nese, etc. Japanese, the war has produced, and in view likewise of the official material that rests in governmental archives, a descriptive guide to it would seem to be a greater desideratum than a bibliography of the extent which this one proposes. Orientalia: Chi- As to the acquisitions of Oriental books, Chinese, Japanese, etc., Mr. Swingle, to whom, as heretofore, the Library is indebted for most zealous, most intelligent, and often arduous exertions in its behalf, has submitted a descriptive statement, which, though somewhat lengthy for insertion at this point in the Report, is so interesting that it is included as Appendix V. Papers of the Presidents Taft papers DIVISION OF MANUSCRIPTS (From the report of the acting chief, Dr. Moore) Dr. Gaillard Hunt, Chief of the Division of Manuscripts, has been absent during the past year, being still occupied with duties at the Department of State. His assistance in bringing to light and obtaining valuable collections has been continuous throughout the year. The Division of Manuscripts has continued to be the working place of writers of American history and the storehouse from which their materials are drawn. President Roosevelt's letters, now being published in Scribner's Magazine, are taken from the collection he placed in the Library, and writers at work on the administrations of two other Presi- · dents have been made welcome to the abundant resources of the Division. During the year the already large collection of the papers of President Taft has been doubled in extent. The handling of this collection illustrates the methods employed. The papers came in some 60 trunks and boxes. There are copies of letters sent; the originals of letters received; reports on special subjects, notably on the pioneer administrative work in the Philippines and on the Panama Canal; photographs of persons, groups, scenes, and occasions; newspaper cartoons, both prints and originals, and other like things. All this mass of material has been gone over carefully. The personal letters and belongings have been taken out and returned to Mr. Taft, the letter books and cases of carbons have been placed on shelves according to dates, and the letters received have been calendared for consultation. The pictures have been labeled and arranged chronologically. The division prefers to have collections sent intact. Only persons accustomed to handling historical papers can discriminate between what are valuable and what are not. Strictly private papers are not wanted and are returned promptly. The Taft papers are not open to consultation at present, nor are the Roosevelt papers; but both collections belong to the Library of Congress and are potentially at the service of historians. They are safe from fire and theft, and they can be used conveniently by persons properly authorized so to do. land papers The Grover Cleveland papers have been added to by the, Grover purchase of 30 letters of President Cleveland to Capt. (afterwards Rear Admiral) Robley D. Evans. The correspondence is of high personal value. papers Cleve Washington and Franklin papers of more than ordinary Washington historical interest have been acquired by purchase. The Washington documents relate to western land holdings. which he acquired through the land-bounty grants by the Dunmore proclamation of 1754 for military services during the French and Indian War. They include the autograph draft, signed, of his letter to Lord Botetourt, December 8, 1769; the petition of December 15, 1769, for, himself and others, on the subject of the land bounties; his expense account, 1769-1774, in managing the land business for himself and the Virginia officers, together with lists of his western. lands, made out in 1794 and 1798; and a folio page of his observations on the navigation of the Potomac River, drawn up in 1754. All of these manuscripts are in Washington's handwriting and have not been published. Rare Franklin letters Historical pa pers in the depart ments The 10 Franklin letters were written to Miss Polly Stevenson, and date from 1760 to 1779. They are autograph drafts and original letters as sent, and they deal with scientific and personal matters. Franklin explains to her the principles and discusses various physical phenomena, such as air currents, fire, water, and tides, and gives friendly advice in matters of a personal nature, where Miss Stevenson appealed to him for assistance. As a small group of Franklin letters, they are rich in sentiment and high in historical value, and it is doubtful if another opportunity to acquire such a collection of Franklin letters will present itself for years. Various miscellaneous letters were obtained at the same sale which go to increase the historical value of our other collections, such as the Richard Henry Lee, Henry Clay, Gideon Granger, Ebenezer Hazard, and James Monroe papers. Several Government departments, notably the Treasury, the War, and the Navy