REMARKS 
 
 In the year 1785 — eighty four years ago — only two years 
 after the evacuation of this city by the British, we have evi- 
 dence in our possession of the existence of our Society. In 
 1702 the original charter was obtained from the legislature. 
 It expired by its own limitation in 1811, and was then re- 
 newed to 1833. Up to that period, the objects of the Society 
 were entirely benevolent, being for the relief of members in 
 sickness, and of their widows and orphans. It appears from 
 the records that the means for these purposes were sufficient- 
 ly provided and applied. In 1S21 the charter was amended 
 to allow of the establishment of a school for the education of 
 children of poor or deceased members, and a library for the 
 use of apprentices. In 1S33 the charter was renewed and 
 amended so as to provide, that one-third of all moneys re- 
 ceived for initiation fees should be kept in a distinct and 
 exclusive fund, for the purpose of disseminating literary and 
 scientific knowledge ; also, that all bequests or donations for 
 this purpose should be kept sacred for it. 
 
 In 1842 the charter was again amended, to allow its then 
 school to be a pay school for those who could afford to pay, 
 and to allow of the establishment of a separate fund for the sup- 
 port of the Apprentices' Library and reading rooms. In 1S5G 
 the charter was again amended and extended to the year 
 1890. This act allows the Society to hold real and personal 
 estate, not exceeding in value, at any one time, the sum of 
 $500,000. Previously w r e had the right to hold only to 
 the value of $200,000 of such property. I would here re- 
 
4 
 
 commend that as our property now probably exceeds $500,000 
 in value, an application be made to the legislature, this winter, 
 to extend our right to hold property to such an amount as 
 the Society may see fit to ask. In 1860 the charter was 
 again amended so as to confirm our titles to our real estate. 
 
 Having thus briefly stated our legislative history, in the 
 belief that the members would not object to having their 
 memories refreshed thereby, I will now venture to go over 
 the historical ground again — this time briefly, as to our real 
 estate. The first meetings of our Society that we have any 
 record of, were held at the public house of Walter Hyer, in 
 November, 1785, in what was then called King-street, now 
 Pine-street. It afterwards met in various places under rent, 
 probably, for seventeen years, until, in 1 802, it purchased the 
 ground which it now owns, at the corner of Robinson-street 
 (now Park Place) and Broadway, of Richard Yarick and 
 others, for the sum of $6,325. This lot is 27.6 by 98.3 
 feet. We have been offered this year, by a responsible party, 
 a rental for it of $20,000 per annum, free of taxes, which 
 would establish its value to-day at about $300,000. In the 
 next year after the purchase of this property, a new hall, 
 called Mechanics' Hall, was erected on it by the Society, at a 
 cost of about $23,000, making the whole cost of ground and 
 building at that time about $29,000. We have now owned 
 this property sixty-seven years. It has always paid good 
 interest on its increasing valuations, and it is probable that 
 it would sell for the large sum that 1 have previously named, 
 although it is estimated in our financial statements at only 
 $200,000.* I believe the Society occupied a portion of it for 
 their own purposes until 1821. In that year we leased from 
 the corporation of the city the ground we now hold in 
 Chambers-street, near Chatham, the lease of which is for 
 sixty years, at a ground rent of $125 a year ; it expires in 
 
 * This property is now leased to the New- York Central Rail-Road Com- 
 pany until May 1st, 1870 ; the tenants paying all taxes and Croton rents, 
 and keeping side-walks in repair. This property was assessed, in 1868, at 
 $150,000. 
 
5 
 
 1 SSI , twelve years hence. These premises have 92 feet front, 
 ami average 33 feet in depth — there are no covenants for 
 renewal. At the time it was leased it was improved by the 
 Society at a cost of $7,000. It was occupied by the Society 
 with its school and library eleven years, and it now rents for 
 $2,000 a year. It is leased at that rate to Mr. John J>. 
 Snook, until May 1, 1S70. Mr. Snook pays all taxes and 
 Croton rents. About a year previous to the leasing of this 
 property, the school and library went into existence. 
 
 In 1S32 the property on Crosby-street, where our present 
 library and school are situated, was bought, (together with 
 some school apparatus valued at §1,000 00,) for the sum of 
 (20,000 00, with the high-school building on it, the same 
 building, with some additions, that we now occupy. It con- 
 sists of four full lots of ground, each 25x100 feet. This pro- 
 perty, thus bought 37 years ago, with our property on Broad- 
 way, since added, is worth not less, perhaps, to-day, than 
 $200,000, although in our financial reports it is estimated at 
 only $100,000. In lSiS we bought for $9,000 00 the lot on 
 Broadway, which is the key to the value of our Crosby- 
 street property ; it is 16 ft. S in. wide by 100 ft. deep. 
 
