Glass. Book. ^ n^^ ACCOUNT OF THE PART TAKEN BY THE gimfrian gi^ntipanan ^otiftg IN THE RETURN OF THE BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT TO AMERICA. / i-ey- GEORGE F. HOAR. THE BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT. ACCOUNT OF THE PART TAKEN BY THE gimcrltan gintipiirrau ^ottctn IN THE RETURN OF THE BRADFORD MANUSCRIPT TO AMERICA. nVoxtt^Ux, Pa^is., 11. ^. gi. PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON 311 Main Street . 1898. ■3 ^0 NOTE BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. The important part taken by the Ajvierican Anti- quarian Society, at the instigation of its first Vice- President, Senator Hoar, in inaugurating and securing the return of the Bradford Manuscript to the United States and its deposit in the custody of tlie Common- wealth of Massachusetts, has made it seem fitting that some account should be printed, relating the particulars of the successful undertaking and describing the exer- cises therewith connected. The Committee is indebted to the Secretary of the Commonwealth for the use of the portraits herewith presented. CONTENTS Pafce. Action of the Amkrican Antiquarian Society 9 The Banquet 15 Extract from Proceedings of the Society, October, 1897 . . 28 Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury 29 Return of the Manuscript of Bradford's History 33 Petition of Hon. T. F. Bayard 59 Affidavit of Harry W. Lee, Esq 61 Notes of Evidence in the Consistory Court of London . . 62 Judgment delivered at St. Paul's Cathedral, March 25, 1897 . 63 Second Judgment, May 29, 1897 70 Undertaking by Hon. T. F. Bayard 73 Decree of the Oinsistorial and Episcopal Court of London . 77 Receipt of Governor Wolcott 82 Address of Hon. George F. Hoar 84 Address of Ambassador Bayard 96 Address of Governor Wolcott 102 Proceedings of the Legislature 104 ACTION OF THE SOCIETY. ACTION OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. At a meetino- of the Council, held Oc'tol)er 9, 189(i, Vice-President Hoar stated that the Manuscript of Gov- ernor Bradford's History was in possession of the Lord Bishop of London, and he was encouraged to l)elieve that if proper ap[)lication were made it might l)e restored to this countr3^ At a meeting of the Council, held October 20, ISJMi, on motion of Vice-President Hoar it was Voted, that the President a})point a committee of three members of the Society who shall obtain the cou})eration of the ^lassachusetts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Society at Plymouth, and the Governor of the Common- wealth in making application, through the American Ambassador at London, to the Lord Bishoj) of London, for the restoration to jMassachusetts of the original Manu- script of Bradford's History of the Pilgrim Plantation, noAV in possession of the Lord Bishop of London. Voted, that the President l)e one of the connnittee. The Committee as ai)})ointed consisted of President Stephen Salisl)ur}% Vice-Presidents George F. Hoar and Edward E. Hale, and Benjamin A. Gould, LL.D. 2 10 American Antiquarian Society. At a special meeting of the Council, held May 18, 1897, it was Voted, that the American Anti(iuarian Society tender to the Governor of the Commonwealth, the Hon. Thomas F. Bayard and such other invited guests as a committee maA^ select, a dinner in Boston on the occasion of the reception of the Bradford Manuscrii)t b}^ the Commonwealth. Voted, that the President, Dr. Samuel A. Green and Arthur Lord, Es(i., be a committee of arrangements with full power and with lilierty to add to their number. Nathaniel Paine and Francis C. Lowell were subse- quently added to the committee. The committee sent out the following invitation : THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. Worcester, May 20th, 1897. The Council of the American Anticiuarian Society re(|uest yoiu" })resence at a collation at the Parker House, Boston, on Wednesday, Twenty-Sixth instant, at 2 o'clock P. ]\I., to celebrate the gracious return of the Bradford ]Manuscrij)t to the Connnonwealth of ISIassachusetts by Great Britain, and to meet His Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott, Honorable Thomas F. Bajard and Honor- a1)le George F. Hoar. Very respectfully yours, Stephen Salisbury. Samuel A. Green. Arthur Lord. Nathaniel Paine. Francis C. Loavell. Action of the Society. 11 At a meeting of the Council, held October 2, 1897, it wa.s Voted, that the matter of publishing an account of the proceedings in coiniection with the reception of the Brad- ford Manuscript be referred to the Publishing Committee and to Vice-President Iloar, with })ower to act. In accordance with the vote of the Council a dinner was given at the Parker House, Boston, on Wednesday, Ma}^ 26, 1897, at which the following gentlemen were j)resent : Invited Guests. His Excellency Clovenun- Roger Wolcc^tt. Hon. Thomas F. Bayard. His Honor W. Murray Crane, Lieutenant-Governor. Hon. George P. Lawrence, President Massachusetts Senate. Right Reverend Willia.ai Lawrence, D.D., Bishop of Massachusetts. Reverend George A. Gordon, D.D. Sir Dominic Colnaghi, British Consul at Boston. Charles C. Beaman, President of the New England Society of New York. Hon. John Winslow, President of the New England Society of Bi'ooklyn. Gamaliel Bradford, a descendant of Governor Bradford. WiLLiA3i T. Davis, Pilgrim Society, Plymouth. 12 American Antiquarian Society. Members of the American Antiquarian Society. Hon. Stephen Salisbury, President. Hon. George F. Hoar and Rev. Edward E. Hale, D.D., Vice-Presidents . Edmund M. Barton. James P. Baxter. Charles A. Chase. Franio^in B. Dexter. Wilberforce Eames. William T. Forbes. Samuel A. Green. Samuel S. Green. J. Evarts Greene. Edward H. Hall. G. Stanley Hall. Henry W. Haynes. RocKwooi) Hoar. Albert H. Hoyt. James F. Hunnewell. Edward F. Johnson. Leonard P. Kinnicutt. Arthur Lord, Henry A. Marsh. Thomas C. Mendenhall. John M. Merriam. Daniel Merriman. Charles L. Nichols. Henry S. Nourse. Nathaniel Paine. Edward G. Porter. Horatio Rogers. Charles C. Smith. Calvin Stebbins. Robert N. Toppan. William B. Weeden. Justin Winsor. THE BANQUET. THE BANQUET. At the close of the Banquet President Salisbury addressed the company as follows : Oentlemen of tlie Society and Honored Guests: After the enjoyment of the exercises of this morning, and filled with the emotions excited by the gracious return of the original Bradford manuscript history of Pilgrim wanderings and establishment at Plymouth, it seems fitting that this Society should congratulate itself that it was primarily through the suggestion, exceeding tact and deli- cate diph)macy of its first Vice-President, Senator George F. Hoar, that negotiations were set on foot and continued, until at length this Commonwealth again possesses the earliest original documentary record of colonization upon the American continent. This priceless volume, written by the illustrious William Bradford ten years after the arrival of the Mai/floirer on our shores, after strange vicissitudes, was discovered in the library of the Bishoji of London at Fulham, and 1>y his permission and the decree of the Con- sistorial Court has l)een most freely given l)ack to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and entrusted to the care of Ex-Ambassador Thomas F. Bayard, for presentation to the Executive of the Commonwealth. The honors of this day are rightly given to those who in various ways have so nobly cooperated in securing this precious talisman ; l»ut we must not forget that without the efforts of our dis- tinguished Senator and Vice-President, we should iu)t have met for this delightful occasion. In accordance with custom the first toast that I will pro- pose is the President of the United States, and the respon- 16 American Antiquarian Society. sive foelin2:s of this gatherina' can l)e,st ])e shown by the company's rising in recognition of the supreme position of the first officer of this country. The entire company rose in response and drank to the healtli of the President of the United States of America. President Salisbury then said : The Governor of the Commonwealth has addressed the two branches of the Legislature today in a manner so fitting, and indicating so clearly his appreciation of the historical value of the unique treasure that has Ijcen recovered, that aside from our testimony of respect for his high official station, we desire to manifest to him our hearty sentiments of personal good will. The Governor of the Commonwealth, His Excellency Roger Wolcott. Governor Wolcott said : Mr. President and Gentlemen of the American Antiqua- rian Society: I liardl}^ know how I can add an3^thing to the impressive and dignified occasion of the morning. I was honored, by my official position, in ))eing al)le to have a part, however insignificant, in bringing aljout the decree of the Consistorial and Ecclesiastical Court of London that led to the restoration of this History to the keeping of the people of whose early struggles it tells. For this the Commonwealth owes a debt to her senior Senator, and I feel privileged, on the part of the Common- wealth, to express her indebtedness to Mr. Bayard for so successfully having followed out the suggestion. The element of pathos noticeable in the book is wiped out in victory. It is not a dirge swelling from this vol- ume, 1)ut a ptean of victory. Today the Connnonwealth adds to its possessions a priceless treasure. It has been a day of profound signifi- cance as a day marking an important epoch in the history ROGER WOLCOTT. The Banquet. 17 of Massachusetts. It will not be a dull and lifeless posses- sion, but an inspiration to good citizenship. In announcing the third toast President Salisbury said : AVe have assurance that b}' the most gracious permission of her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the treasure that we have this day had returned to us was freely accorded ; and this act of the noble lady is in harmony with the uniform promptings of her exalted character, and is such a renewed manifestation of her friendly disposition toward this eountry that it is with feelings of the highest respect and gratitude that this Society now desires to propose the health of her most gracious Majesty, the Queen. I will call upon the British Consul, Sir Dominic Colnaghi, to respond. After the comi)any had risen and drank to the health of the Queen, Consul-General Colnaghi responded as fol- lows : Mr. President and Gentlemen: I came here today on the courteous invitation of the American Antiquarian Society to meet some distinguished Americans and, as I thought, to listen, tranquilly, to some interesting speeches. Most unexpectedly I have l)een called upon to speak myself. I have been suddenly exalted ; I trust I may not, shortly, be abased. The noble words spoken, this morning, of the Queen of England, l)y Senator Hoar, have, doubtless, already ])een flashed across the Atlantic, and by this time are being read, with feelings of deep gratification, by ever}^ Briton. Gentlemen, there is a tender feeling in the hearts of ui}^ countrymen for the State of Massachusetts, and there is a feeling of deep and hearty good will towards this great Re})ul)lic. May we not, indeed, in great part consider you as our child and regard you as a natural offshoot of British law, British energy and British love of freedom ? 18 American Antiquarian Society. I am sure that the Queen will hear of what has been said today with the greatest interest ; and I thank you, very heartily, for the manner in which you have responded to the toast of Her Majesty's health. I have learnt that the title "Log of the Mayflower" as applied to the Bradford Manuscri})t is incorrect. It may, however, be considered a graceful coincidence that the present ceremony has occurred on the l)irthday of our English Maj^flower — the Princess Ma}" — now the Duchess of York. Will you allow me, in conclusion, to thaidv you most truly for all that has, this day, been said of Kngland. President Salisbury then said : The details of di})lomatic courtesy, so important in a negotiation like that regarding the return of the manuscrijit, were entrusted to the care of Ex-Aml)assador, the Honora- ble Thomas F. Bayard, and the entire harmony that seemed to attend all interviews and formal ceremonies, is proof that skill in diplomacy is appreciated, when i)ossessed ))y our accredited agents abroad. As one to whom we owe so much of today's enjoyment, I will call upon our first ambassador to England, the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard. Mr. Bayard was received with great applause, and said : I feel honored by the invitation to join the American Anticjuarian Society at this agreeal)le repast. For the part I have had in the restoration of the manuscript of (xovernor Bradford to the people and the State that his adventure founded, I am well rewarded 1)V my own reflections ; :uid if there had ])een no formal reception I should have l)een gratified in every wa}^ by the fact that T had it in my power to assist in the return of this volume to my countiy- men who arc its legitimate owners. Mr. Bayard spoke of the change in the title of the repre- The Banquet. 19 sentative of the government to the court of St. James from minister to that of aral)assador, and remarked : But it did not change the American republic or those who represented it in the eyes of those to whom I was sent. Massachusetts has had an envial)le reputation abroad. You have had the three Adamses as h()noral)le representa- tives to the court of St. James. You have had a man whose name no one woukl mention but with respect and of whom no son of Massachusetts woukl speak but with affec- tion — James Russell Lowell. Then I could mention Ab))ott Lawrence and J. Lothro}) Motley, and the name and pen of Nathaniel Hawthorne which have shed lustre upon New England ; and my personal friend, Edward J. Phelps, has added distinction to the public service. I only mention this to say that no mere title of ambassador would have made these men more respected, for they were respected because they were honorable Americans. As you know, my home is in another state, although I have much to attract me to New England, inasmuch as my grandchildren live here. But it so happened that I have not been to New England as often as I could have wished. Mr. Bayard spoke of the gratification he felt as ambassa- dor in participating personally during his term of service in England in three events that had especial interest for Massachusetts, — the unveiling of the memorial window to John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians, at Wickford ; the laying of the corner-stone of the memorial church to John Robinson at Gains) )orough, and the return of the Brad- ford Manuscri})t. When I had the book in my possession, said Mr. Bayard, or rather when the l)ook had me in its possession, on my wa}' across the ocean, I thought of the journey which its writer first made, of that weary, tempestuous voyage. 20 American Antiquarian Society. Then I contrasted it with the ocean trip on l)oard the mod- ern steamer, on the deck of which the Mayflower and her cargo coukl have l>een stoAved away, and which reqnired days instead of weeks for the voyage. It is those things, what our German friends call the object lessons, that show us what has been accomplished. Here you have the vast chasm of time l^etween those two voj^ages bridged over, and the marvelous events that have now passed into history and can never l)e forgotten. The incidents I have mentioned were pleasant incidents in the duties which occupied my time while in England. Of what I did there and of what I tried to do, I shall not speak. The record is made up, and I shall stand upon it. I am Yevy sure of one thing, and that is that when the true history of these four 3"ears is written, when the relations of our country and England are more clearly understood, it will be seen that the good feeling has been advanced, not by formal instruments and statutes so nuicli as by the people. There may l)e petty animosities and racial prejudices and appeals to ancient feuds and trade jealousies, but it cannot divert the current. There is an affinity of morals, of ethics, a similarity of the standards of justice, of right and wrong, l)etween those who speak the English language, and the man who does not i)erceive it, or who seeks to thwart it, is l)ound to l)e swept aside. Pi'esident Salisbury said : The cordial approval and assistance of the Bishop of London, whose slightest ol)jection would have created insuperable obstacles, should now l)e properl}^ recognized. I will call upon Right Reverend AYilliam LaAvrencc to respond. Bishop LaAvi'ence said : As Senator Hoar was telling us this morning the story of the return of the manuscript and the courtesy extended THOMAS F. BAYARD. The Banquet. 21 by the past Lord Bi.sho}) of London, now Hi.s Grace the Archl)i,shoi) of ( 'anterl)uiT, and the present Lord Bishop of London, I eoukl not help thinking how the varied inter- ests of civilization are inextricably interwoven. These gentlemen are ecclesiastics, they are also men of letters and historic sense ; they are loyal subjects of the Queen and lovers of niaidvind. When, therefore, the recjuest for the return of the manuscript came to them, their historic sense ap[)reciated the fitness of granting the recjuest, their ecclesiastical position gave them the oi)portunity, their loy- alty to their oAvn country helped them to realize how loyal we are to the traditions of our own land, and their love of mankind prompted them to this gracious act that by mutual courtesy and sacrifice the bonds l)et\veen nation and nation may be made strong. Our thoughts today have run far l)e3'ond the Bradford manuscript and have touched the sweep of international relations and especially of our relations with the mother country. The Lord Bisho}) of London Avas, we rememl)er, the representative of John Harvard's college, Emmanuel, at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Harvard College. He carried back to England with him an honorary degree and the regard of all those who met him. He is a member of the American Anticjuarian Society and a corre- sponding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. These literary associations are also international l)onds. We regret deeply the defeat of the Arl)itration Treaty. But stronger than an}' treaty, in fact essential to the con- sideration of any treaty, are the millions of threads Avhich intertwined make a cable })etween land and land that no chea}) politics or war fever can ])reak. Religion, letters, art, social sympathy and all other interests of civilization go to make up this lovers' knot betAveen nation and nation. Every scholar, theologian and artist, every student of social life, every society for histori- cal, scientific or professional research is taking })art by 22 American Antiquarian Sociefi/. coiTesi)ondence, courtes}" and .s3m})ath3" in welding tlie nations together. The two great Englisli speaking nations have everything to gain ])y mutual confidence and good will. Such an act of courtesy on the })art of the Bishop) of London, repre- senting the })eo})le of England, cannot stand as an isolated event, hut touches the sentiment of the citizens of both countries. God grant that l)y untold uuml)ers of strands of good will and sacrifice these two nations may 1)e l)oun(l together as leaders in (Christian civilization and exem})lars to other peoples of the wisdom as well as righteousness of nations like l)rethren dwelling together in unity. President Salisbury said : The Pilgrim Society, having its seat in Plvmouth, con- taining in its membershi[) many lineal descendants of the Mayflower settlement, and })ossessing the richest collection of relics of the Bradford period, more than an}' organiza- tion has reason to be grateful today at the return of a docu- ment uniijue in character, as the earliest original record of settlement in America, written in the legible and carefully chosen language of the first governor of the Plymouth Colony. I will call u})on Mr. Arthur Lord, President of the Pilgrim Societ3\ Mr. Lord said : 3Ii'. President: In behalf of the Pilgrim Society, which was organized three-ijuarters of a century ago to perpet- uate the memory of the virtue, the enter})rise and the sufferings of those first settlers at Plymouth aiul Avhich still preserves such memorials of the early days as the haiul of time has s})ared, and in behalf also of the Town of Plymouth, if as a citizen I may speak for it, a town whose l)eo})le are more interested than any other in the grateful observances of this day, I desire to express the acknowlcdg- The Banquet. 