Departments, have transferred to the Library of Congress collections of documents the value of ⚫ which is now entirely historical. Thus the Treasury sent the abstract of balances for military services from 1785 to 1813. The Marine Corps deposited, subject to recall, several hundred pieces of miscellaneous records, from 1799 to 1815, and this material was used by writers on the history of that corps, working in this division of the Library. In all the long-established departments there is certain material primarily of historical value which may be properly transferred to the Library and thus made available to students of American history. Because of changes of administration in the departments, the fact that there is authority of law for such transfers to the Library of Congress has to be called to the attention of officials frequently. On the other hand, it is even more necessary to call the attention of Government officials to the fact that even the head of a department subjects himself to severe penalties by giving Government archives to State societies, even where the interest in such papers appears to be largely local. During the year a historical writer, working on the Jackson epoch, sought for a certain document of high value to the history of that period, only to find that, in violation of law, it had been given by Washington authorities to a State historical society, which extolled the value of the gift and praised the unconscious lawbreakers throughout two newspaper columns. The Library has acquired an original signed letter of A Cortez letter Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico. This letter, six folio pages in length, was purchased by Henry Stevens in London in 1854; it was bound by him in 1872, and resold at auction in London in 1886. ing the Revolution A group of 43 pieces of the papers of Dr. Jonathan Potts, Hospitals durDeputy Director General of Continental Hospitals, was acquired by purchase. They date from 1776 to 1780. He died a year later, at the age of 34. Dr. Potts was surgeon for the Canadian expedition of 1776 and Deputy Director General of the Northern Department Hospital for one year. He was transferred to the Middle Department in 1778. These letters and papers present the condition of the military hospitals during the Revolutionary War, and contain lists of drugs and medicines used at that time. The drafts of Potts's letters to the Medical Committee of the Continental Congress are especially interesting; and a letter of Edward Biddle to Potts, describing the struggle in the Pennsylvania Legislature to defeat Galloway and the Quaker opposition to petitioning the King for redress of grievances in 1774 is noteworthy. The writers of the letters to Potts are Robert Morris, F. A. Muhlenberg, James Craik, Joseph Shippen, and Charles Lee, the Secretary of the Continental Board of Treasury. ican clergymen The Library received from Simon Gratz, Esq., of Phila- Letters of Amerdelphia, two gifts of miscellaneous manuscripts of high auto graphic and substantial historical value. The first group consists of 251 letters from eminent American clergymen of Colonial, Revolutionary, and later times, dating from 1719 to 1873; the second, numbering 167 pieces, of letters from delegates to the Continental Congress, members of Presidential cabinets, and Americans eminent in military, political, or social life. The clergy group, mainly from Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Congregational ministers, deals with ecclesiastical administrative matters. It strengthens the Library's source material for studies in the social history of the country by furnishing data on the influence of the churches upon events. A few of the letter writers are James W. and Joseph Addison Alexander, Robert Baird, John Breckinridge, Charles Coffin, Daniel Dana, Calvin Durfee, Samuel Hopkins, Thomas L. Janeway, William Linn, James McCosh, John M. Mason, John D. Ogilby, Edwards A. Park, Noah Porter, T. DeWitt Talmage, Moses Waddel, John Wheelock, and William Williams. The second group contains papers that form welcome additions to the William Vans Murray, Ebenezer Hazard, Robert Morris, and Revolutionary War collections. A number of letters to and from William Bingham, Continental agent at Martinique and later a delegate to the Continental Congress, give interesting information of the West India trade during the Revolution. Many letters are addressed to Willing & Francis and to Thomas M. Willing, the Philadelphia merchants. A letter from Alexander Baring to Thomas Mifflin in 1810 is interesting for its social and business comment. A copy of Sir Guy Carleton's Canadian proclamation at the outbreak of the Revolution, June 9, 1775, by Capt. Richard B. Lenoult, commandant at Detroit, is among the miscellany; also a letter, unconsciously pathetic, from Comte de Noailles, brother-in-law of Lafayette, to John Nicholson, in 1794, when the Comte de Noailles, a proscribed emigré, was |