 I h'nd on the records that our Society, in 1833, estimated 
 itself as worth only $70,000 over its debts. From 1S33 to 
 the present time the Societ} r has not added to its real estate. 
 It has, however, during all this period, improved its opportu- 
 nities to do good with its means. It is a most remarkable 
 example of success, financially to itself, and beneficially to 
 hundieds and hundreds whom it has fed with the bread of 
 the body, and to tens of thousands whom it has fed with food 
 for the brain. During many of these years, especially 
 during the early and middle portions of them, the Society 
 was often in debt, but thanks to the able Finance Committees 
 of the past, and to the liberal it}' and energy of the members, 
 from such embarrassments it alwavs emerged without more 
 than healthy travail and trial. From these facts let us take 
 hope and courage for the future, and believe, as those believed 
 who have gone before, that we have afield before Qfl for expan- 
 sion, corresponding with the records of the past. If it should 
 
6 
 
 be, that our enterprises of the future should outrun some time 
 our receipts, let us have confidence, and trust that the men 
 who succeed those who have done well, can do as well and 
 better. Let us not believe that we are degenerate. I would 
 not be understood, however, as about to advocate or sug- 
 gest improvements which shall be deemed extravagant. We 
 have found that to be a good proverb, which says, " It is 
 wise to make haste slowly." 
 
 Our Society has five committees, each necessary, and having 
 a most important mission. If the full possibility which is 
 open to each committee were realized, it is almost impossible 
 to say which would perform the most important work. It is 
 probably true that the good works of these committees do so 
 all run together, as that neither can do its' full duty without 
 the hearty co-operation of the others. As in the old fable of 
 the rebellion of the works of the clock, it can be easily proven 
 that each part must do its work faithfully, to enable the dial 
 to appear to the credit of all. 
 
 The Pension Committee show by their report, that in their 
 field of operations they are faithful to the beneficiaries, the 
 Society, and themselves ; they are careful in their reports, 
 and the Society always responds with alacrity to their sug- 
 gestions. This committee has little or no direct connection 
 with the business of the other committees, but it always 
 sympathizes with them and recognises their claims. 
 
 The School Committee, while it shows good work done, 
 evidently can do much more. The number of pupils re- 
 ported is large — some 460. The amount expended would 
 seem to be inadequate to properly meet the needs of these. 
 I beg leave to attract the attention of the Society to the need 
 of more means in this field, and to suggest to a future com- 
 mittee the wisdom of having a head preceptor to the school, 
 who should have accountability for his department, as a prin- 
 cipal in other schools has ; also, that better entrances, better 
 apparatus, &c, be provided. I would beg the School Commit- 
 tees of former years not to understand me as criticizing their 
 work unfavorably, for it has been well done ; I only mean to 
 suggest a liberality from the Society, which they have not 
 
aspired to, but which the wisdom of the Society may 
 possibly accord. Would it not be possible to put this 
 school on the basis of the old school — that is, make it 
 so good that pay scholars would seek it and help it — 
 as perhaps pay scholars by day, and both pay and free 
 scholars by night. At present the pupils of the school are 
 not necessarily apprentices, or even readers from our library ; 
 they are not required to present any testimonials of place 
 or character, and are taken from any who apply. The 
 effect of this promiscuous entertainment gives us great num- 
 bers of scholars, and causes our school to become a sort 
 of primary school for the Cooper Institute. The members 
 of the School Committee have been obliged to recognise this 
 as a fact. It certainly ill becomes this General Society of the 
 Mechanics and Tradesmen of the great City of Xew-York, 
 venerable in years, and strong in purse, to occupy so inferior 
 a position. Can we not have a school for apprentices of me- 
 chanics, which it shall be a credit to finish from, instead of 
 to pass through ? Would it not be better for us, at whatever 
 cost, to employ the best talent, and teach such limited num- 
 bers only as we could teach well ? Might we . not, by 
 employing teachers of superior talent, establish such a repu- 
 tation in the special branches which we seek to teach, as 
 would induce a class of pupils to seek our school, who would 
 be willing and able to pay for such advantages amounts 
 which would go so far towards defraying the expenses as to 
 obviate the necessity of much larger appropriations than at 
 present. I would recommend, at all events, that only ap- 
 prentices of mechanics be admitted to our school free, in order 
 that it may be distinguished as a school for mechanics' ap- 
 prentices. I shall revert again to this subject of the school 
 before I have done. 
 