23 ments of the Society and of the Town to Senator Hoar and Mr, Bayard for tlieir i>eneroii8 and successful efforts in securing the return of the Bradford Manuscript. It is a debt Avliicli we can never repaA' and which we shall never foraet. I had hoped, Mr. President, when the ])etition was pre- pared and })resented asking for the restoration to Massa- chusetts of the History of " Plinioth Plantation," and esi)ecially when the report of the proceedings was first received and it was there stated that the American Anil)assa- dor had suggested as a ])ro})er place of deposit of the manuscript, the Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, that if the retjuest of the petitioners were granted it might be possi- ble to select as its final resting-place some si)ot within the limits of the Old C()h)ny, of whose history it is the authoritative record and on whose soil it was written hy the hand of one, who, as its governor, shaped its destiny in the earlier years. But today I cheerfully recognize, in vieAV of the state- ment of ]Mr. Ba}'ard, that after all, its return Avas not based upon any legal right of ours to receive, or u})on any moral obligation or duty on their })art to give, l)ut nuist rest and rest alone on those strong lines of friendship and kindly feeling betAveen the tAvo great peoples, united b}' the com- mon ties of language and ])lood, and as an expression of international courtesy as grateful as it is fitting. The })eo})le of Plymouth have entire confidence that the Governor, to whom has been entrusted, under the terms of the decree, the duty of selecting its final resting-})lace, Avdll Avisely decide and that he Avill select that spot Avhere it e\'er Avill be most carefuU}^ preserved and tenderly cherished. ^Ir. Salisljur}^ said : The NeAV England Society of Ncav York delights in all historical matters of colonial times and is esi)ecially inter- 24 American Antiquarian Society. ested in thi.s occasion. I Avill ask Mr. Charles C. Beaman, its President, to respond for the Society. Mr. Bcanian said : Mr. President and Gentlemen: I have had o-reat pleas- ure as one of your a'uests in attending tiie very interesting services at the State House this morning and in l)eing at this banquet. The New England Society of Xcav York has had a special part in the happiness of today l)ecause having had the privilege of joining, through its President and through its Ex-Presidents, Mr. Evarts, Mr. Choate and Mr. Morgan, in the memorial asking the return of the Governor Bradford Manuscri})t, it now feels that it has a certain rioht to ioin in the thanks and in the conaratula- tions and in the o-eneral reioicings. We New Engianders in New York will long l)c hap})y with you and with New P^nglanders everywhere that this precious manuscript is forever to be guarded here, and that to this manuscri}>t our children for ages may ccmie Avith reverence and here give thaidvs that they are de- scended fiom those nol)le men and women who landed from the Mai/Jiower or from those other ships that soon followed her. The Governor Bradford record Avill never grow dull. We are just now all reading Nansen's book. Farthest North, giving the story of the voyage of the Fram., and we are thrilled as Ave read, but the voyage of the Fram Avas a mere })icnic as compared with the voj^age of the yiaijjiower. On the Fram Avas health, com- fort, almost luxury, and men. On the Mayfloirer Avas sickness, scarcity, and croAvded men, Avomen and children; and then compare the Bradfortl record of that first av inter at Plymouth Avith Nansen's story of the drifting of the Fram for six months in the ice. Not a death on the Fram and nearly half dead of those from the Mayflower. I congratulate you that this manuscri})t is now again our treasure. The manner of its finding, the graciousness of TJie Banquet. 25 its return, have greatly added to its value, and I feel that we can trul>^ say : 'Tis better it was lost and found than never to have been lost at all. For nl3^self and for the NeAV England Society of New York I thank you for all the pleasure of this day. Mr. Salis1)ury said : The Massachusetts Historical Society, which claims the honor of l)eing the oldest historical organization in this country, as it held its first regular meeting in 171)1, and 1)ecame custodian of a wealth of manuscripts and records of old colony times, is largely represented at this ban(iuet today. I will ask Dr. Justin Winsor, Vice-President of the ^Massachusetts Historical Society, .to respond for the Society. Dr. Winsor responded briefl}' and said he had many years ago seen the manuscrii^t in the library of the Bishop of London and with Mr. Motley made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain it. Mr. Salis1)ury in introducing Senator Hoar said : We know what we have enjoyed today and we realize the fact that l)ut for the ability and discretion of one of our associates our presence Avould not have been desired, nor would there have lieen any occasion for our presence. Few scholars have a disposition for historical investigation so born in them as our associate to whom we have listened today with so much edification, and we are only too glad to recognize in the Honorable George F. Hoar, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, a determination to pursue the scrutiny of material untiringl}^ until absolute truth and accurac}' are reached. I have the honor to present the first Vice-President of the American Antiijuarian Society, The Honorable George F. Hoar. Senator Hoar spoke as follows : Mr. President: You ask me to end the proceedings of 3 2(i American Antiquarian Society. this interesting; day by a few words in behalf of the American Antiquarian Society. 1 am sorry, as the Vice-President and once the Presi- dent of that Society, to say that in one respect it has been a great faihire. It has failed to answer the expectation of Isaiah Thomas, its founder and first President. As you well know, he founded the Society in IS 12. That was just at the beginning of our last war with England. He provided that our collections and lil^rary should always be kept at Worcester, forty miles from the seaboard. That was, as Ave all know, that they might not be captiu'ed by the British, as he thought would not be unlikely to happen if the}" were in Boston. But now, eighty-five years afterward, not only the whole Society, but the Avhole Commonwealth of Massachu- setts, has l)een captured by two English bishops, flolm Milton, in describing our ancestors' departure, in a well known passage, said that they "fled from the fury of the bishops," and yet what the fmy of the bisho})s could not do, what the whole fleet and army of England could not do, the good will of two kindly, excellent prelates has at hist accomplished. They have taken all Massachusetts. The spiritual influence from which Bradford fled, wielded in large ])art by the successor of Archbishop Laud, ren- dered mild and gentle by the spirit of our day, has taken captive, not only the American Antitpiarian Society, l)ut the whole Commonwealth. Mr. President, there is no greater mistake than the prev^alent notion that there is a feeling of animosity )>etween the people of England and the people of America. I have lately made tAvo trii)s a])road. I have seen peo})le of all classes in England. I can say Avhat Mr. Bayard Avill also say, that the feeling among Englishmen for America is such that although my nationality Av^as Av^ell knoAvn I have never heard an unkind, I had ahnost said I haxl never heard a cold Avord, spoken by an Englishman. The Banquet. 27 The peoi^le who represent the different chisses in Eng- land, the business men, the merchants, the workingmen, the gentry, Englishmen of every eharacterand ocfU})ation, are in the main lovers of the jieople of the United States. The peoi)le of the United States, notwithstanding what may be said in the press and in foolish and exaggerated })oliti('al argument, are in the main lovers of their kindred beyond the sea. Our acconn)lished friend, Mr. Winsor, told us just now of his conversation by telephone with the editor of a great New York daily. Mr. Winsor is a very bold man. He evidently does not expect any important office, just at present. He was bold enough to tell the editor that " he had listened to a very foolish story." Noav, if any Ncav York editor or New York correspondent of a London editor thinks there is hatred, there is i)rejudice, there is a feeling of jingoism, prevailing to any great extent in the United States toward England, he has listened to a very foolish story. M}^ friend, Bisho}) Lawrence, referred to one of the chief regrets of my own public life, — the failure of the arbitration treaty. 1 cannot, of course, speak of what happened in the executive session of the Senate. But if the newspapers are right, and whether they are right or not I must not undertake to tell you, after that treaty had been amended so as to correspond almost exactly to Lord Salisbury's original desire, a desire wdiich he very reluc- tantly }delded in his discussions Avitli Mr. Olney, the treaty came within three votes of receiving a two-thirds vote in the Senate, or would have been saved l)y a change of three votes. Whether this be true or not I will not say. But this is what the newspapers tell you. If the newsi)apers are right the treaty was defeated chiefly l)y the \'otes of the states lately in rel)ellion and the sparsely settled new states which Avere but a short time ago a Avilderness. The great majorities of the Ameri- 28 American Antiquarian Society. can p()})iihition are, in my opinion, heartil)^ in accord Avith the 8})irit of })eace and good Avill l)y which that treaty Ava.s inspired. Why ! that Engli-sli island is half ours. Its story is the story of our ancestry. Its history, its eight hundred 3^ears of advancement towards civil and religious liljert}^ is oiu's also. Wc are inheritors of its fame. Upon its loveliness the eyes of our ancestors gazed. We have a share in its beautiful temples. I never look without a feeling of love and a thrill of delight ui)on those magnificent cathedrals, and without ])eing tempted to exclaim, " Oh, pull not down those palace towers, which are So lightly, beautifully built." The beautiful parish churches with the holy ground about them hold the dust of our ancestors as Avell as theirs. How they seem to have groAvn into the landscape as if the very stones loved to l)e there I As our friend has said, the utterances of today will be read across the sea. If any Englishman is to read what is said today, I am glad to be able to utter as the last word in this day of the jubilee of that gracious Queen — the Queen, (iod 1)less her; England, God preserve her. \_FToni Proceedings of the Sociefi/, October, 1S97.'\ Rev. Edward E, Hale said : A 3'ear ago, when we were here, our senior Vice-Presi- dent re})orted to us the condition and ])ros})cct of the Bradford Maiuiscript. In the year which has })assed we have had the great happiness of receiving the manuscript in a stately ceremonial Avhit-h was really worth}" of the occasion, and I have prepared this resolution : Resolved, That the thanks of this Society be presented to our Senior Vice-President, Senator Hoar, for the i)art which he has taken in rcturninir the Bradford ]\Ianuscrii)t to this countr}' ; we recognize the value of his services from The Banquet. 29 tlie beginning to the end, and assure him that his name will always be remembered l)}^ all })atriots who use this first record of our pul)lic histor3^ This resolution was unanimously adoi)ted. The following letter from the Archbisho}) of Canterbur}' finds a fitting place here : Lambeth Palace, S. E., 11 June, 1897. My Dear Sir : I am indeed most gratified for the kindness 3^ou have shown in sending the account of the proceedings at the reee})tion of the Bradford Manuscript hy the Governor of Massachusetts. And the words used at that reception by 3"ourself and by the other speakers will long burn in many English hearts as ex})ressing the warm feelings which so many Americans cherish toward the Mother Countiy. Be assured that the strong respect and affection Avhich is felt in England towards the Great RejHildic of the West, our jn-ide in your greatness, and desire for your good will, although they may wax and wane as human things inevita- bly do, 3'et will never perish. I pra3^ God to bless the deep felt S3aiipath3^ that links our hearts to yours and binds us closer together than any other two nations ever were or ever will be bound. Believe me Yours very sincerely, F. CANTUAR. The Honoralde G. F. Hoar. RETURN OF THE MANUSCRIPT. THE RETURN OF THE MANUSCRIPT OF BRADFORD'S HISTORY. BY GEORGE F. HOAR. The American Antiquarian Societ}^ had so large a shave in procuring the restoration of the Bradford Manuscri})t, that its Proceedings seem to l)e a proper place to record the facts connected with this most interesting transaction. The story of the discover}^ of this long-lost document, in. the library of the Bishop of London at Fulham, was narrated ])y our associate, Mr. Charles Deane, in the intro- duction to the edition of Bradford's History, published by the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1856 (Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections, 4th Series, Vol. 3) ; and by our associ- ate, Mr. Justin Winsor, in a paper published by the same society in 1883. (Mass. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, Vol. 19.) Mr. Winsor has also given an account of some former attempts to procure the restoration of the manuscri})t to this country, in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, April, 1897. These narratives are easily accessible and seem sure of lasting preservation. It is not necessary to repeat them here. The writer was called upon to deliver an oration at Plymouth, December 21, 1895, on the Two Hundred and Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Landing. In the dis- charge of that duty he, of course, read Governor Brad- ford's narrative again, with a new and enthusiastic admira- tion for his character, and the simple dignity and beauty with which he tells the noble story. 34 American Antiquarian Society. From this came the new and successful attempt, an account of which was given to the Legislature when the manuscript was received hy the Governor, in the presence of the two Houses, as set forth herein. The writer's conversation with Bishop Temple was reported to the Council of the American Antiquarian Society at a meeting in the autumn of 1896. The Council authorized the President to appoint a committee to join in the application. Like committees w^ere appointed by the Massachusetts Historical Societ}^ the Pilgrim Societ}' of Pl>'moutli and the New England Society of New York. The following letter, signed by the several committees, was addressed to the Bishop of London and transmitted to him through Ambassador Bayard : Worcester, Massachusetts, U. S. A., December 21, 1896. To THE Right Rev. the Bishop of London. My Lord : We have been directed b}' the American Anticjuarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, and the New England Society of New York, with the cooperation of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to call your Lord- ship's attention to the manuscript history of \^'illiam Brad- ford now in the Library at Fulham, and to ask that your Lordship direct that it l)e given to the American Ambassa- dor to be by him restored to Massachusetts. The author of this manuscript was Governor William Bradford, the second Governor of Phinouth CV)lony, and one of the leaders of the band of i)ilgrims who left England in 1G08, and after dwelling for thirteen years in Holland, crossed the Atlantic in the Mayjioiver, and made the first Enolish settlement in what is now the United States of America, with the exception of the settlement at James- town, Virginia, which was subseijuentlj" abandoned. This manuscript is justly regarded by Americans as a precious relic. It contains the history of the formation of Plymouth ( Jolony, of the voyage of the Pilgrims in the Mayjioicer, of the landing at Plymouth, and of the first twenty-eight Return of the Manuscript. 35 3^ears of the Colony. If there should be found a manu- script history in the handwriting of King Alfred of his own reign and of the conflict with the Danes in which he was the leader, it could hardly be more precious to English- men than this manuscript is to Americans. The history of the document, so far as it is known, is contained in an ancient inscription which you will find on the fly-leaf, as follows : "This ])ook was writ by Governor William Bradford and given to his son. Major William Bradford and hy him to his son. Major John Bradford, writ by me Samuel Bradford, March 20th., 1705." On the next leaf is the following : "Tuesday, June 4th., 1728. " Calling at Major John Bradford's at Kingston near Plimouth, son of Major Wm. Bradford formerly Dep. Gov'r. of Plimouth Colony, who was eldest son of Wdi. Bradford, their 2d. Gov'r. & author of this History; — ye sd Major John Bradford gave me Several Manuscript Octavoes wh he assured me were written with his said grandfather Gov'r Bradford's own Hand. He also gave me a little pencil book wrote Avith a ])lew lead pencil hy his sd Father ve Dep. Gov'r and He also told me 3^t He had lent and only lent his sd grandfather Gov'r Bradford's Historj'' of Plimouth Colony wrote by his own Hand, also, to Judge Sewall ; and desired me to get it of Him or find it out, & take out of it what I think })roper for my New England Chronolog>^ : wh I according]}^ ol)tained and This is ye sd Histor}^ ; wh I find wrote in ye same Hand wi'iting as ye Octavo Manuscript alwve sd. "THOMAS PRINCE. "N. B. I also mentioned to him my desire of lodg- ing this History in ye New England Library of Prints and Manuscripts wh I had been then collecting for 23 years, to wh he signified his willingness onl}^ yt He might have ye perusal of it while He lived. "T. PRINCE." 36 American Antiquarian Society. This inscription follows : THIS BOOK BELONGS TO THE NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY BEGUN TO BE COLLECTED BY THOMAS PRINCE UPON HIS ENTERING HARVARD COLLEGE, JULY 6 1703; AND WAS GIVEN BY IT NOW BELONGS TO THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S LIBRARY AT FULHAM. These inscriptions seem to make it clear that the manu- script belongs to the Prince Li1)raiT. That Library was o-iven by the Rev. Thomas Prince, who collected it, to the Old South Church in Boston. Prince was an eminent scholar and antic juary. So the case would seem to lie that of a valual)le maiuiscript belongino- to one liln-ary having by some unexplained accident got into another liln'ary. The Prince Library became the pro})erty of the Old South Church in Boston, and has l)een recently deposited by that church in the pul)lic lil)rarv of the City of Boston, one of the largest and ))est lil)raries in the United States, where it is likely to remain. It is not certainly known how the manuscript came to the Lil)rary at Fulhani. Some i)ersons conjecture that Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of JVlassachusetts just before the breaking out of the Revolutionary^ War, carried it with him to England and ultimately placed it in the Fulham Li])rary. Hutchinson was a scholar, a collector of histori- cal material, and the author of a singularly impartial History of Massachusetts. If this conjecture be true, it is clear that the property in the manuscript never could have been changed l)y this transaction. The only other })lausiljle conjecture concerning the trans- fer of the manuscript to Fulham is that it may have been carried off by the British army under Sir William Howe, or l)y some jierson who left Boston in their company, when that town was evacuated in March, 1776. The Old South Church had l)een taken possession of by the soldiers and used as a riding-school. The Prince Library was at that time in a room in the chiu-ch tower. It is possible that some curious officer took possession of the manuscript Return of the 3Ianuscript. 