dues from members in cases where they shall judge that cir- cumstances make it proper to do so. Article XIII. The Committee of Publication shall superintend the print- ing and distribution of such publications as may be ordered to be made by the Society, and approved by the Trustees of the Publication Fund. They shall have power to call en the Librarian for his assistance in the perform- ance of their duties. Article XIV. The Committee on the Library shall confer with and assist the Librarian in the general care and management of the library, and in the disbursement of such appropriations as may be made by the Society for its increase and maintenance, as well as in the disposition and arrange- ment of the books, maps, and documents belonging to the Society. Article XV. All committees shall be chosen, unless the Society shall otherwise direct, on nominations previously made and seconded, the ques- tion being taken on the appointment of each member of the committee separately. The member first elected of any committee shall be the chair- man, and considered responsible for the discharge of the duties of the com- mittee. A majority of any committee shall be a quorum. Article XVI. Special committees shall report at the meeting next after that at which they were appointed, unless otherwise ordered by the Society; and on the failure of any committee to make a final report at the proper time, unless a satisfactory reason for their delay be given, they shall be discharged, and the matter dropped or referred to another committee, as the Society shall determine. All reports shall be in writing, and signed by the members agreeing thereto. Article XVII. The names of the committees, the times of their appoint- ment, the matter of business committed to them, and the time when their 8 report is presented, shall be entered by the Secretary in a book to be pro- vided for the purpose. Article XVIII. The Librarian shall attend at the library between the hours of 12 and 1 P. M., and on every Monday evening between the hours of 8 and 10. Article XIX. No alteration or amendment of the laws and regulations of the Society shall be made or considered, unless the same shall have been duly proposed and fairly drawn up in writing at one stated meeting of the Society, and laid over for consideration and enactment at the next stated meeting ; nor shall any such alteration, amendment, or regulation be con- sidered as passed or binding upon the members, unless the same be sanctioned by the vote of three-fourths of the number of qualified members then present. Article XX. The laws and regulations contained in the foregoing nine- teen articles shall be in force from and after the time of their adoption by the Society, and thereafter all other laws and regulations heretofore made by the Society, and not contained in its Constitution, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed. I. The chair taken by the presiding officer. II. Names of members present minuted. III. New members presented, and visitors from other societies introduced. IV. Records read of last stated meeting, and of any subsequent special meeting. V. Correspondence read: a. Acknowledgment of election to membership. b. Letters from corresponding societies. c. Other letters. VI. Donations and other additions announced : a. To the library. b. Other donations or additions. VII. Reports and communications on historical and literary subjects. VIII. Obituary notices of members read, and announcements of the decease of members made and acted on. IX. Pending nominations for membership and new nominations read. X. Balloting for candidates for membership, and other stated business. XL Reports on business from officers and committees. XII. Deferred business. XIII. New business. XIV. Minutes of the meeting read and submitted for correction. XV. The Society adjourned by the presiding officer. PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. .Ifuntr FOR THE PUBLICATION OP ORIGINAL, AND THE REPRINT OF RARE AND VALUABLE, WORKS ON STATE AND NATIONAL HISTORY. ^rustics. ^3rtstnt State GEORGE W. NORRIS, of jFunlJ. JOHN JORDAN, Jr., Interest only used: HARRY CONRAD. $10,000. The Publication Fund is composed of subscriptions of twenty dollars each, the payment of which, by any person, obtains the right to receive during life, or a public library for twenty years, a copy of all the publica- tions of the Society. This Fund is of recent establishment, yet its increase has been rapid and steady. The selection of works for the press is deter- mined by the concurrence of both the Society and the Trustees ; either having a negative upon the acts of the other in this respect. The first issued is the History of Braddock's Expedition, by Winthrop Sargent ; a handsome octavo volume of four hundred and twenty pages, with valuable maps and engravings. This interesting work has been very favorably received by the public — the first edition of one thousand being now nearly exhausted. By a special resolution, persons who become subscribers to the Fund before the first day of May, 1850, will be entitled to a copy of 10 this History, and copies of Latmobe's Mason and Dixon's Line, and Foulke's Right Use of History; and until the first of October, 185G, to a copy of Garrard's Chambersburg in the Colony and the Revolution. It gives the Trustees pleasure to state that Mason and Dixon's Line ■was paid for by a subscription among the members of the Society ; Mr. Foulke presented The Right Use of History; and Dr. Garrard presented the work Avritten by him. The only work thus far printed at the cost of the Fund, is Braddock's Expedition. Early notice should be given of any delay in the receipt of books. Every available opportunity is embraced by the Society to collect and preserve materials for the history of our Commonwealth, and to secure a just tribute from posterity to the memory of citizens who have been in any way distinguished by local or general services. It is hoped that historical notices of towns and counties, memoranda of remarkable facts, biographical and genealogical notices, and letters, diaries, and other manuscripts, will continue to be sent to the Society. It is suggested that, in all cases of con- tribution, there should also be furnished, as far as practicable, a state- ment of such facts as may be requisite to establish the genuineness and authority of the documents, as the name of the donor, and any information respecting the archives are recorded and filed by the Society, ©r^auijation of t^t Jun5J. FEBRUARY 13, 1854. Resolved, That any person, member or other, who shiiU pay to the Treasurer of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania the sum of Twenty Dollars, for that purpose, shall be, dui'ing his life, entitled to one copy of each book or other matter published by the Society subsequent to the date of payment. Resolved, That the Treasurer open an account under the head of Publi- cation Fund, in which shall be entered all payments for this object, and contributions thereto, as also the sums received from time to time from the sale of the Society's publications. Resolved, That the payments and contributions to the Publication Fund be invested at convenient times in good securities, and that the interest accruing thereon be the only monej' from that Fund to be used in the ex- penses of publication. MAY 8, 1854. Resolved, That George W. Norris, M. D., John Jordan, Jr., and Harry Conrad be constituted Trustees of the Publication Fund of this Society, with power to invest the same on good security, and apply the income for the objects of said Fund, as stated in the Resolutions of February 13, 1854. 11 Office of the Treasurer, Cuables M. Mobris, No. 55 AValnut, above Second Street. ?HorI