 The Literary and Scientific Committee has, during this 
 present season, given the Society a course of Lectures, which 
 have been highly appreciated, and I am sure that their labors 
 have been cheerfully performed. It has often been suggest- 
 ed that some lectures eachyearto mechanics and their appren- 
 tices, as was the original intent of the Lecture Fund, would 
 
s 
 
 be acceptable to the parties referred to, and to the Society as 
 well. It now, since the establishing of a school for appren- 
 tices, instead of the old school, appears to be a necessity 
 that the Literary and Scientific Committee should assist the 
 School Committee, by furnishing, especially to the pupils 
 of this school, Lectures on Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, 
 Drawing, Arts, Ancient and Modern, Physiology, &c. ; lec- 
 tures, not stilted and beyond comprehension, but familiar and 
 popular, calculated to arrest attention and excite inquiry. 
 To such lectures, would it not be well that every reader in 
 the library, male and female, of proper habits, should re- 
 ceive tickets of admission ? A lecture most desirable to be 
 given to young people would be, in my judgment, on read- 
 ing; how to read, and what to read. 
 
 For several years past the subject of the removal of our 
 library up town has been agitated. Opinions have differed 
 as to locations, and the prudence of our venturing upon this 
 step. The recent action of the Society in leasing the premi- 
 ses on the ground floor of this building for five years, has 
 placed us in almost a necessity for remaining here during the 
 pendency of this lease, for we probably cannot sell this pro- 
 perty during that time, and should we desire to do so, would 
 find it almost impossible to rent the premises we have retained 
 for our school and library at a satisfactory price. These 
 considerations lead to the inquiry as to whether there will 
 ever be more need of our library and school anywhere in 
 this great city, than just here, where it now is. Examinations 
 of our books will show that nine-tenths of our readers and 
 scholars live below 14th-street, and that three-fourths live be- 
 low Houston-street. Is it probable this population in these 
 localities will ever be less ? Is it not probable it will be greater ? 
 If this is true, and if it is true that we are likely to use these 
 premises for years to come, shall we not consider if we are em- 
 ploying them now to the best advantage ? The library floor is 
 well utilized. I think the floor above is not, and that it 
 can be turned to much better account. The school-room over 
 the library is higher in the ceiling than the library. It has 
 two wings, the same as the library. ' The room is 50 feet by 
 
9 
 
 100. It is susceptible of being made to have a Broadway 
 entrance, by means of a stairway, which may lead from the 
 long passage or hall leading to the library. I mean the pas- 
 sage where our pictures hang. I am persuaded that such an 
 entrance can be made to this floor as will be good enough for 
 anybody. The only entrance to this fine floor is now by 
 Crosby-street, a bad street at night for respectable boys to 
 have to pass through, and impracticable for any other audi- 
 ence. I would recommend this subject to the consideration 
 of the Society, and trust they may take action on it at an 
 early day. 
 
 Let me call attention to the fact of the sparseness of our 
 embellishments, both in the school and library, and the 
 profitable nature of such things. Of busts, we have scarcely 
 any, and the pictures on our walls are very few and not very 
 fine. We have all seen the eager attention with which, poor 
 and few as they are, they are regarded by the boys and girls 
 who frequent the library. Last summer I visited in Toronto 
 a Lyceum, where every vacant space in halls and lecture- 
 room was filled with a bust. I had no idea there were so 
 many in the world, and learned then that there was a large 
 field from which to select busts. Is it not the duty of this 
 society of mechanics, if they are able, to honor the great men 
 of their profession by owning and exhibiting the busts of as 
 many of them as they can find appropriate room for£ I mean 
 the busts of such men as Galileo, Sir Isaac Kewton, Sir Chris- 
 topher Wren, James Watt, John Fitch, Robert Fulton, 
 Richard M. Hoe, John Ericsson and their compeers. To look 
 at these images of great men inspires the young and interests 
 the old. On our library floor we have room for many busts 
 and more pictures, and if we should make a Broadway entrance 
 to the present school-room, that room could be garnished with 
 them in such a manner that a dull lecture could be endured 
 there by the interest for the eye which the walls would afford. 
 If the Society should see fit to undertake these embellishments 
 and alterations, I venture to say, our members would visit its 
 rooms more frequently, bringing their friends with them, and 
 taking more pride and interest in our institution than ever. 
 