37 and carried it liome Avith him. But in that way no title to it by conquest, or as booty, or prize of war, could have been o-aincd. Boston was never hostile territory to the English army before its evacuation. It Avas in the posses- sion of the royal troo})s, and the royal authority over it Avas undisturbed until March Ifith, 1776, the day of the evacuation ; although the rebels possessed the surrounding country and l)esieged the town. The indejiendence of the United States Avas not declared until the Fourth of July, 1776. So the case is the same as if during the English Rebellion some rebel forces had l:)esieged Oxford or Cam- l)ridge, and compelled the King's troo})s to evacuate the l)lace. Surely any book or nianuscrij)t which might have l)een carried off from the University Library b^' an}' mem- ber of the evacuating force Avould not be deemed to have changed oAvnership if it had been afterAvard de})osited at Fulham . If, hoAvever, the manuscript be treated as mere booty, Ave are not disposed, for the purpose of this api)lication, to deny that in such case the property Avould have passed in accordance Avith the strict law of Avar. But we confi- dently sul)niit to your Lordship that no civilized nation, least of all so enlightened and lil)eral a nation as Great Britain, Avould in modern times avail itself of that principle in dealing Avith the i)ro})erty of libraries, imiversities, or other seminaries of education. There are several interest- ing precedents Ijearing upon this matter. These precedents shoAV that in the bloodiest and angriest wars such })ro})erty is respected as forming an exception to the scA'cre rights of Avarfare, and is entitled to in-otection. When the })os- se.ssion of such property has been changed l)y military o})erati()ns, the conqueror has hastened to restore it. The Government of the United States in its "Instructions for the Government of Armies in the Field," originally ])re- pared by Dr. Lieber, revised l)y a l)oard of officers of which ]Maj()r-General Hitchcock Avas President, and a})})r()ved l)y President Lincoln in 18()o, binds itself by this rule. We are told that the Emperor of Russia has recently given a conspicuous exanq)le of respect for this })rinciple l)y ordering the restoration of })roi)erty Ijclonging to a pul)lic lilirar}^ ca})tured l)y his troo})s. But Ave prefer in this matter to rest ui)on the precedents 38 American Antiquarian Societij. established 1)Y Enii:land herself, who has so often set to mankind an exani})le of justiee and moderation in the enforcement of the laws of Avar. Daring our War of Independence, the buildings of the college of William and Mary were re})eatedly occu])ied by British troops. They Avere in every instance res})ected as sacred to the cause of letters, and left intact. After the close of the war, Louis XVI., the ally of America, caused the l)uildings, accidentally destroyed by the fire of his troops, to be replaced and every injury to l)e repaired. At the occupation of Paris in 1815, the allied sovereigns rejected the princi})le that objects of art were legitimate spoils of war, and restored to the nations of Euiojie many famous statues and pictures which France had accunndated in Paris, the trophies of her wars. In our war with Great Britain in 1812, a numl)er of paintings and prints, designed for the Academy of Arts at Philadelphia, were ca[)tured on their passage from Italy, and taken into Halifax. Dr. Croke, the distinguished judge of the admiralty court, without hesitation, ordered them to be restored. He said, "The arts and sciences are admitted among all civilized nations as forming an excep- tion to the severe rights of warfare, and as entitled to favor and protection. They are considered, not as the })eculium of this or that nation, l)ut as the property of mankind at large, and as Ixdonging to the common interest of the whole species.'' He added, "Heaven forbid that such an api)li('ation to the generosity of Great Britain should ever l)e ineffectual." Case of the Manpiis de Somerueles, Stewart's Nova Scotia Rep., p. 482. The British troops, under Tryon, wlien th(\v ()ccu])icd Yale College in 1779, spared the college I)uildings, aUhough its students in arms harassed their approach. But Presi- dent Cla})'s manuscripts Avere carried off. President Stiles addressed a letter to General Tryon, in which he repre- sented that "a Avar against science had been re})robated for ages by the Avisest and most poAverful generals. The irreparable losses sustained by the Alexandrian Library and other ancient monuments of literature have })rompted the victorious conunanders of modi-rn ages to exem))t these monuments from the ravages and desolations inseparable to the highest rigors of Avar." (jreneral Trj'on replied. Return of the Manuscript. 39 that " disposed by i)riiiciple as well as iiicliiuition to pre- vent the violence of war from injuring the rights of the republic of learning, he very much approved of the Presi- dent's solicitude for the recovery of the manuscripts," and caused every effort to be made for their recovery and restoration. It is, Ave suppose, due to this humane and benevolent principle that the ancient schools and colleges of England, whatever side they may have taken in the ci^il wars, have enjoyed innnunity from injury, when even her stately and venerable cathedrals have not been spared. These schools and colleges have survived all changes of dynasty, all changes of institutions and manners. Puritan and Cavalier, York and Lancaster, have fought out their l)attk's, and jet in the wildest tempest of i)ul)lic excitement, they Lift not their spears against the Muses' bower. xV recent instance in our oAvn history shows that the people of the United States are dis})osed to follow the example set them b}^ their English kindred. We send vou an extract from a report printed in the Bulletin of the Liln-ary Co. of Philadelphia, for July, 1867. "In the autunm of last year the attention of the Board of Directoi's was called to five volumes of Manuscripts which had l)een presented to the Library in 1799. An examination of these volumes made it evident that they were a part of the National Archives of Great Britain. They consisted of official corre- spondence relating to Ireland, mau}^ of the letters l)earing the sign manual of King James I. and one of Elizal)eth. It was first ascertained through Mr. Hej)- wortli Dixon, who was familiar Avitli the State Pa])ers preserved in the Rolls House in London, that the series of Letters of which these volumes were a part, is preserved in London in the custody of the Master of the Rolls. The directors, considering that there was an eminent })ropriety in the j\IS. l)eing restored to the British Government as a portion of their })ublic archives, an offer to do so was made to Lord Romilly, the Master of the Rolls. The offer was transmitted to the Lords of the Treasury, and was by them grate- fully accepted." In the course of the corresi)ondence 40 American Antiquarian Society. Avhicli eii.sued Lord Roiiiilly desires "to ex})ress to the Library Comi)any of Pliiladelpliia (his) deep sense of the obligation conferred ])y them on the British Nation, and (his) conviction that this, and acts of a similar character will rivet more closely the ties of . friendship and res})ect which already bind our countries together." The following letter on this sul)ject Avas received from Sir Frederick ^Y . A. Bruce, G. C. B., the British Minister at Washington : "British Legation, Washington, D. C, ''Feb. 27, 1867. " Sir : The Master of the liolls has brought under the notice of the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury the offer made through you by the Directors of the Lil)rarv Company of Philadel})hia, to restore to the British Government a valuable and important })art of the national records of Great Britain, which have been found in their collection. "I am instructed to say that the offer is gratefully accepted by their Lordships, and it is my })leasing duty at the same time to add that the honorable and disinterested spirit which has })rom})ted the gift, ia highly ap})reciated l)y her Majesty's Govermnent." We suppose that a thorough research would discover many other examples of the observance of this humane principle 1)y civilized nations in modern times. But we do not conceive that it is necessary to multiply instances. We are (juite sure that if there were no i)recedent yoiu' Lord- shi}) would bo glad to establish one. GEORGE F. HOAR, STEPHEN SALISBURY, EDWARD EVERETT HALE, SAMUEL A. (JREEN, for the American Antiquarian /Society/. Return of the 3Ianuscrq)t. 41 CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, AA^ILLIAM LAWRP:NCE, CHARLES W. ELIOT, for the MussacJiusetts Historical Society. ARTHUR LORD, WILLIAM M. EVARTS, WILLIAM T. DAVIS, for the Pilgrim Societij of Plymouth. CHARLES C. BEAMAN, JOSEPH 11. CHOATE, J. PIERPONT IMORGAN, for the JSfew England Society of New York. ROGER AYOLCOTT, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and acting Governor. At the same time the foHowiiig })i'ivate letters were addressed to the xVrchhisho}) of Canterl)ury and the Bishop of Loiuh)!! : — November 18th, 181)(i. To THE Right Rev. the AncHBiSHor of Cantehiutry : My Lord : You will doul)tless remember the brief con- versation I had with ^^ou at Fulham on the twenty-second of Se})teml)er last, in which I ex})ressed a strono- desire for the restoration to Massachusetts of the manuscript of Gov. William Bradford's History. This is to Americans the most, precious relic of the kind in existence. It con- tains the history of the gathering of the Pilgrim com])any in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, their life for thirtei^n vears in Holland, the voyage of the Mayflower, and the Pilgrim State at Plynu)uth for its first twenty-eight years. You were good enough to say that while }'ou had not known 4 42 American Antiquarian Society. before how hio-hly this manuscript is esteemed hy Ameri- cans, that if it had depended on you it would have gone back to America long ago. You said further that before taking action you should deem it })roper to consult the Archl)ishoi) of Canterl)ury, and that you thought the per- mission of the Queen should be obtained. A communication has been sent to the present Bishop of London, signed by representatives of two of our most distinguished historical societies and of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth and of the New England Society of New York and by Governor Wolcott, the present acting Gov- ernor of Massachusetts, of which State the old Pl3'mouth noAv forms a })art. I have not felt at liberty to quote the conversation I had with 3'ou in this connection because I was not sure that I Avas at liberty to repeat it, and l^ecause, also, I sujiposed you Avould prefer to state j^our oAvn opin- ion on such a question to having an303ody undertake to state it for you. But I shall be much obliged to you if I am right in my understanding of what you said, and you remain on further reflection of the same way of thinking, if you will make your opinion known to your successor. I have a very pleasant memory of my brief visit at Fulham, as also of the few days spent at INIr. Grenfell's delightful home on the Thames. I am, with high regard, Faithfully yours, GEO. F. HOAR. I enclose a copy of the application to the Bishop of London. Mr. Bayard, the American Aml)assador, will forward it and will doubtless state the title to respect and confidence of the gentlemen who sign it. November 18th, 1896. The Right Reverend the Bishop of London : Mv Loud : I had the honor, last September, of a l)rief conversation with your i)redecessor, noAV the Archbishop of Canterbury, in regard to the restoration to Massachu- setts of the maniiscrij)t of Bradford's History, now in the Library at Fulham. It was understood that when I got back to the ITnited States a formal application for the Return of the Manuscrij^t. 43 restoration of this manuscript should l)c made to the Bishop. I will not undertake to state the conversation l)ecause I sui)})ose his Lordship will prefer to make known his opinion for himself, if he deem })roper to ex})ress it, rather than to have it repeated at second hand. One thing has occurred to me to sa}" in addition to what is said in the more formal letter which will 1)e forwarded 1)V the American Am))assador. It may be that your Lord- ship would hesitate about disposing of a nianuscri})t which is the property of the Bishop's Library, and so held by you in a pul)lic and fiduciary, and not a jn-ivate capacity, with- out an Act of Parliament, or some authority other than you have, and I suppose this hesitation Avould be entire Ij^ reasonable. But if 3'ou should l)e satisfied that the manu- script is not the property of the Library l)ut has found its way there l)y some mistake or accident, I su])pose you would have the authority to deal Avith that (question without requiring the ap})roval of anybody else. If a book belong- ing to the British Museum were found at Fulham, even if it had been there a hundred years, I presume a'ou would direct its restoration, without asking anybody's leave, with as much prom})tness, if the case were clear, as if any visitor left his cane or umbrella in the Library by accident. But of all this you are much the most competent judge. I am, with highest resi)ect. Faithfully yours, GEO. F. HOAE. It is to ])e observed, that the reprint of the History made by the Massachusetts Historical Society under the direction of Mr. Deane does not contain the very important entry which is found on the fly-leaf following that copied in our letter, viz. : " But Major Bradford tells me & assures me that he only lent the book of his Grandfather's to Mr. Sewall * & that it l)eing of his Grandfather's own handwriting He had so high a value for it that he Avould never i)art with ye pro})erty, ])ut would lend it to me & desired me to get it, which I did, and Avrite down this, that so ]Major Bradford and his Heirs may be knoAvn to be the rio;ht owners." 44 American Antiquarian Society. The entry of June 4, 1728, standing alone, would seem to afford strono; ""round for believina^ that it was the intent of ]\Iajor Bradford to give the manuscript to the New England Lil)rary known as the Prince Lil)rar3^ It is true that Prince speaks of the desire to Avhich Major Bradford assented as a desire of " lodging " this history in the New England Library. But the sti})uhition that Major Brad- ford might have the perusal of it while he lived Avould seem to ini})ly that it was expected that the title would pass. Otherwise the stipulation would be unnecessary and of no effect. So the letter to the Bishop stated that "these inscriptions seem to make it clear that the nianu- scri})t l)elongs to the Prince Library." But the inscription on the next leaf, overlooked b}^ the })erson who made the copy for the pu])lication by the Historical Society, seems to have been made for the purpose of preventing any infer- ence that the })ropert3^ in the manuscript passed by the transaction. It is further to be observed that the book- plate which follows the first entry, which reads as follows : TPIIS BOOK BELONGS TO THE NEW ENGLAND LIBRARY BEGUN TO BE COLLECTED BY THOMAS PRINCE UPON HIS ENTERING HARVARD COLLEGE, JULY 6 1703; AND WAS GIVEN BY. is not filled out. Mr. Winsor, who formerly had the custody of the Prince Library in his official capacity as Librarian of the Boston Public Library, says : "The Bradford manuscrii)t has in it the book-plate of the Prince Library, and though there is doubt whether it Avas })laced there by Prince or by the deacons of the Old South Church, the fact that it is not iiUed out in writing as Prince Avas in the habit of doing Avhen he himself inserted the plates, may not bar the claim of the Boston Public Lil)rary to possess the treasure, as a re})rcscntative of the deacons, on the ])lea that the affixing of the })late is prima facie evidence of the surrender at that time of the claim of Helurn. of the Manuscript. 45 the Bradford heirs. There is strong reason to believe that the ])late was not put in l)y Prince. "There are in Prince's hand some nienioranchi on the H^'-leaves of the manuscript which acknowledge that on June 4, 1728, it came into his hands for use only, and that Major John Bradford, the grandson of Governor Bradford, and from whom he had received it, had not parted with property in the book. There is, moreover, in another note, a distinct averment that " Major Bradford and his heirs ' are the ' right owners' of it. This raises the <]uestion of moral if not legal ownershij), involving the application of the law of limitations." Taking the two entries together, it would seem that all that can l)e inferred from them is that the manuscript was once in the possession of the Prince Lil^rary with the con- sent of Major Bradford, the owner. He consented that the history should be "lodged" there. Prince uses the word "lodged," not "given" in his request. That ordina- rily implies a temporary and not a permanent possession, or, to take AYebster's definition, "to furnish with a tem- porary hal)itation ; to provide with a transient al)iding- place." All that there is on the other side is the language of Prince that Major Bradford provided that he might have the perusal of it while he lived. It ma}^ l)e said with great force, that he would have had no occasion to make such a stipulation unless he parted with the property. But, on the other hand, it is not unlikely that an expres- sion of his expectation to use it might be inserted even if he were only loaning it. At any rate, as matter of legal evidence, such an entry l)y Prince would not be received to show title. His entry might be evidence against him- self, l)ut he could not destro}^ the property of the oAvner of the l)ook b)^ writing in it anything in disparagement of the title. It would seem, then, that the trustees of the Old South Church merely had it for safe-keeping. If that were the 46 American Antiquarian Society, trust on which they had it, it would further seem that they were not very faithful trustees. If they let Hutchinson take it in 17(57 and keep it seven years, or if they let it stay, during the stormy times of the Revolution, in the tower of the Old South Church to be looted by British soldiers, they were not very faithful to their trust. If, when its existence at Fulham was discovered in 185(i, they heard of it, as undoubtedly they must have heard of it, they neglected to assert their legal title, or to take any legal proceedings to get it l)ack for forty-one years. Our late associate, Mr. Hamilton A. Hill, in his History of the Old South Church, Vol. 2, p. 44, states that the Prince Library suffered from neglect and from want of apprecia- tion of its custodians of its intrinsic value. In the Introduction to the Catalogue of the Prince Library, pul)lished by the trustees in 1870, is this state- ment : " The books and papers were deposited on shelves and in boxes and barrels in a room in the steeple of the church, under the belfry, which according to tradi- tion, had been Prince's study. There this valuable dei)osit was left for niau}^ years without care, and sub- ject to many vicissitudes. During the siege of Boston in 1775-(), the Church, being used as a riding-school b}^ the British troops, was often frecjuented b}^ idle spectators, Avho nmst have had access to the collection, and may be responsible for some of the loss it has sustained." The Introduction to the Catalogue further expresses the hope that " these waifs " may l)e returned to be forever kept where, if they do not absolutel}' belong, they can be most pro})erly retained. This would seem to imply a good deal of doubt whether the manuscript belonged to the Prince Library, or to imply the suggestion that it ought to be returned to some other custody than theirs. It is a little curious tiiat in the Introduction, the words "now lodged" arc used as dcscril)ing the possession of the Bishop Return of the Manuscrij)t. 47 of London ; which is precise!)^ the expression of Prince in (lescril)inir the possession of the Prince Lil)niry. It is also a singular coincidence that Winthro])'s Journal, which ])ears somewhat the same relation to Massachusetts that Bradford's History does to Pl}"m()uth, got into the Prince Library under circumstances Avhich led Mr. Win- throp to l)elieve that the volumes were borrowed from the family and never were I'eally a part of the Library. Another singulai' fact is stated in the Introduction, that so mau}^ of the books which have the book-plate of the New England Library, are found scattered about the country, and the author of the Introduction says, " It has been suggested that Prince possibly made another collection which he sold." It is also a very striking circumstance that there is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society a catalogue of the books and tracts collected ])y Thomas Prince, in Prince's own handwriting, made certainly as late as 1750, in Avhich the Bradford manuscript is not in- cluded. The decree of the Consistory Court commits the manu- script to the Governor of Massachusetts on the cf)ndition, among others, that it shall be deposited for permanent safe- keeping in the archives of the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts, or with the Massachusetts Historical Society. This condition the Governor has undertaken to fulfil. If, for any reason, it could not be accomplished, the Conunon- wealtli would have been bound in honor to restore the document to the Bishop. The Bishop, it is understood, came to the conclusion that he would not be justified in restoring the manuscript, of himself, without some legislative authorit}'' or judicial proceeding. He was, at first, inclined to seek permission from Parliament and Avas inclined to introduce a l)ill into Parliament for that })urpose himself. On further considera- sion, it was thought better to obtain a decree of the Con- 48 American Antiquarian Society. sistoiy Court of London. According!}^, the proceeding's, copies of which are given, were had. The ol)servations of the judge of the Consistory Court as to the application of Mr. Henr>' White, Secretary to the American Enihassy, require a few words of explanation in order that there may lie no misunderstanding as to Mr. White's position, which does not seem to have been fully comprehended by the Coiu't. The London Times of March 2(>, 181)7, the day after announcement of the judgment, contained, among its regu- lar court reports, what i)ur})orted to 1)C the report of the proceedings of the Consistor}' Court of London, headed : THE CONSISTORY COURT OF LONDON BEFORE DR. TRISTRAM, Q. C. CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE OF LONDON. It is headed : " A sitting of the Consistor}^ Court of London was held todav in 8t. Paul's Cathedral before Dr. Tristram, ' Q. C, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, who was attended b}' Mr. Hugh Lee, Registrar. "THE LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER. "This was a i)etition l)y the Hon. Thomas F. Bay- ard, American Ambassador, petitioning for and on behalf of the President and citizens of the United States of America for an order of the Consistory Court of London directing that a certain manuscri})t book, viz : the Log of the Mayflower, wliich has been for many 3'ears i)ast and is now dei)osited in the Library attached to Fulham Palace, might be trans- mitted to the President and citizens of the United States of America as one of the earliest records of their national history." After giving the arguments on both sides and the testi- mouA^ of Mr. Ilarr^' W. Lee, there follows what purports to be a verbatim report of the judgment or decree, which closes by saying : Return of the Mamiscript. 49 " The Court makes a deeree for the traiisniission of this manuscript back to the President and Senate of tlie United States of America, sul)ject to certain terms and conditions which I will settle in Chaml)er8." The newspapers, at or about the same date, re})()rted that Mr. Bayard had : to take a jom-ney which would occupy the entire sununer. Under these circumstances the decree of the court excited some con- sternation. It had been hoped that the document mioht 1)6 received in Massachusetts in time for the meeting- of the American Antiijuarian Societj^ which was to take phice April 21st, but at an}' rate in time to be presented to the Governor of Massachusetts before the adjournment of the Legislature, so that any arrangements for its rece})tion and safe-keeping which should require legislation might be made. The order in the decree that the document should be transmitted to the President and Senate was practically incapable of execution. There was no way known to our constitutional proceeding hy which the President and Sen- ate could jointl}^ take custody of such a document. The original petition addressed to the Bishop by the societies, as will 1)6 seen, prayed " that your Lordshij) direct that it be given to the American Am))assador to be b}' him restored to Massachusetts." The custody of the document at the seat of government in Washington would l)e hardly more convenient or satisfactory than its remaining at Fulham. It became necessary, therefore, if this decree were to stand, to get an order from the President and Senate, if possible, before the adjournment of Congress, directing the transmission of the manuscri})t to Massachusetts according to the original prayer. Mr. Hay had Ijeen appointed Ambassador, and Mr. Bayard's letter of recall had been presented. Mr. Hay's credentials could not be presented until the return of Her 50 A^nerican Antiquarian Society. Majesty from the Continent and, aecordini>- to custom, it was not expected that he would a})})ear in public in England until he had been received. So he still remained in Wash- ijigton. The eml)ass3% in the meantime, was to be in charge of Mr. White, the Secretary. He had gone to New York to take the steamer for England when the news of the decree and of Mr. Bayard's departure for the Continent came. Accordingly, the writer addressed at once a letter to Mr. White asking him, as soon as he reached London, to apply for the delivery of the maiuiscript to him in order that it might be received here before the adjournment of the Legislature and, if possil)le, in time for the meeting of the Antiquarian Society on the 21st of April. He very kindly made the request, not, as the Chancellor erroneously^ recites, in behalf of Mr. Hay, who had not then entered upon his office, but in his own ])ehalf, as Charge ad interim. There was no desire on the part of anyliody to deprive Mr. Bayard of the opportunity of l)ringing the document l)ack according to the desire expressed in the original peti- tion to the Bishop. But the difficulty grew out, first, of the uncertainty on this side as to the time of Mr. Bayard's return from the Continent, and second, from the mistake of the judge himself in making the order, practically impossible of execution and never contemplated by the promoters of the application, that the document should be given to the President and Senate, — an order made without familiarity with our constitutional arrangements here. Here follow copies of the further correspondence as to the matter and of the records of the Consistorj' Court. January 7, 18!) 7. Dear Mr. Olney : There is a strong desire felt to have the original manu- script of (lovernor Bradford's History of Plymouth restored to Massachusetts. An application to that effect has been Return of the Maimscrijit. 51 signed by myself, Mr. Salisl)urv, and Dr. Samuel A. Green, for the Anti(juarian Society ; C^harles Francis Adams, Bishop Lawrence, and President Eliot, for the Historical Society ; Arthur Lord, William M. Evarts, and William T. Davis, for the Pilgrim Society ; and Charles C. Beaman, Joseph H. Choate, and fl. Pierpont Morgan, for the New England Society of New York. I spoke to Mr. Baj^ard about the matter when I was in London. He took great interest in it, and kindly under- took to do whatever he properly might to promote the ai)})lication. I enclose a co})y of the letter to the Bishop of London which tells the whole story. I think you will find it inter- estino-. If the rules and practice of }'our Department permit, will you kindly say a word to Mr. Bayard, ex[)ressing 3'our interest in the matter and 3'our hope that it ma}' l)e accomplished. I suppose I can hardly ask you to do this in any formal or official way. But if Mr. Bayard have the right to say that the success of the a}i})lication will gratify you, or the President, I presume it would helj) the matter. If there be no objection, I should like to send the docu- ments in the Government despatch bag. I am, with high regard, faithfully yours, GEO. F. HOAR. The Honorable Richard Olney, Secretary of State, etc., etc., etc. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. Washington, January 8, 1897. Hon. George F. Hoar, United States Senate. Sir : I have the honor to acknoAvledge the receipt of your very interesting letter of yesterday with accompany- ing papers, relative to the application of the American Anti(juarian Societj^ the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, the New England Society of New York and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Right Reverend the Bishop of London, 52 American Antiquarkni Society. calling the attention of His Lordship to the original manu- script of Governor Bradford's History of Plynionth noAv in the lil)rarv at Fulhani, and asking that that document ma}^ be delivered to the United States Ambassador at London to be by him restored to the State of Massachusetts. In reply I beg to inform you that it has afforded me much pleasure to cause, in accordance with your request, the above mentioned papers to be sent in the despatch l)ag to the United States P^mbassy at London, with instructions to Mr. Bayard to informally l)ring the matter in (juestion to the attention of the Bishop of London with a view to obtaining the restoration of the Bradford manuscript to the State of ^Massachusetts. Adding that the Ambassador's reply will be prom})tly communicated to you, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, RICHARD OLNEY. DEPARTMENT OF STATE. Washixgtox, January 12, 1897. Hon. George F. Hoar, United States Senate. Sir : Referring to ])revious correspondence relative to instructions to the United States Ambassador at London in regard to making ajjplication for the State of Massachusetts to the Bishop of London for the original manuscrii)t of Governor Bradfoi'd's History of Plymouth, now in the library at Fulham, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 3^our letter of the 9th instant, transmitting a parcel containing i)apers relating to the subject which you desire to have sent to the United States Ambassador at Lon(h)n. In reply I have to inform you that the })arcel in (|uestion will at once l)e sent to its destination with suitable instruc- tions. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your obedient servant, RICHARD OLNEY. Hetuni of the Manuf7 fact, that the k)g of the "Mayflower" was now on its way ])aek to Massachusetts . I have your letter of April 21st, ami had arraniicd l)efore my departure from London on my leave of al>scncc for the execution of all the formalities re(iuisite for the hnal action by the Bisho[) of London. napj)ily an avoidance of some teclmical obstacles was acconn)lished, and it is with sincere satisfaction that I am now enabled to communicate the success of the efforts initiated by you last year in London to obtain })ossession of this jH-eirnant historic-al record and its restoration to the hands of its })ropcr custodians. I should be delin(|uent in manifest (bity did I not attest the spirit of amity, kinshij) and international courtesy exhibited by every official (civil and ecclesiastical) of this Government, bavins; connection with this transaction, and the evident pul)lic satisfaction the incich-nt has caused throuii'hout this country ; and of this our countrymen should 1)6 made aware. To no one is felicitation more due than to you person- aWy, upon the result, and I sincerely tender it, and am Very faithfully yours, T. F. BAYARD. The Hon. Geougk F. Hoar, U. S. Senate. 4 AiRLiE Garden, Campdex Hill, London, W. January Isf, 1897. My dear Sir, When and why Gov, Bradford's manu- scrii)t History came to be deposited in the Library of the Bisho}) of liondon, })erhaps you have not yet decided, and may entertain kindly a sugaestion which occurs to me. I was much impressed l)y your doubts as to the usual conjecture that it was l)rought to London, when the British army evacuated Boston in 1776. If that had been so, the MS. would i)robabh^ have been transferred to the (\)lonial Office, and would now be, among pa])ers regarding old colonial affairs, in the Public Kecord Office. But it is in the custody of the church, and not treated as a state paper, and may have been left there for some eccle- siastical purpose. 5 58 American Antiffiarian Society. It could hardly have l)een among Gov. Ilutchinsoirs papers, destro^'ed by the mob in 17(35, as the editor of his last volume, his nephew, referring, in a note to the preface, to the "many ancient records and papers" thus destroyed, says expressly "one, and })erhaps the most curious of these documents, escaped, and is now in the editor's })ossession. It is the original Com't Book of the Colony of Massachu- setts Bay, kept at first in England, and containing records of as early a date as February, 1(528." And the MS. is not mentioned, I believe, 1)y Hutchinson. I have lately l)een reading the book (Bisho}) AVilber- force's History of the E})isco})al Church in America) which, by (|uotations from the Bradford ]Manuscri])t, gave a clue to its discovery and })ublication by the Massachusetts His- torical Society. Bishop Wilberforce did not quote this manuscri})t alone, but also other "Fulliam Mss." in his History, and all chiefly for the purpose of showing the long-continued endeavours and need of the Episc()})alian Churches in America to have one or more Bisho})s in their own country, for the ordination of their ministers and other Avants of their Church Government, instead of being dejjcndent, as thc}^ were, on the distant Bishop of Lon- don : — and he says this effort was made very strongly in the years just })receding the Revolution ! It was at this time, according to Doyle, that the ]MS. was last heard of in Massachusetts, in 17()7. Is it not likely that it was sent over to the Bishop of London as evidence of the long and difficult existence of the Episcopal Church in America, even from the early days of Plymouth Colony, and of its need of the more inde- })ondentand strong government, which its scattered branches in the Colonies were then trj'ing to obtain? Among the old letters in the Fulham Library on this subject, it is possible that Bishop Wilberforce found the Bradford Manuscri})t ; he refers to it, as well as to the letters, as "Fulham MSS.," — and })ossibly in some one of these letters may be found an ex})lanation of the occasion and the date of the deposit of the Bradford MS. Tlie efforts of the Ei)isc()})al Church in America to have Bishops of their own were of course ended l»y the Kevolu- tion : and the old mamiscripts on the subject of this lai)sed and terminated cause, seem hardl}' worth preserving at Return of the Manuscript. 59 Fulham, especially a.s to such an unused i)iece of docu- mentary evidence as the Bradford Maiuiscri})t, Avliile its possession as an historical document must be admitted to be of a'reat value to ^Massat'husetts : and })erhaps the })res- ent E})iscoi)al Bisho)) of Massachusetts may assist in its restoration. As the present Archl)isho}) of Canterbury, lately Bishop of London, received so favourably your conversation with him on the sul)ject, and the newly ap})()inted Bishop of London, Dr. Creio-hton, has a Harvard deu-ree, and is so pre-eminently an historical student and author, I hope your application for the MS. will soon be successful, and that it Avill l)e returned to the old Commonwealth where it rightly belongs. I am, ver}^ sincerely yours, JOSIAH PIERCE. Hon. George F. Hoar, In the Consistoru Court of London. PETITION OF THE HON. T. F. BAYARD. To The Worshipful Thomas Hutchinson Tristram Doctor of LaAvs, Vicar General of The Right Honorable and Right Reverend ^Nlandell by Divine Permission Lord Bisho}) of London and Official Principal of the Consistorial and E})iscoi)al Court of London lawfully constituted, his Surro- gate or some other competent Judge in this behalf. The humble Petition of The Honorable Thomas F. Bay- ard (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in London of the United States of America) for and on behalf of the President and Citizens of the said States Stieweth, That there is in the Custody of the said Lord Bisho}) of the Diocese of London a nianuscri})t book con- taining an account as narrated by one of the company of Englishmen who left England in A})ril in the year 1(>20 in the Shi}) known as the "Mayflower" of the circumstances leading to the })rior settlement of that Com})any at Leyden in Holland their return to England and sul)se(iuent de})art- ure for Xew England their landing at Ca})c Cod December 1020 settlement at Ncav Plymouth and later history for several years, they being the Com})any whose settlement 60 A7nerican Antiquarian Society. in Auierifa i.s rogarded as the first real eolonisation of the New England States. That on the second page of the Book is a statement in the handwriting of Samuel Bradford, a Grandson of William Bradford who was one of the voyagers in the " jNIavHower" and the seeond Governor of the newly settled C\)nnnunity of 1()20 to the effect that such manuscript book was written by his Grandfather and a further state- ment on })ages 3 and 4 by one Thomas Prince that the book had l)ccn loaned to him l)y Major John Bradford in 1728 but that the right and in'o})erty therein attached to the said John Bi'adford. A })rinted ticket therein is to the effect that the book belonged to a certain New England Library begun to be collected l)y the said Thomas Prince but there is no evidence of how the Book was })laced at his disposal for this purpose nor is there any evidence to shew how as stated on such printed Ticket " it came to be de})osited in the Bishoj) of London's Library at Fulham." That the said jManuscri})t Book has been for many years past and is iu)W de})osited in the Library attached to Fulham Palace. That the said ^Manuscript Book is of the greatest interest im})oi-tance and value to the Citizens of the United States of .Vmcrica, inasnuich as it is one of the earliest records of their National History and contains much valuable informa- tion in regard to the Original Settlers in the States, their family history and antecedents and therefore your Petitioner earnestly desires to accjuire })ossession of the same for and on behalf of the President and Citizens of the said United States of Anu'rica. That your Petitioner is informed that the said Right Honorable and liight Reverend Mandell Lord Bisho}) of London fully recognises the value and interest of the said manuscri})t book to the C-itizens of the United States and the claims Avliich tht^y have to its possession and that he is desirous of transferring it to the said President and (-itizens. That your Petitioner is advised and l)elieves that the (Histody of documents in the nature of })ul)lic or ecclesiasti- cal record belonging to the See of Loiulon is vested in the (\)nsistorial Court of the said See and that any disi)osal thereof nuist be authorized by an Order issued b}' the Judiie of this Honorable Court. Return of the Manuscript. 