10 
 
 While it cannot be said that our Society of late years has 
 shown much enterprise, it has shown an enterprising spirit in 
 itsdesires to undertake an up-town location, which, of course, 
 would involve debt, risk and labor. When the Society shall 
 decide upon this movement, it will doubtless be a successful 
 one ; but I have thought that while an up town location might 
 be a successful speculation, and an improvement upon it be 
 something grand and beautiful to look upon, and be conve- 
 nient for the members to visit, that it might be inconvenient 
 to the most of the 7,000 readers we have had on our books 
 in this building ; and I have thought that as to improve our 
 present home to its fullest extent, is not to fix the Society 
 here forever, since it only proposes that we should do our 
 work well in the Held before us, and not speculatively in a fu- 
 ture, which will always be open before us as broadly as now. 
 
 It will be seen from the report of the Finance Committee, 
 that they have estimated the receipts of next year to fall short 
 of the expenditures about $600. In their estimates of receipts, 
 however, they have omitted the premium on gold, which last 
 year was $1,018 47, aud is probably as certain to be received 
 this year ; estimated initiation fees to be $250 less, and 
 omitted usual receipts in library, $1,284 02, which makes a 
 total of $2,552 49 reasonably to be counted on, and would 
 leave a surplus of nearly $2,000, instead of a deficiency as 
 stated in the report. 
 
 Again permit me to review the property of the Society as 
 to its values and conditions. 
 
 The Park Place property is leased to the New-York Central 
 Kail-Koad Company at $12,500 per year ; the lease expires 
 May 1st, 1870. 
 
 The Chambers street property is leased to J. B. Snook, at 
 $2,000 per year ; the lease expires May 1, 1870. Our ground 
 lease expires 1881, twelve years hence. 
 
 The ground floor of our Crosby-street and Broadway 
 property is leased to Messrs. Hackes & Forchheimer, at $8,000 
 a year, for five years from next May ; the lease expires May 
 1st, 1874. We paying all taxes and assessments. 
 
 We have insurances as follows : 
 
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 On Park Place property $20,000 
 
 On Crosby-street and Broadway, . . . 20,000 
 
 On Chambers-street, 5,000 
 
 On Books, &c, in Library, .... 20,000 
 
 On School property, ...... 1,500 
 
 The report of our Finance Committee for the year presents 
 a valuation of our assets, which was made out some years 
 ago, and has not been of late revised or "reconstructed." It 
 thus, perhaps, presents to us a too modest view of our own 
 worth. I venture, therefore, to submit my own estimates, 
 which will be approved or disapproved by the judgments of 
 those who hear me, as to them may seem good, they being 
 only the opinion of an individual, viz. : 
 
 Assets. 
 
 Finance Committee. Individual. 
 
 Real Estate, Park Place, . . $200,000 $300,000 00 
 
 " " Crosby-st. and Broadway, 100,000 150,000 00 
 
 811 Shares, Mechanics' Bank Stock, 20,275 2G,357 50 
 
 U. S. Bunds, . . . . . 43,000 47,300 00 
 
 Furniture, 1,000 1,000 00 
 
 Books in Libraries, . . . 35,000 50,000 00 
 
 Leasehold, 12 Chambers-street, 4,000 12,000 00 
 
 $403,275 $5S6,657 50 
 
 My object in presenting these comparisons of value is not 
 to impugn the sate valuations previously made, but to induce 
 the members of the Society to think of our means in what is 
 probably their truer light. 
 
 Our Society has a noble old age. Let it not be said that 
 it lives in the past or the present only, but that it has a vision 
 of the future ; that it has a living,\aspiring soul, not one only 
 half alive or apathetic. The golden age is before, not behind 
 us ; our past in experience and means and fame is with us 
 still. We have it all to use for the days which are before 
 us. We cannot doubt that the fields are fuller of harvest 
 and promise for this Society than when it was young and 
 weak, and that we shall not mortgage our strength to in- 
 dolence. 
 
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i£x IGtbrts 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 /rT NEW AMSTERDAM jfltiitiA. ( KEW YORK ) , 1651. 
 
 T^foen you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever thing comes t' him who waits 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library