61 Your Petitioner therefore liunibly prays that this IIonora])le Court will deliver to your Petitioner the said Manus('ri[)t Book before referred to your Peti- tioner undertaking to use eveiy means in his power for the safe transmission of the said l)ook to the United States of America and its secure deposit and custody in the Pilgrim Hall at New Plymouth or in such other place as may be selected b}^ the President and Senate of the said United States and upon such other conditions as to security and access by and on ))ehalf of the English Nation as this Honorable Court niaj' determine. HARRY W. LEE, Atfy for the Petitioner. I concur in this Petition, M. London. 22 March 1897. In tlie Consistory Court of London. In the Matter of an application for an Order for delivery of the manuscript " mayflower " log to THE American Ambassador. AFFH)AVIT OF HARRY W. LEE, ESQ. In the Consistory Court of London. In THE Matter of an application for an Order for THE DELIVERY OF THE MANUSCRIPT " MaYFLOWER " Log to the American Ambassador. I Harry Wilmot Lee of No. 1 The Sanctuary in the City of Westminster make oath and saj^ as follows : 1 I am legal Secretary to the Right Reverend Mandell by Divine Permission Lord Bishop of London. 2 The Petition dated twenty second March 1rapliie Copy was pre})ared under the eare of M'". Boyle, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and Printed by Spottiswood. Two Du})lieate Copies of this Manuscript will lie fur- nished l)y Mr. Bayard, one for the i)urpose of its lieino- })laeed in the Fulhani Palace Library and the other in the Bishop of London's Registr}^ in Doctors Commons. The American Antiquarian Society, The Historical Society of Massachusetts, The Pilgrim's Society at Plymouth, The New England Societ}^ of New York, acting with the Co-operation of the Governor of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts are all desirous that this Manuscript should be transferred to Boston & there placed in Public Custody. I have been Legal Secretary to the Bishops of London for from 20 to 25 years. There is a Muniment Room over the Gatewa}^ of Fulliam Palace with which I am ac(|uainted c*c in which I have made searches for Docu- ments of im})ortance. I have reason to believe it contains correspondence relating to the American Church prior to the Declaration of Independence. It is the Palace Muni- ment Poom, I got the papers from there which enabled Col. ^laitland to establish his claim to the Earldom of Laudersdale before the House of Lords. There is a Peg- ister of the Papers there but not a complete one. In the House of Lords in this Case these documents were held to have come from a Pul)lic Registry & were on this ground admitted in evidence. The present Bisho}) of London directed this Book to be placed in the Kegistry here temporarily. He considers the Fulham Muniment Room an adjunct to the Bishop of London's Registr}- in Doctors Connuons. Cur Adv Vult. In the Consistory Court of London. IN THE MATTER OF THE LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER. Judgment delivered at St. Paul's Cathedral ON March '2b, 1897. 64 American Antiqiiarian Society. In the ConsiMory Court of London. IN THE MATTER OE THE LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER. The Hon'^^'' Thomas F. Bayard the Ambassador Extraor- dinaiy of the United States of America to the Court of S*. James has petitioned this Court on behalf of the Presi- dent and Citizens of the United States of America to decree that an Ori<>inal Manuscri})t Book known as "The Log of The Mayflower" in the Custody of the Court be delivered to his Excellency for safe transmission to the President and Senate of the United States upon such con- ditions and security as the Court may determine. This Manuscript Book (amongst other matters of great historical interest) contains what in law is an authentic Register betAveen 1()20 c^ 1(>50 of the Names of the persons, who founded in 1620 the Colony of New England in North America, of the fact of their ]\larriages, with the names of their respective wiyes, & of their children, the lawful issue of such Marriages, t^c of the Marriages of many of their grand-children, & of the issue of such Marriages, as Avell as the deaths of persons therein named. It is in its charac- ter of ])eing an authentic Register of ^Marriages, Births, & Deaths of })ersons resident in a Territorj^ which formed ])art of the Colonial Possessions of Great Britain, at the dates of which the}' relate, & which was liy custom then within the Diocese of London, that the Custody of this Manuscri})t l)elongs to the CV)urt. The authenticit}' of the Manuscript as being, (with the exception of the four last entries on the last page) in the handwriting of ]Major AVilliam Bradford, one of the Founders, c'c the second Governor of the (-olony is placed beyond doubt, from the inherent eyidence furnished by its contents, & by the fact of the whole of the contents, with the aboye excei)ti()ns, being in his handwriting, as well as by an entry prefixed to it in the handwriting of his grand- son Sanmel Bradford. The following hcadnote in Major Bradford's handwriting is i)refixed to the Register, which is contained in the last f) pages of the Book. "The Names of those which came over first in 1620, and "were (by the Blessing of (xod) the first beginners and Return of the Manuscript. 05 " (in a sort,) the foundation of all the Plantations & Colo- "nies in New Enoland t'i their families/' Then follow twenty seven separate entries, each contain- inii; the name of the head of each Emigrant Family, and the names of his wife, children & Servants who accompa- nied him on the voyaa'c of The Mayflower or who su))se- quently joined him at Plymouth. At the End of these entries comes this entry. "These being about 100 souls come over in this first " Ship, & liegan this work which God of His Goodness "hath hitherto blessed ; let his Holy Name have the praise, "and seeing it hath i)leased him to give me to see 80 years "completed since these beginnings, & that the Great works " of This Providence are to be observed, I have thought it "not unworthy ni}' paines to take a view of the decreasings "t^ increasings of these persons, &. such changes as has "passed over them and theirs in this 30 3'ears — It \\vA.y be " some use to such as come after. I will therefore take "them in order as they lye" — Then follow entries of the Marriages, Births &. Deaths of the surviving families of the Settlers, accompanied with notices relating to some of them. The Writer then proceeds: — "Of these 100 persons ' which came first over, in this first ship — the greater part 'dyed in the general mortality ; & most of them in 2 or 3 'months time, t'c for those who survived, though some ' were ancient & })ast procreation &. others left the place & 'country, yet of those few remains are sprung up 100 'persons in this 30 years, & are now living in this present '3^ear IGoO, besides many of their children which are dead, 'c'c come not within this account. And of the oldest ' (stock of one or other) there are yet living this present 'year 1650 near 30 i)ersons — Let the Lord have the praise, 'who is the High Preserver of them." The entry prefixed to the Book by Major Bradford's Grandson is as follows: — "This Book was writ by my " Grandfather William Bradford, & given to his Son Alajor "William Bradford, & l)v him to his Son Major John "Bradford." "Writ bv me Sanuud Bradford" "iVIarch 20, 1705" Then folloAvs the Signature John Bradford. 06 America)} Antiquarian Society. There is an Entry on the next i)age but one — March 20 Samuel Bradford "But Major Bradford tells me & assures me that he only "lent this Book of his (Irandfather to M'". Sewell, & it "being of his Grandfathers own writing he had so high a "value for it, that he would never j)art with the ])ro})ertv, "l)ut would lend it to me, & desired me to get it which I "did, t^ write down this that so Major Bradford c'c his heirs "ma}' be known to l)e the right owners — Written when the "Book came into my hands." Then comes the following Entr^' on the jirevious page — "This Book l)elongs to the New England Lil)rarv.'" "Begun to l)e collected by Thos : Pi'ince u})on his enter- ing Harvard College Juh' (i. 170o & was given b>' It now belongs to the Bishop of London's Lil)rarv at "Fulham." The Histor}' of Major Bradford as bearing on the authen- ticity & legal authority of this Register is, that he arrived at Plymouth in New England in the Mayflower in Deceni- ])er 1620, that in April 1621 — Carver the Governor of Plymouth died iSc Bradford was elected to fill the vacancy in the (rovernorship occasioned by Carver's death, that he resigned the Governorship in l()3o — was re-elected in 1635 — and retained it until 1650 — when he resigned it, & died on May 9 1657, aged (M & that during all this ])eri<)d up to 1650 his high Official position as (Tovernor was recog- nised from the entries in the Manuscri})t by the vSovereigns of this Country. These entries in the Register having been officially recorded I)}' the highest Officer of State in the Colony are entitled to be admitted as evidence in Courts of Justice, in Pedigree Cases, of the facts therein recorland Avas for Ecclesi- astical puqiose.s in the Diocese of London, &. that it has been the })ractice to transmit from the Colonies c'c from Foreign parts Certificates of the Marriages, Births & Deaths of British 8ul)jects to the Bishop of London's Registry for safe custody & reference in this Country ; the Bishops Registry being the only Pul)lic Registry for the C^lst()d^' of such documents within the Diocese &. from the circum- stance of the whole manuscript with the exception of the last five jiages being of historical interest the Register at the end of it might have been overlooked c^ thus it was retained amongst the other Historical Documents coiniected with the North American Colonies in the Ei)isco})al Regis- try at Fulham Palace simpl}' as a Historical Manuscri})t. On M''. BaA'ard making application to the Bisho}) of London to allow this Document to be transmitted to the President & Senate of the United States for custody it appeared to his Lordship after enquiries as to the practice of the Diocese in such Cases more especially on ascei'tain- ing that it contained an authentic Register of Marriages Births t'c Deaths which might be of inii)ortance in tracing- descents and rights of succession to pro})erty, directed the Manuscript to be deposited in the Strong Room of the Registry of the Court & referred the Ap})lication to be dealt with Ijy the Court. The onl}^ re})orted Case pertinent to the present Appliea- tion is in the Matter of An Application on the Motion of Her Majesty's Government to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in \)^Wr, for the delivery of the Original Will &j Codicils of The Em])er()r Nai)o]eon I, which had been proved in that Court on the 5^'' of August 1824 to Lord John Russell Her Majestj 's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the piU'})ose of being made over to the French Government u])on a Notarial Copy thereof being left in the Registry of the Court. The Application was founded on an affidavit of Lord John Russell, deposing that it appeared to Her ]\Iajesty's Gov™* that on grounds of public })olicy such application should be com})lied Avith. The Queen's Advocate Sir John Harding referred to' three cases in suj^port of his a})})lication stating that the (juestion Avas simply one of discretion ; that sufficient grounds had 68 American Anfiquarian Society. Iieon set forth in the affidavit of the Seeretary of State to justify the Court in making- the Decree, that no ones interest couhl he injured therehy & tliat the survi vino- Executors were consenting. In re The Will of The Empe- ror Napoleon Buonaparte. 2 Kohertson Ke})orts (50(5. Sir John Dodson in delivering Judgment said "This is an "Application, at the instance of the Lords of the Treasury ; "to this Court to decree the AVill & several C^odicils of the "late Napoleon Buonaparte to he delivered out of the "Registry to Her Majesty's Princi})al Secretary of State "for Foreign Affairs, for the ])urpose of being given up "to the French Government. The (xround of the Apj)lica- "tion is stated to be pu])lic policy, which the (Queen's "Advocate seemed to think was of itself almost sufficient "to induce the Court to grant the prayer. I cannot, how- "ever, hold to that view; it is necessarA" to show that the "step pro})osed to be taken is c()nf()rmal)le to law. Un- "doul)tedlj this Court, as all other Courts, is desirous to " carrj^ into effect the views of Her Majesty's Government ; "nevertheless it must not venture to go beyond the limits "of legal authority. In a C-ountry governed by settled "laws, it is necessary for Courts to be guided by those "laws, & not by the will & desire of a government." "In the present instance it was })ointed out to me that, " independently of the wishes of Her Majesty's Government, "there is legal authority to justify me in c()m})lying with "the a})plication. Three cases have been })r()duced from "the Records of this Court." "The Third Case mentioned, which occurred in 1839, "api)ears to furnish a more direct l)earing. The Case was "this : — Sir Herbert Taylor made a Codicil at Rome to his " Will, the papers were })roved here, & that Codicil Avas " afterwards delivered out for the purpose of being sent to "France, there to be })laced in proi)er custody.'' "On consideration, I think, I ma)' be justified in follow- " ing Sir Herbert Taylor's case, and granting the present "application, but I cannot do so exactly in accordance with "the })recise form of the prayer, as I have not, I conceive, "the i^ower. I shall ordei' the |)a})ers asked for to be "delivered out, not for the i)urpose of their being sent to "the French Government, but for the pur})ose of placing "them in the Custody of the legal authorities in France, Return of the Manuscript. fi9 "to be recordod in the ]>roper })laee ; and I have no dou])t "that Lord -John Kus.sell Avill take eare that this condition is "comi)lied with. I will direct the Rei>istrar, after notarial "copies have been made, to attend on his Lordship, and "deliver the oriirinal i^a})ers to him, for which he must "give a receijit. I think I am justified in going thus far, "as in some res})ects, this Case is stronger than Sir Herbert "Tavlors. Sir Herbert was beyond doubt a domiciled "Englishman, but Na})oleon Bonai)arte, though a })risoner "at S*. Helena, did not, I conceive, from that circumstance "lose his French domicile, moreover, his property in this "Country was very small. Tudcr all the circumstances of "the case, I decree the original pai)ers to be delivered out, "in order that they may be sent, as in Taylor's case, to the "legal Authorities in France." The (Queens Advocate intimated he could m)t })ledge himself, inasnmch as he had no authority to acce})t the grant in any other form than that moved by him, that the exact terms, specified by the Court, would l)e ol)served by the Secretary of State. The Court stated it nmst adhere to its decree, & could not presume that it would be dis- regarded. The application in the })resent case differs from the one the Court has just referred to in the following ])articulars. In that Case the Estate of The Eni})eror had long J)een distributed & the Testamentary Pa})ers in (juestion Avere no longer of pecuniary interest to anyone and the surviv- ing executors of this will were consenting parties to the application. In the present case the entries in the Register may involve the pecuniary interest of descendants of Families named in it in tracing and establishing their rights to suc- cession to })ro})erty and it is therefore the duty of the Court in making any order for its removal to other custody to take esi)ecial care that such i)ersons shall not be thereby prejudiced. It is also a matter for obser\'ation that at the time when the Manuscrijit was transmitted to Fulhani Palace the Bishop of London's Registry in Doctors Com- mon's was a legitimate })lace for de])ositing Registers or Certificates of Marriages, Baptisms, iSc Deaths of persons resident in the Colonies as well as of persons resident in the London Diocese in England and that as on the Declara- 70 American Aidlquarkoi Society. tion of Indopcndeiu'e tlie Diocesan R('<>istry ceased to be the Registry for Marriages, Bai)ti.siiis, & Deaths in New Eiiiilaiid, ill aiudoiiv to the i)ractice in this Country when a New Diocese is carved out of an Old One a transfer of all documents in the Registry of the Old Diocese relating to the New Diocese is ordered to be made to the Registry of the New Diocese — the transmission of this Register to the Country to which it relates may 1)e properly made. The Court Avill make a Decree for the transmission of this Manuscript Book to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in The United States of America subject to certain terms and conditions which I will settle in Chambers. Had this Manuscript l)een solely of Historical Value the Court Avould have had no hesitation in acting ui)on the precedent of The Lilirary Comimny of Philadel- })hia referred to l)y M''. Statham who so lil)erally restored to this Country certain corres})ondence of National Interest which Avas de})osited in that Lil)rary. /;/ tJie Ooiisisfoi-// Ootirf of London. IN THE .MATTER OF THE LOG OF THE MAY- FLOWER. Second Juikiment Delivered on the FIanding Over OF "The Log" to Mi;. Bayaim) at London House ON Thursday, May 29th, 1897. /;/ tJie Consixtori/ Court of London. In the Matter of The Log of the Mayflower. On Saturday the 10*'' of A})ril an Application was made to me in the })resence of the Lord Bislio}) of London and of the Registrar of the Court by M'". Henry White, Secre- tary to the American Embassy, on the instructions of the Hon'''''. Colonel Hay, the jn-esent American Aml)assador, for the Manuscri})t to l)e delivered over to Colonel Hay on his arrival in England, or to himself in the meantime, in- stead of to M'. Bayard, on the ground that M''. Bayard on his return from the Continent to England, when the deliv- ery was to be made to him, would have ceased to be Ambassador here. Return of the Mamisrvipt. 71 He stated, that if hi.s A})})lication was granted, the Manuscript Avould be transmitted with other State Papers to the President of the United States with a view to its transmission 1)y the President to the Governor of Massa- chusetts to be deposited hy him either in the State Archives or with the Historical Society in the City of Boston, in comi)liance Avith the Order of the Court. It aj)peared to me, that the application was a reasonabh' one, l)ut I pointed out to M'. A^^hite, that preliminarv to my lirantiuii- it, if it were in my i)ower to do so, it would be necessary for a formal application to be made to me in open (^ourt to vary the Decree in the manner sua<»'ested, tVc that if I acceded to this, it would be competent to any person allciiina- an interest in the matter, to appeal from the Amended Decree to the Arches and from thence to the .ludicial Committee. Whereas the time for appealing from the original decree if it remained unaltered viz. lo davs from the date of its ))einii' made had ex])ired. ^I''. White thereu})on said he Avould leave his a})plication to l)e dealt with Ijy me as I might deem right. I considered however, that the a})plication having been made on the instructions of an Ambassador at the (\)urt of S'. James's it was only due to His Excellency, that I should maturely consider the (juestion, & state on the pres- ent occasion whether it was or was not within })owers discretionary or otherwise vested in the Coiu't com})etent to it to make such a variation in the Decree. I have now come to the conclusion, that it would not be in accordance with the practice of the Court, or just to the parties interested in the Manuscript that I should so vary the original Decree. In my Judgment I stated, that as the entries in the Register at the end of the Maiuiscri})t might involve the })ecuniary interests of families named in it in tracing c*c establishing their rights to succession to propert}^ it was the duty of the Court in making any Order for its removal to other Custody, to take es})ecial care that such })ersons should not l)e therein' })rejudiced. For my assistance in giving directions in the Registry as to the terms in which the Decree of the CV)urt should be framed I ol)tained from the Princi})al Probate Registry a Coi\v of the Order made by the Prerogative (/ourt of Canterbury for the delivery up of the Will & Codicils of The Em])eror Nai»()le()n I. as being the precedent on which I relied in grantino- the 72 American Antiquarian Society. A})})licati()n in the present Ca.se. The Order is dated February 17*'\ 1853, and is m the following terms " F. H. Dyke Her Majesty's Procurator General Exhil)ited Affidavit of the Rt lion John Russell connnonly called Lord John Russell and also Affidavit of John Allen Powell P^sij and Ijrought in Proxy of consent with Act of C'ourt s})ed thereon and also statement in writing ; The Judiife havinof read the sd Affidavits and Statement at Petition of Dyke and on ^Motion of Her Majesty's Advocate directed the Original Will & Codicils of the said deceased now remain- ing in the Registry of this Court to be delivered into the possession Her ^Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by one of the l^eputv Registrars of this Court for the purpose of being recorded or filed in the })ro})er CV)urt or Avith the legal authorities in France or a Notarial Copy of the said Will & Codicils l)eing left in the Registry of this Court and assigned Dyke to bring in a Certificate of the said original Will and CVxlieils being recorded or filed as aforesaid. It is of importance for the purpose of })re- serving to persons interested in the entries in the Register at the end of the Manuscri])t the same right as they would have had if the Manuscrii)t had remained under the control of the Court that the Decree of the Court should be so framed as to entitle them to enforce comi)liance with its })ro visions in the Courts of the United States after its transfer to that Country. According to the law on this })oint as stated by M"". fJustice Story in his great work on the Conflict of Laws ; and the American Cases cited by him, it seems that compliance with the provisions of the Decree which will be read would l)e enforced in the Courts of the United States. " The reasonable dot-trine seems to be sa3\s M"". flustice Story in order to found a proper ground of recognition of any Foreign Judgment in another Country that the Court pronouncing judgment should have c()m})lete jurisdiction over the cause, over the thing, and over the })arty (sec. 5ht Worshipful Thomas Hutchinson Tristram Doctor of Laws and one of Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law Our Vicar General and Official Principal the Judge of the said Court and you at the sitting of the said Court appeared b}^ Counsel in support of the Prayer of the said Petition and during the hearing thereof the said Manuscript Book was produced in the said Court by Our legal Secretary and was then inspected and examined l>y the said Judge and evidence was also given l)efore the Court by which it appeared that the Registry at Fulham Palace was a Pul)lic Registry for Historical and Ecclesiastical Docu- ments relating to the Diocese of London and to the Colo- nial and other i)()ssessions of Great Britain l)eyond the Seas so long as the same remained l)y custom within the said Diocese AND WHEREAS it appeared on the face of the said Manuscript Book that the whole of the l)ody thereof with the exception of part of the last page thereof was in the han(hvriting of the said William Bradford who was elected Governor of New Plymouth in April 1()21 and continued Governor thereof from that date excepting between the years 1635 and 1637 up to 1650 and that the last five pages of the said Manuscript which is in the hand- writing of the said William Bradford contain what in Law is an authentic Register between 1620 and 1650 of the fact of the Marriages of the Founders of the Colony of New England with the names of their respective wives and the names of their (Children the lawful issue of such Mar- riages and of the fact of the Marriages of many of their Children and Grandchildren and of the names of the issue of such marriages and of the deaths of many of the }ier- sons named therein And after hearing Counsel in support of the said apjjlication the Judge being of opinion that the said Manuscript Book had been upon the evidence before the Court presumablj^ deposited at Fulham Palace sometime between the year 1729 and the year 1785 during which 80 American Antiqiiarian Society. time the said Colony was 1)}^ custom within the Diocese of London for pm-poses Ecclesiastical and the Registry of the said Consistorial Court was a legitimate Registry for the Custody of Registers of Marriages Births and Deaths within the said Colony and that the Registry at Fulham Palace was a registry for Historical and other Documents con- nected with the Colonies and possessions of Great Britain beyond the Seas so long as the same remained by custom wilhin the Diocese of London and that on the Declaration of the Independence of the United States of America in 1776 the said Colony had ceased to l)e within the Diocese of Lon- don and the Registry of the Court had ceased to be a imldic registry for the said Colony and having maturely deliberated on the Cases precedents and practice of the Ecclesiastical Court l)earing on the application l)efore him and having regard to the S})ecial (Circumstances of the Case Decreed as follows — (1) That a Phot()grai)hic facsimile repro- duction of the said Manuscript Book verified by affidavit as being a true and correct Photographic reproduction of the said Manuscript Book be deposited in the Registry of Our said Court l)v or on behalf of the Petitioner liefore the delivery to the Petitioner of the said original Manu- script Book as hereinafter ordered — (2) That the said Manuscript Book be delivered over to the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard by the Lord Bishoji of London or in his Lordshijj's al)sence by the Registrar of the said Court on his aivino- his undertakino- in writing that he will with all due care and diligence on his arrival from England in the United States convey and deliver in person the said Manuscript Book to the Governor of the Commonwealth of ^lassachusetts in the United States of America at his Official Office in the State House in the City of Boston and that from the time of the delivery of the said Book to him l)y tlie said Lord Bisho}) of London or l)y the said Regis- trar until he shall have delivered the same to the Governor of Massachusetts he will retain the same in his own Personal custody — (3) That the said Book be deposited l)y the Petitioner with the Governor of Massachusetts for the ])urp()se of the same being Avith all convenient speed finally de})()sited either in the State Archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the City of Boston or in the Librarv of the Historical Society of the said Com- Return of the Manuf^Gript. 81 moil wealth in the City of Boston a.s the Governor shall determine — (4) That the Governors of the said Com- monwealth for all time to come be officially responsible for the safe cnstody of the said Manuscript Book whether the same be deposited in the State Archives at Boston or in the Historical Lilirary in Boston aforesaid as well as for the performance of the following conditions subject to a com- pliance wherewith the said Manuscript Book is hereb}^ decreed to be deposited in the Custody of the aforesaid Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and his Successors to Avit : — (a) That all persons have such access to the said Manuscript Book as to the Governor of the said Commonwealth for the time being shall appear to be reasonable and with such safeguard as he shall order — (1)) That all persons desirous of searching the said jNIanu- script Book for the bona fide purpose of establishing or tracing a Pedigree through persons named in the last five pages thereof or in any other part thereof shall be per- mitted to search the same under such safeguards as the Governor for the time being shall determine on pa^'ment of a fee to be fixed by the Governor — (c) That any person applying to the Official having the immediate custody of the said Manuscript Book for a Certified (V)py of any entry contained in proof Marriage Birth or Death of persons named therein or of any other matter of like purport for the purpose of tracing descents shall be fur- nished Avith such certificate on the payment of a sum not exceeding one Dollar — (d) That with all convenient speed after the delivery of the said JNIanuscript Book to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the Governor shall transmit to the Registrar of the Court a Certificate of the delivery of the same to him 1)}^ the Peti- tioner and that he acce})ts the Custody of the same subject to the terms and conditions herein named AND the Judge lastly decreed that the Petitioner on delivering the said Manuscript Book to the Governor aforesaid shall at the same time deliver to him this Our Decree Sealed with the Seal of the Court WHEREFORE WE the Bishop of London aforesaid well weighing and considering the prem- ises DO by virtue of Our Authority Ordinary and Episco- pal and as far as in Us lies and by Law We may or can ratify and cf)nfirin such Decree of Our Vicar General and 82 American Antiqiiarimi Society. Official Principal of Our Con.si.storial and Episcopal Court of London IN TESTIMONY whereof We have caused the Seal of Our said Vicar General and Official Principal of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London which We use in this behalf to he affixed to these Presents DATED AT LONDON this Twelfth day of April One thousand eiiiht hundred and ninety seven and in the first year of Our Translation. HAREY W. LEE, Exd. H.E.T. Registrar. (L. S.) RECEIPT OF HIS EXCELLENCY ROGER WOLCOTT. Receipt of Governor Wolcott. His Excellency Roger Wolcott, Governor of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States of America. To the Registrar of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London. Whereas, The said Honorable Court, by its decree dated the twelfth day of April, LSI)?, and made on the petition of the Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard, lately Ambassa- dor Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America at the Court of Saint James in London, did order that a certain original manuscript l)ook then in the custody of the Lord Bislu^p of London, known as and entitled "The Log of the Mayflower," and more specifically descril)ed in said decree, should l^e delivered over to the said Hf)noral)le Thomas Francis Bayard by the Lord Bishop of London, on certain conditions specified in said decree, to 1)6 delivered by the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard in person to the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, thereafter to be kept in the custody of the aforesaid Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachu- Return of the Manm^eript. 83 setts and his successors, subject to a compliance with cer- tain conditions, as set forth in said decree ; And Whereas^ The said Honorable Court b}' its decree aforesaid did further order that, with all con^ enient speed after the delivery of the said manuscript book to the Gov- ernor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Governor should transmit to the Registrar of the said Honorable Court a certificate of the delivery of the same to him by the said Honoralile Thomas Francis Bayard, and his accept- ance of the custody of the same, subject to the terms and conditions named in the decree aforesaid ; Now, Therefore, In compliance Avith the decree aforesaid I do herel)y certify that on the twenty-sixth day of Mav, 181>7, the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard delivered in person to me, at my official office in the State House in the city of Boston, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States of America, a certain manuscript book which the said Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard then and there declared to be the original manuscript l)ook knoAvn as and entitled "The Log of the Mayflower," which is more specificall}' described in the decree aforesaid ; and I do further certify that I herel)y accept the custody of the same, subject to the terms and conditions named in the decree aforesaid. In ivitness vihereof, I ha^e hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Conmionwealth to be affi'xed, at the Capitol in Boston, this twelfth daj' of Jidy in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninetj^-seven. ROGER WOLCOTT. By His Excellency the Governor, WM. M. OLIN, Secretary of the Oommonwealth . The following proceedings Avere had in the Representa- tives' Chamber at the State House in Boston, May 2 (J, 1897, in the presence of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Executive Council, a Joint Convention of the tAVo Houses of the Legislature and a large and brilliant concourse of citizens. Hon. George P. Lawrence, Presi- dent of the Senate, presided. 84 American Antiquarian Society. ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. The first American aml)assador to Great Britain, at tlie end of his official service, comes to Massacliusetts on an interesting errand. He comes to deliver to tlie lineal suc- cessor of Governor Bradford, in the presence of the repre- sentatives and rulers of the body politic formed hy the compact on board the "Mayflower," November 11, 1620, the only authentic history of the founding of their Com- monwealth ; the only authentic histor}' of what we have a right to consider the most important i)olitical transaction that has ever taken place on the face of the earth. Mr. Baj^ard has sought to represent to the mother country, not so much the diplomacy as the good-will of the American people. If in this anyl)ody be tempted to judge him severely, let us remember what his great prede- cessor, John Adams, the first minister at the same court, representing more than any other man, embodying more than any other man, the spirit of Massachusetts, said to George HI., on the first day of June, 1785, after the close of our long and l)itter struggle for independence : "I shall esteem myself the happiest of men if I can 1)e instrumental in restoring an entire esteem, confidence and affection, or, in l)etter words, the old good-nature and the old good- humor between people who, though separated by an ocean and under different governments, have the same language, a similar relimon and kindred blood." And let us remember, too, the answer of the old mon- arch, who, with all his faults, must have had something of a nol)le and royal nature stirring in his bosom, when he rei)lied : " Let the circumstances of language, religion and l)lood have their natural and full effect." It has long; been well known that Governor Bradford wrote and left behind him a history of the settlement of Plymouth. It was quoted by early chroniclers. There Return of the Manuscript. 85 are extracts from it in the records at Ph month. Thomas Prince used it Avhen he compiled his "Annals." Hubbard depended on it when he wrote his " History of New Eng- land." Cotton Mather had read it, or a co})j of a portion of it, Avhen he wrote his "Magnalia." Governor Hutchin- son liad it when he })ublished the second volume of his historv in 1767. From that time it disappeared from the Ivnowledge of evervl)ody on this side of the water. All our historians speak of it as lost, and can only guess what had been its fate. Some persons suspected that it was destroyed when Governor Hutchinson's house was sacked in 1765, others that it was carried off 1)}^ some officer or soldier Avhen Boston was evacuated ])y the British army in 1776. In 1844 Samuel Wil))erforce, Bislioj) of Oxford, after- ward Bishop of Winchester, one of the brightest of men, pu))lished one of the dullest and stupidest of books. It is entitled " The History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America." It contained extracts from manuscri})ts which he said he had discovered in the library of the Bishop of London at Fulhani. The book attracted no attention here until, al)out twelve years later, in 1855, John Wingate Thornton, whom many of us remember as an accomplished anti(|uary and a delightful gentleman, ha})pened to pick up a copy of it while he was lounging in Burnham's l)ook-store. He read the Bishop's quotations, and carried the book to his office, where he left it for his friend, Mr. Barry, who was then writing his "Historv of Massachusetts," with i)assages marked, and Avith a note which is not preserved, but Avhich, according to his mem- ory, suggested that the passages nnist have come from Bradford's long-lost histor}\ That is the claim for Mr. Thornton. On the other hand, it is claimed by Mr. Barry that there was nothing of that kind expressed in Mr. Thornton's note, but in readinc: the book when he jjot it an hour or so later, the thought struck him for the first 86 American Antiquarmn Societf/. time that the clew had been found to the })reciou8 book which had l^een lost so long. He at once rei)aired to Charles Deane, then and ever since, down to his death, as President Eliot felicitously styled him, "the master of historical investigators in this countr}'." Mr. Deane saw the importance of the discover3\ He comnumicated at once Avith Joseph Hunter, an eminent English scholar. Hunter was high authority on all matters connected with the settlement of New England. He visited the })alace at Fulliam, and esta])lished beyond (juestion the identit}^ of the manuscript with Governor Bradford's histor}^ an origi- nal letter of Governor Bradford having been sent over for comparison of handAvriting. HoAv the manuscri})t got to Fulham nobody knows. Whether it Avas carried over l)y Governor Hutchinson in 1774 ; Avhether it Avas taken as spoil from the toAver of the Old South Church in 1775 ; Avhether, Avith other manu- scripts, it Avas sent to Fulham at the time of the attempts of the Episcopal churches in America, just before the revo- lution, to establish an episcopate here, — nobody knows. It would seem that Hutchinson Avould have sent it to the colonial office ; that an officer Avould naturally have sent it to the Avar office ; and a private Avould have sent it to the war office, unless he had carried it off as mere private l)ooty and })lunder, — in which case it would have l)een unlikely that it Avould have reached a })ul)lic })lace of custody. But Ave find it in the possession of the church and of the church official having, until inde})endence Avas declared, special jurisdiction over Ei)iscoi)al interests in Massachusetts and Phmouth. This may seem to point to a transfer for some ecclesiastical pur})ose. The Bishop's Chancellor conjectures that it Avas sent to Fulham l)ecause of the record annexed to it of the early })irths, marriages and deaths, such records being in Eng- land ahvays in ecclesiastical custody. But this is merely conjecture. Return of the 3Ianuscri]jt. 87 I know of no incident like this in hitstor}^ unless it be the discoveiT in a chest in the castle of Edin])urgh, where they had been lost for one hundred and eleven years, of the ancient regalia of Scotland, — the crown of Bruce, the sceptre and sword of state. The lovers of Walter Scott, who was one of the connnissioners Avho made the search, renienil)er his intense emotion, as descril)ed by his daughter, Avhen the lid was removed. Her feelings were worked up to such a })itch that she nearly fainted, and drew l)ack from the circle. As she was retiring she was startled by his voice exclaim- ing, in a tone of the deepest emotion, "something between anger and des[)air," as she exjn'cssed it: "By God, no!" One of the commissioners, not <{uite entering into the solemnity with which Scott regarded this business, had, it seems, made a sort of motion as if he meant to put the crown on the head of one of the young ladies near him, but the voice and the aspect of the poet were more than sufficient to make this worthy gentleman understand his error ; and, respecting the enthusiasm with which he had not been taught to sympathize, he laid down the ancient diadem with an air of })ainful eml)arrassment. Scott whispered, "Pray forgive me," and turning round at the moment ol)served his daughter deadly i)ale and leaning b}^ the door. He innnediately drew her out of the room, and when the air had somewhat recovered her, walked with her across Mound to Castle Street. "He never spoke all the way home," she says, "but every now and then I felt his arm tremble, and from that time I fancied he began to treat me more like a woman than a child. I thought he liked me better, too, than he had ever done before." There have been several attempts to })rocure the return of the maiuiscript to this countr}\ Mr. AVinthrop, in 1860, through the venerable John Sinclair, Archdeacon, urged the Bishop of London to give it up, and proposed that the Prince of Wales, then just coming to this country, 88 American Antiquarian Society. should take it across the Atlantic and present it to the peo- ple of Massachusetts. The Attorne_y-General, Sir Fitzroy Kelley, approved the plan, and said it would be an exceptional act of grace, a most interesting action, and that he heartil}^ wished the success of the application. But the Bisho}) refused. Again, in 18()1), John Lothrop Motle}^ then minister to England, avIio had a great and deserved influence there, repeated the proposition, at the suofgestion of that most accom})lislied scholar, Justin Winsor. But his api)eal had the same fate. The Bishop gave no encouragement, and said, as had lieen said nine years l^efore, that the property could not he alienated with- out an act of Parliament. Mr. Winsor })lamied to repeat the attempt on his visit to England in 1877. When he was at Fulham the Bisho}) was absent, and he was obliged to go home without seeing him in })erson. In 1881, at the time of the death of President Garfield, Benjamin Scott, Chamberlain of London, })roposed again in the neAvspapers that the restitution should be made. But nothing came of it. December 21, 1895, I delivered an address at Plymouth, on the occasion of the two hundred and seventy-fifth anni- versary of the landing of the Pilgrims upon the rock. In preparing for that duty, I read again, with renewed enthu- siasm and delight, the no])le and touching story, as told by Governor Bradford. I felt that this precious history of the Pilgrims ought to be in no other custody than that of their chiklren. But the case seemed ho})eless. I found myself compelled by a serious physical infirmity to take a vacation, and to get a rest from pul)lic cares and duties, which was impossi])le while I stayed at home. When I went abroad I determined to visit the locality, on the borders of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, from whicli Brad- ford and Brewster and Ro])inson, the three leaders of the Pilgrims, came, and where their first church was formed, and the places in Amsterdam and Leyden where the emi- Return of tlie Manuscript. 89 grants spent thirteen 3'ears. But I longed esi)ecially to see the niannserii)t of Bradford at Fulham, which then seemed to me, as it now seems to me, the most i)recious manuscri})t on earth, unless we could recover one of the four gosi)els as it came in the l)eginning from the pen of the Evangelist. The desire to net it ])ack irrew and o-rew during the voyage across the Atlantic. I did not know how such a l)roposition Avould be received in England. A few days after I landed I made a call u})on flohn Morley. I asked him whether he thought the thing could l)e done. He in(|uired carefully into the stor}^ took down from his shelf the excellent though ])rief life of Bradford in Leslie Stephen's "Biographical Dictionary," and told me he thought the l)ook ought to come back to us, and that he should l)e glad to do anything in his i)ower to help. It was my fortune, a week or two after, to sit next to Mr. Ba3'ard at a dinner given to Mr. Collins by the American consuls in Great Britain. I took occasion to tell him the story, and he gave me the assurance, which he has since so abundantly and successfully fulfilled, of his })owerful aid. I was com})elled, by the health of one of the party with whom I was travelling, to go to the continent almost innnediately, and Avas disappointed in the hope of an early- return to England. So the matter was dela3"ed until a1)out a week liefore I sailed for home, when I went to Fulham, in the hope at least of seeing the manuscript. I had supposed that it was a ([uasi-public lil^rarj^ o})en to general visitors. But I found the Bishop was absent. I asked for the librarian, but there was no such officer, and I was told ver}^ politely that the library was not oi)en to the puljlic, and was treated in all res})ects as that of a private gentleman. So I gave up any hope of doing au}^- thing in })erson. But I hap})ened the Friday l^efore I sailed for home to dine Avith an English friend Avho had been exceedingly kind to me. As he took leave of me, 90 American Antiquarian Society. about eleven o'clock in the evening, he asked me if there was anything more he could do for me. I said, "No, unless you ha})pen to know the Lord Bishop of London. I should like to get a sight at the manuscript of Bradford's history l)efore I go home." He said, "I do not know the Bishop myself, but Mr. Grenfell, at whose house 3^ou spent a few days in the early summer, is the Bishop's nephew b}^ marriage, and will gladly give you an intro- duction to his uncle. He is in Scotland. But I Avill write to him l)efore I go to bed." Sunday morning brought me a cordial letter from Mr. Grenfell, introducing me to the Bishoj). I wrote a note to his lordship, saying I should be glad to have an oppor- tunity to see Bradford's history ; that I was to sail for the United States the next Wednesday, but would ])e pleased to call at Fulham Tuesda}^ if that were agreeable to him. I got a note in reply, in which he said if I Avould call on Tuesday he would he happy to show me " The Log of the Mayflower," which is the title the English, without the slightest reason in the world, give the manuscrii)t. I kept the api)ointment, and found the Bishop with the l)ook in his hand. He received me with great courtesy, showed me the })alace, and said that that spot had l)een occupied b}^ a Bishop's })alace for more than a thousand years. After looking at the volume and reading the records on the flyleaf, I said : " My lord, I am going to say some- thing Avhicli you may think rather audacious. I think this book ought to go back to Massachusetts. Nobody knows how it got over here. Some })eo})le think it was carried off by Governor Hutchinson, the Tory governor ; other peo})le think it was carried off by British soldiers when Boston was evacuated ; but in either case the property would not have changed. Or, if you treat it as a l)ooty, in which last case, I su[)pose, l)y the law of nations ordi- nary property does change, no civilized nation in modern FULH AM PALAOE.S.W. Heturn of the Manuscript. 9 1 times applies that principle to the })ro})erty of libraries and institutions of learniuir." "Well," said the Bishop, "I did not know you cared anything al)()ut it." "Why," said I, "if there were in existence in England a history of King Alfred's reign for thirty years, written hy his own hand, it would not be more precious in the eyes of Englishmen than this manuscri})t is to us." "Well," said he, "I think myself it ought to go back, and if it dei)ended on me it would have gone back before this. But the Americans who have l)een here — many of them have l)een commercial peo})le — did not seem to care much aljout it except as a curiosity. I suppose I ought not to give it u}) on my own authority. It belongs to me in my official capacity, and not as private or })ersonaI })ro})erty. 1 think I ought to consult the Arch))isho}) of Canterbury. And, indeed," he added, "I think I ought to speak to the Queen al)Out it. We should not do such a thing behind Her Majesty's l)ack." I said : " Verj^ well. When I go home 1 will have a proi)er ajiplication made from some of our litei'ary socie- ties, and ask you to give it consideration." I saw Mr. Bayard again, and told him the story. He was at the train when I left London for the steamer at Southampton. He entered with great interest into the matter, and told me again he would gladly do anything in his })()wer to forward it. When I got home I communicated with Secretary Olney al)out it, who took a kindly interest in the matter, and wrote to Mr. Bajard that the administration desired he should do everything in his power to promote the applica- tion. The matter was then brought to the attention of the Council of the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachu- setts Historical Society, the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth and the New England Society of New York. These bodies appointed committees to unite in the a})})lication. Gov- 92 American Antiquarian Society. ernor Wolcott was also consulted, who gave his hearty approbation to the movement, and a letter was dispatched through Mr. Bayard. Meantime Bishop Tem})le, with whom I had my conver- sation, had himself become Archl)ish()}) of Canterbury, and in that capacity Primate of all England. His suc- cessor, Kev. Dr. Creighton, had been the delegate of John Harvard's College to the great celebration at Harvard Uni- versity in 1886, on the two hundred and fiftieth anniver- sary of its foundation. He had received the degree of doctor of laAvs from the universit)% had l)e:en a guest of President Eliot, and had received President Eliot as his guest in England. He is an accomplished historical scholar, and very friendly in sentiment to the peoi)le of the United States. So, l)y great good fortune, the two eminent ecclesiastical })ersonages who were to have a powerful influence in the matter were likely to be exceedingly well disj)osed. Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, the famous mathematician, Avas api)oiuted one of the committee of the American Antiqua- rian Society. He died suddenly, just after a letter to the Bislio]) of London was prepared and about to be sent to him for signing. He took a very zealous interest in the matter. The letter formally asked for the return of the manuscript, and was signed by the following-named gentle- men : George F. Hoar, Ste})lien Salisbury, Edward Everett Hale, Samuel A. Green, for the American Anti(]uarian Society ; Charles Francis Adams, William Lawrence, Charles W. Eliot, for the Massachusetts Historical Society ; Arthur Lord, William M. Evarts, William T. Davis, for the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth ; Charles C. Beanian, Joseph H. Choate, J. Pierpont Morgan, for the Ncav England Society of New York ; Roger Wolcott, Governor of Massachusetts. The rarest good fortune seems to have attended every step in this transaction. r>z& THE RIGHT HONORABLE AND MOST REVEREND FREDERICK TEMPLE, D.D., Archbishop of Canterbury. ,t. Return of the Manuscript. 93 I was fortunate in having formed the frienclshi}) of Mr. Grenfell, which secured to me so cordial a reception from the Bishop of London. It was fortunate that the Bisho}) of London was Dr. Temple, an eminent scholar, kindly disi)osed toward the people of the United States, and a man thoroughly capable of understanding and respecting the deep and holy senti- ment which a compliance with our desire was to gratify. It was fortunate, too, that Bishop Temple, who thought he must have the approbation of the Archl)ishop before his action, wiien the time came had himself become Arch- bishop of Canter1)ury and Primate of all England. It was fortunate that Dr. Creighton h d succeeded to the see of London. He is, hims f, as I have just said, an eminent historical scholar. 1^. has many friends in America. He was the delegate of Emmanuel, John Har- vard's College, at the great Harvard celebration in 188(3. He received the degree of doctor of laws at Harvard and is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the American Anti(iuarian Society. He had, as I have said, entertained President Eliot as his guest in England. It was fortunate, too, that the application came in a time of cordial good- will between the two countries, when the desire of John Adams and the longing of George HI. have their ample and complete fulfilment. This token of the good-will of England reached Boston on the eve of the l)irthday of the illustrious sovereign, who is not more venerated and beloved Iw her own subjects than 1)}' the kindred people across the sea. It comes to us at the time of the rejoicing of the Eng- lish people at the sixtieth anniversary of a reign more crowded with l)enefit to humanity than any other known in the annals of the race. Upon the power of England, the sceptre, the trident, the lion, the army and the fleet, the monster ships of war, the all-shattering guns, the American people are strong enough now to look with an 94 American Antiquarian Society. entire indifference. We encounter her commerce and her manufactures in the spirit of a generous emulation. The inheritance from which Eng-land has learned these things is ours also. We, too, arc of the Saxon strain. lu our halls is hung Armoury of the invincible knights of old. Our temple covers a continent, and its porches are upon both the seas. Our fathers knew the secret to la}', in Christian liberty and law, the foundations of empire. Our young men are not ashamed, if need l)e, to speak with the enemy in the gate. But to the illustrious lady, type of gentlest womanhood, model of mother and wife and friend, who came at eigh- teen to the throne of George IV. and William ; of purer eyes than to l)chold inicjuity ; the maiden presence 1)efore which everything unholy shrank ; the sovereign who, dur- ing her long reign, "ever knew the people that she ruled" ; tlie royal nature that disdained to strike at her kingdom's rival in the hour of our sorest need ; the heart which even in the bosom of a (]ueen l)eat with sympathy for the cause of constitutional libert}' ; who, herself not unac(iuaintcd with grief, laid on the coffin of our dead Garfield the wreath fragrant with a sister's sympathy, — to her our repu])lican manhood does not disdain to bend. The eagle, lord of land and sea, Will stoop to pay her fealty. But I am afraid this a})})lication might have had the fate of its predecessors but for our special good fortune in the fact that Mr. Bayard was our Amliassador at the Court of St. James. He had l)een, as I said in the ])eginning, the ambassador not so much of the diplomacy as of the good- will of the American peoi)le. Before his powerful influ- ence every obstacle gave way. It was almost impossible for Englishmen to refuse a request like this, made by him, and in which his own sympathies were so profoundly enlisted. Return of the Manuscrii^t. 95 You are entitled, sir, to the oratitude of Massachusetts, to the gratitude of eveiy lover of Massachusetts and of every lover of the countiy. You have succeeded whei'c so many others have failed, and where so many others would have l)een likely to fail. You may be sure that our debt to you is fully understood and will not be forgotten. The question of the permanent abiding-place of this manuscript will l)e settled after it has reached the hands of His Excellency. Wherever it shall go it will be an ol)ject of reverent care. I do not think niau}^ Americans will gaze upon it without a little trembling of the lips and a little gathering of mist in the eyes, as they think of the story of suffering, of sorrow, of peril, of exile, of death and of lofty triumph which that book tells, — which the hand of the m-eat leader and founder of America has traced on those pages. There is nothing like it in human annals since the story of Bethlehem. These Englishmen and Englishwomen going out from their homes in beautiful Lincoln and York, wife separating from hus])and and mother from child in that hurried embarkation for Holland, pursued to the beach by English horsemen ; the thirteen years of exile ; the life at Amsterdam " in alley foul and lane obscure " ; the dwelling at Ley den ; the embarkation at Delfthaven ; the farewell of Robinson ; the terrible voyage across the Atlantic ; the compact in the harl)or ; the landing on the rock ; the dreadful first winter ; the death roll of more than half the number ; the days of suffering and of famine ; the wakeful night, listening for the yell of wild beast and the war-whoop of the savage ; the building of the State on those sure foundations which no wave or tempest has ever shaken; the breaking of the new light; the dawning of the new day ; the beginning of the new life ; tlie enjoy- ment of peace with liberty, — of all these things this is the original record by the hand of our beloved father and founder. Massachusetts will preserve it until the time 96 American Antiquarian Society, shall come that her children are unworthy of it ; and that time shall come, — never. ADDRESS OF AMBASSADOR BAYARD. Your Excellency, Gentlemen of the two Houses of THE Legislature of Massachusetts, Ladies and Gen- tlemen, Felloa\'-Countrymen : The honoral)le and most oTatilying dut}' with which I am charged is about to receive its final act of execution, for I have the l)ook here, and here I produce it as it was placed in im^ hands by the Lord Bishop of London on April 29, intact then and now ; and I am about to deliver it according to the provisions of the decree of the Chancellor of London, which has been read in your })resence, and the receipt signed by me and registered in his court that I would obe}' the provisions of that decree. I have kept my trust ; I have kept the book as I received it ; I shall deliver it into the hands of the representative of the people who are entitled to its custody. And now, gentlemen, it would 1)e superfluous for me to dwell u})on the historical features of this remarkable occasion, for it has been done, as we all knew it would l)e done, with ability, learning, eloquence and impressive- ness, by the distinguished Senator who represents you so well in the Congress of the United States. For all that related to myself, and for every gracious word of recognition and commendation that fell from his lips in relation to the part that I have taken in the act of restoration, I am profoundly grateful. It is an additional reward, but not the reward which induced my action. To have served your State, to have been instrumental in such an act of this, was of itself a high privilege to me. The Bradford Manuscript was in the liltrar}^ of Fulham palace, and if, l)y lawful means, I could have become pos- sessed of the volume, and could have brought it here and quietly deposited it, I should have gone to my home with Return of the Manuscript. 97 the great satisfaction of knowing that I had performed an act of justice, an act of right between two countries. Therefore the praise, however gratefid, is additional, and I am ver}^ thankful for it. It may not be inappropriate or unpleasing to yow should I state in a ver}' simple manner the history of my relation to the return of this l)ook, for it all has occurred within the last twelve months. I knew of the existence of this manuscript ; I had seen the reproduction in facsimile. I knew that attempts had been made unsuccessfully to ol)tain the original liook. At that time Senator Hoar made a short visit to Enff- land, and in passing through London I Avas informed hy him of the great interest that he, in common with the people of this State, had in the restoration of this manu- script to the custody of the State. We discussed the methods by which it might be ac- complished, and after two or three mutually concurrent suggestions he returned to the United States, and present]}^ I received, under cover from the Secretary of State, — a distinguished citizen of your own State, Mr. Olne}', — a formal note, suggesting rather than instructing that in an informal manner I should endeavor to have carried out the wishes of the various societies who had addressed them- selves to the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in order to obtain the return of this manu- script. It necessarily had to be done informally. The strict regulations of the office I then occupied forbade my corres- pondence with any member of the British government except through the foreign office, unless it were informal. An old saying describes the entire case, that "Where there 's a will there 's a way." There certainlj^ was the will to get the book, and there certainly was also a will and a way to give the book, and that way was discovered hy the legal custodians of the book itself. 98 American Antiquarian Society. At first there were sugge.stion.s of some difficulty, some technical questions ; and fohowhio; a rule, and a very safe rule, the first thoug-ht was. What is the law? and the case was submitted to the law officers of the Crown, Then there became the necessity of an act of permission. There was to be entertained no question as to the title to the manuscript in the possession of the British government. There was no authority to grant a claim, founded on adverse title, and the question arose for a form of law of a permissive rather than of a mandatory nature, in order for it to be authoritative with those who had charge of the document. But, as I said, when there was a will there was found a way. Bv personal correspondence, by personal interviews with the Bishop of London, I soon discovered that he was as anxious to find the Av^ay as I was that he should find it. In the month of last March it was finally agreed that I should employ legal counsel to present formal petition and proceeding in the Episcopal Consistorial Court of London, and there l)efore the Chancellor to lay the strong desire of Massachusetts and her people for the return of the record of her early Governor. Accordingly, the petition was prepared, and by ni}^ authority signed as for me hy an eminent member of the liar, and that petition was also signed l)y the Bishop of London, so that there was a complete consensus. The decree was ordered as it is published in the London "Times " on March 25 last, and nothing after that remained but formalities, in which, as you are well aware, the Eng- lish law is not lacking, especially in the ecclesiastical tri- bunals. These formalities were carried out during my absence from London on a short visit, and the decree which you have heard read was duly entered on A})ril 12 last, consigning the document to my personal custody, to be delivered by me in this city to the high official therein Return of the MavKMcr^pt. 99 named, subject to those conditions which you have also heard. Accordinglj^ on the 29th of April I was summf)ned to the court, and there, having signed the receipt, this decree was read in my presence. There the Bishop of London arose, and, taking the book in his hands, delivered it with a few gracious words into my custod}^ and here it is to-day. The records of those proceedings will no doubt be pre- served here as accompanying this book, as they are of the Episcopal Consistorial Court in London, and the}' tell the entire stor3\ But that is l)ut part. The thing that I wish to impress upon you, and upon my fellow-countrymen throughout the United States, is that this is an act of courtesy and friend- ship by another government — the go^'ernnlent of what we once called our " mother country " — to the entire people of the LTnited States. You cannot limit it to the Governor of the Common- wealth ; you cannot limit it to the Legislature ; you cannot limit it to the citizens of this Commonwealth. It extends in its courtes}^ in its kindness and comity to the entire people of the United States. From first to last there was the ready response of courtesy and kindness to the request for the restoration of this manuscript record. I may say to yon that there has l)een nothing that I have sought more earnestly than to place the affairs of these two great nations in the atmosphere of mutual confidence and respect and good-will. If it be a sin to long for the honor of one's countrj^ , for the safety and strength of one's country, then I have been a great sinner, for I have striven to advance the honor and the safety and the Avelfare of my countr}^, and believed it Avas best accomplished ])y treating all with justice and courtesy, and doing those things to others Avhich we Avould ask to have done to ourselves. When the Chancellor pronounced his decree in March last, he cited certain precedents to justify him in restoring 100 American Antiqimrian Society. this volume to where it ])elongs. One precedent which powerfully controlled his decision, and which in the closing portion of his judgment he emphasizes, was an act of gen- erous lil)erality upon the part of the Library Company of Philadeli)hia in voluntarily returning to the British gov- ernment some volumes of original manuscript of the period of James the First which l)y some means not very clearly explained had found their way among the books of that institution. Those ])ooks were received l)y a very distinguished man. Lord Romilly, Master of the Rolls, who took occasion to speak of the liberality and kindness which dictated the action of the Philadelphia library. Gentlemen, I am one of those who believe that a generous and kindly act is never unwise between individuals or nations. The return of this book to you is an echo to the kindly act of your countrymen in the city of Philadelphia in 1866. It is that ; not, as Mr. Hoar has said, any influence or special effort of mine ; but it is the desire to enlist inter- national good feeling and comity which l)rought about to you the pleasure and the joy of having this manuscript returned, and so it will ever l)e. A generous act will beget a generous act ; trust and confidence will beget trust and confidence ; and so it will be while the Avorld shall last, and well will it be for the man or for the people who shall recognize this truth and act upon it. Now, gentlemen, there is another coincidence that I may venture to point out. It is history repeating itself. More than three hundred years ago the ancestors from whom my father drew his name and l)lood were French Protestants, who were compelled to flee from the religious persecutions of that da}^, and for the sake of conscience to find an asylum in Holland. Fifty years after they had fled and found safety in Holland, the little congregation of Inde- pendents from the English village of Scrooby, under the pastorate of John Robinson, were forced to fly, and with Return of the Ma7iuscript . 101 difficulty found their way into the same country of the Netherlands, seeking an asylum for their consciences' sake. Time passed on. The little English colony removed, as the history in this manuscript of William Bradford Avill tell you, across the Atlantic, and soon after the Huguenot family from whom I drcAv my name found their first settle- ment in what was then the New Netherlands, now New York. Both came from the same cause ; both came with the same object, the same })urpose, — "soul freedom," as Roger Williams well called it. Both came to found homes where they could worship God according to their own conscience and live as free men. They came to these shores, and they have found the asylum, and they have strengthened it, and it is what we see today, — a country of absolute religious and civil freedom, — of e(|ual rights and toleration. And is it not fitting that I, who have in my veins the blood of the Huguenots, should present to 3'ou and your Governor the log of the English emigrants, Avho left their country for the sake of religious freedom? They are blended here, — their names, their interests. No man asks and no man has a right to ask or have ascer- tained l)y any method authorized hy law what is the con- scientious religious tenet or o})inion of any man, of any citizen, as a prerequisite for holding an office of trust or power in the United States. I think it well on this occasion to make, as I am sure you are making, acknowledgment to that heroic little coun- tr}^ the Lowlands as they call it, the Netherlands, — the country without one single feature of military defence except the l)rave hearts of the men avIio live in it and defend it. Holland Avas the anvil u}X)n which religious and civil liberty was beaten out in Eiu'ope at a time when the clang was scarcely heard anywhere else. We can never forget our .historical debt to that countrj^ and to those people. 102 American Antiquarian Society. Puritan, Independent, Huguenot, whoever he ma}^ be, fleeing or forced to flee for con.science's sake, will not for- get that in the Netherlands there Avas found in his time of need the as)dum Avhere conscience, })ropert>^ and person might l)e secure. And now my task is done. I am deeply grateful for the part that I have l)een enabled to take in this act of just and natiu'al restitution. In Massachusetts or out of Massachu- setts there is no one more willing than I to assist this work ; and here, sir [addressing Governor Wolcott], I fulfil my trust in presenting to 3^ou the manuscri})t. To you, as the honored re})resentative of the peo})le of this Commonwealth, I conmiit this book, in })ursuance of my ol)ligations, gladly undertaken under the decree of the Episcopal Consistorial Court of London. ADDRESS OF G0VERN(3R WOLCOTT. On receiving the volume, Governor Wolcott, addressing Mr. Bayard, spoke as follows : I thank you, sir, for the diligent and faithful manner in which you have executed the honorable trust imposed u})on you by the decree of the Consistorial and E])iscopal Court in London, a cop}' of which you have now placed in my hands. It was fitting that one of your high distinction should be selected to perform so dignified an office. The gracious act of international courtesy which is now com})leted Avill not fail of grateful ai)preciation by the people of this Commonwealth and of the Nation. It is lion oral )h' alike to those who hesitated not to })r€^ier the recpicst and to those whose generous lil)erality has })ronipted comi)liance with it. It may be that the stor}^ of the de- parture of this precious Avork from our shores may never in its ever}^ detail Ije revealed ; but the stor}^ of its return will be read of all men, and Avill Ijecome a part of the Return of the Manuscript. 103 history of the Coiiiiiionwealth. There are })hice8 and objects so intimately associated with the workl's greatest men or with miohty deeds that the soul of him who o;azes upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it listens to the voice that speaks from the })ast, in words like those which came from the burning bush, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the })lace whereon thou standest is holy ground." On the slo})ing hillside of Plymouth, that ])athes its feet in the waters of the Atlantic, such a voice is breathed hy the brooding genius of the place, and the ear must 1)e dull that fails to catch the whispered words. For here not alone did godly men and women suffer greatly for a great cause, but their noble purpose was not doomed to defeat, but was carried to i)erfect victory. They estaldished what they planned. Their feeble i)lantation l)ecame the Ijirth- l)lace of religious liberty, the cradle of a free Common- wealth. To them a mighty nation owns its debt. Nay, they have made the civilized world their debtor. In the varied tapestry which pictures our national life, the richest si)ots are those where gleam the golden threads of con- science, courage and faith, set in the wel) hy that little band. May God in his mercy grant that the moral impulse which founded this nation may never cease to control its destiny ; that no act of any future generation may i)ut in peril the fundamental principles on which it is based, — of e(|ual rights in a free state, etjual privileges in a free church and ecjual oi)})ortunities in a free school. In this precious volume Avhich I hold in my hands — the gift of England to the Coumion wealth of ^Massachusetts — is told the n()l)le, sini})le story of the Plymouth Plantation. In the midst of suffering aiul ])rivati()n and anxiety the pious hand of William Bradford here set doAvn in ample detail the historj^ of the enterprise from its inception to the 3^ear 1647. From him we may learn "that all great and honoural)le actions are accompanied with great difficulties, 104 American Ayitiquarian Society. and must be both enterprised and overcome with answer- able courages." The sadness and pathos Avhich some might read into the narrative are to me lost in victory. The triumph of a noble cause even at a great i)rice is theme for rejoicing and not for sorrow. And the story here told is one of triumph- ant achievement, and not of defeat. As the official representative of the Commonwealth, 1 receive it, sir, at your hands. I pledge the faith of the Commonwealth that for all time it shall be guarded in accordance with the terms of the decree under which it is delivered into her possession as one of her chiefest treasures. I express the thanks of the Commonwealth for the priceless gift. And I venture the proi)hecy that for countless years to come and to untold thousands these mute pages shall elociuentl}' speak of high resolve, gi*eat suffering and heroic endurance made possible b}^ an al)so- lute faith in the over-ruling providence of Almighty God. PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE. JOURNAL OF THE SENATE. Monday, May 24, 1897. The following message from His Excellency the Gov- ernor came uj) from the House, to wit : — Boston, May 22, 1897. To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives. I have the honcn- to call to your attention the fact that Wednesday, May 2(), at 11 a. m., has l)een fixed as the date of the formal })rescntation to the Governor of the (\)nnnon wealth of the Bradford Manuscript History, re- cently ordered by decree of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of London to be returned to the Ccmnnonwealth of Massachusetts l)y the hands of the Honoral)le Thomas F. Bayard, lately Aml)assador at the Court of St, James ; and to suiiuest for the favorable consideration of your Iletuvn of the Manusa'ipt. 105 honora])le Ixxlies that the exercises of presentation be hekl in the House of Representatives on the da}^ and hour aljove given, in the presence of a joint convention of the two bodies and of invited guests and the public. ROGER WOLCOTT. Thereupon, on motion of Mr. Roe, — Ordered, That, in accordance with the suggestion of His Excellency the Governor, a joint convention of the two l)ranches be held in the chamljer of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, May the twenty-sixth, at eleven o'clock a. m., for the purpose of witnessing the exercises of the formal presentation, to the Governor of the Commonwealth, of the Bradford Manuscript Historj^, recently ordered by decree of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of London to be returned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the hands of the Honoral)le Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador at the Court of St. James ; and further Oi'dered, That the clerks of the two Ijranches give notice to His Excellency the Governor of the adoption of this order. Sent down for concurrence. (It was concurred with on the same day.) JOURNAL OF THE SENATE. Wednesday, May 26, 1897. Joint Convention. At eleven o'clock a. m., pursuant to assignment, the two branches met in Convention in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. On motion of Mr. Roe, — Ordered, That a committee, to consist of three meml)ers of the Senate and eight members of the House of Repre- sentatives, be appointed, to wait upon His Excellency the 8 106 American Antiquarian Society. Governor and inform him that the two branches are now in convention for the purpose of witnessing the exercises of the formal presentation, to the Governor of the Com- mon Avealth, of the Bradford Manuscript History. Messrs. Roe, Woodward and Gallivan, of the Senate, and Messrs. Pierce of Milton, Bailey of Phauouth, Brown of Gk)ucester, Fairbank of Warren, Bailey of Newljury, Sanderson of Ljam, Whittlesey of Pittsfield and Bartlett of Boston, of the House, were the committee. Mr. Koe, from the committee, afterwards reported that they had attended to the duty assigned them, and that His Excellency the Governor had been pleased to sa}^ that he received the message and should l)e pleased to wait upon the Convention forthwith for the purpose named. His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor and the Honorable Coun- cil, and hy the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador of the United States at the Court of St. eTames's, the Honorable George F. Hoar, Senator from Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States, and other invited guests, entered the chamber. The decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London, authorizing the return of the manuscript and its delivery to the Governor, was read. The President then presented the Honorable George F. Hoar, Avho gave an account of the manuscript and of the many efforts that had been made to secure its return. Tlie Honorable Thomas F. Bayard was then introduced l)y the President, and he formallj^ presented the manuscript to His Excellency the Governor, who accepted it in behalf of the Commonwealth. On motion of Mr. Bradford, the following order was ado})ted : — Whereas, In the presence of the Senate and of the House of Representatives in joint convention assembled, and in accordance Avith a decree of the Consistorial and Ei)isco})al Court of London, the manuscri})t of Bradford's "History of the Plimouth Plantation " has this day been delivered to Return of the Manuscript. 107 His Excellency the Governor of the Commonwealth l)y the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador of the United States at the Court of St. James ; and Whereas, His Excellency the Governor has accepted the said manuscript in behalf of the Commonwealth ; therefore, be it Ordered, That the Senate and the House of Representa- tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts place on record their high appreciation of the generous and gracious courtesy that promi)ted this act of international good-will, and express their grateful thanks to all concerned therein, and especially to the Lord Bishop of London, for the return to the Commonwealth of this precious relic ; and be it further Ordered, That His Excellency the Governor be requested to transmit an engrossed and duly authenticated copy of this order with its preamble to the Lord Bishop of London. His Excellency, accompanied by the other dignitaries, then withdrew, the Convention was dissolved, and the Senate returned to its chamber. Subsequently a resolve was passed (approved June 10, 1897) providing for the publication of the history from the original manuscript, together with a report of the pro- ceedings of the joint convention, such report to be pre- pared by a committee consisting of one member of the Senate and two members of the House of Representatives, and to include, so far as practicable, portraits of His Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott, William Bradford, the Honoral)le George F. Hoar, the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Bishop of London ; facsimiles of the pages from the manuscript history, and a picture of the book itself ; copies of the decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London, the receipt of the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard for the manuscript, and the receipt sent by His Excellency the Governor to the Consistorial and Episcopal Court ; an account of the legislative action taken with reference to the presentation and reception of the manuscript ; the addresses 108 American Antiquarian Society. of the Honorable George F. Hoar, the Honorable Thomas F. Ba3^ard and His Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott ; and such other papers and illustrations as the committee might deem advisable ; the whole to be printed under the direction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the book distributed by him according to directions contained in the resolve. Senator Alfred S. Roe of Worcester and Representatives Francis C. Lowell of Boston and Walter L. Bouve of Hingham were appointed as the committee. r EFe'07