(D)

COMMUNICATION

FROM THE STATE LIBRARIAN RELATIVE TO THE EXPENSES OF THE STATE PRISON.

[REFERRED TO ON PAGE 63 OF THE JOURNAL.]

STATE LIBRARY,

October 23, 1846.

HON. LEONARD SARGEANT,

President of the Senate:

In accordance with a resolution passed October 22, 1846, by the Hon. Senate, directing the "Librarian **** from an examination of the journals of the General Assembly" to make a Report "of the amount of the appropriations made by the Legislature for the maintenance of the State Prison since its first erection ;-also the expense of erecting said Prison," I would make the following Report:

That the expense of erecting and completing said Prison, as appears by the report of the Committee appointed to settle with the Commissioners for locating and building the same, was $39,312,78.

That the annual drafts upon the Treasury" for the maintenance of the State Prison" have been as follows:

(E)

MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR,

RELATIVE TO THE COLLECTING OF PAPERS AND DOC-
UMENTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE EARLY HISTORY
OF VERMONT.

[REFERRED TO ON PAGE 80 OF THE JOURNAL.]

To the Senate:

I herewith transmit to the Senate for the use of the General Assembly a communication from Messrs. Wiley and Putnam, addressed to the Secretary of State for this State; also, a communication from the Secretary of State pertaining to the subject matter of Messrs. Wiley and Putnam's letter.

I also transmit a communication from Henry Stevens, Esq., relative to the collecting of papers and documents illustrative of the early history of this State.

In 1841 Mr. Stevens was appointed a Commissioner to investigate a supposed claim of this State upon the Government of the United States, for expenses incurred in the Revolutionary War; and in the prosecution of his inquiries he discovered numerous papers connected with our early history, as appears from reports made by him to the General Assembly in 1842, 1843, and 1845. The communication herewith transmitted refers to various papers which he has thus discovered, and which he thinks it important to obtain, in order more fully to illustrate the history of "The Grants." To defray the expense of procuring them, he deems an appropriation desirable.

Mr. Stevens also wishes to have the account drawn up by him for expenses incurred by this State in the Revolutionary War, and the documents pertaining to the part the State took in this war, again referred to a Commissioner for further examination.

Mr. S. has caused the Surveyor General's papers which were in his possession to be properly bound, and asks that an appropriation be made for the purpose of recovering the remainder of these papers, and for completing an Index to them.

He also proposes to deposit in the State Library a portion of his Historical collection, upon terms which he thinks will be satisfactory.

The propriety of taking steps to procure from abroad such copies of documents as might be thought desirable in relation to the New Hampshire Grants; also, of causing the files in the State department, at least

up to the time of the admission of the State into the Union, to be arranged and bound; and also of adopting measures to supply the deficiencies in our early records, laws and journals-is submitted to the consideration of the General Assembly.

In regard to this subject, generally, it might be remarked, that no State in the Union is richer than Vermont in the materials of its early history-abounding as that history does, in soul-stirring incidents, in acts of prudent and sagacious management, and in deeds of stern and manly daring. And it would be alike a reproach to ourselves, and a wrong to coming generations, to suffer anything that is really and substantially valuable of those materials to be lost. And the time for rescuing whatever of them we could not lose without regret, is now rapidly passing away.

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
October 28, 1846.

}

HORACE EATON.

HENRY STEVENS'S REPORT.

To His Excellency the Governor of the State of Vermont :

Having been appointed by His Excellency Charles Paine, a Commissioner to investigate the facts, and ascertain whether this State has a just claim upon the Government of the United States for expenses incurred during the Revolutionary War, my first Report was made October, 1842; my second, October, 1843. These Reports, with such doc. uments as I had then collected, were referred to a Committee, appointed by his then Excellency, agreeably to a Joint Resolution of both Houses, and their Report by your predecessor transmitted to the General Assembly, October, 1844; I again reported to your predecessor, October, 1845. Permit me to call the attention of your Excellency to the said several Reports and the several Messages transmiting the same to both Houses.

The Joint Resolutions of both Houses making appropriations for completing the Book of Rolls and the collection of documents in our sister States, binding up documents in the Treasury department as to Revolutionary expenditures on the part of this State, and the binding up of the manuscript papers belonging to the Surveyor General's department, "under the direction of the Governor," has not been accomplished. Your predecessor has not, to my knowledge, given any directions as to the accomplishment of so desirable an object. I have, however, arranged the files in the Treasurer's department for the purpose of being bound, but not receiving any instruction, the work has not been completed; so also with the Book of Rolls.

The Surveyor General's papers in my possession, without any instructions from his Excellency, I have arranged and caused to be bound into nine volumes, in a substantial manner. These volumes embrace the Correspondence, Resolutions of the General Assembly, Plans of Towns, Maps of the State, Town Lines, as well as the original Field Books of the Surveyor General and his Deputies. Also, many original

Charters of Towns in this State under New Hampshire. The large parchment Charters under New York, which I have recovered, could not be conveniently bound into these volumes. I therefore propose to

deposite such New York Charters of Towns as I have in my possession, in the State Department as a curiosity. Also a large Map taken from Col. Baum's Military Chest, August 16th, 1777, with its original case. Also a map of New Hampshire, including the New Hampshire Grants, published in London, A. D. 1761.. The sum appropriated to arrange and bind the Surveyor General's papers is only ten dollars. This sum is insufficient; a further appropriation is necessary to complete an Index to said nine volumes. At an early period, the General Assembly appointed a Commissioner to record all the doings of the Surveyor General and his Deputies in one volume, and directed the Supreme Court to audit the Commissioner's account. This was done, but the volume was never returned to the State Department as required by law. I am not able to recover this volume without authority.

I have also arranged and bound into one volume the Debentures of the General Assembly and Council from March 12th, A. D. 1778 to 1800, including the various orders drawn on the Treasurer for the contingent expenses of each session of the General Assembly. In these manuscript documents we have not only the names of each member of the Assembly and Council at each and every session, but also the Autograph of each member and officer of both Houses, receipting their several debentures. For this service I ask a small appropriation in order to complete an index.

I again earnestly recommend the arranging and binding into suitable volumes, all the manuscript files and documents in the State Department up to the time that this State was admitted into the Federal Union, with proper indexes to each volume.

Permit me again to report the deficiency in our books of records in the State Department. No record was made of the laws passed at the three first sessions of the General Assembly, March, June, and October, A. D. 1778. Individuals were furnished with certified copies by the Secretary, and these individuals living in different sections of the State were required to furnish Town Clerks, Civil and Military Officers with a copy of the several laws. Many of these manuscript laws I have recovered. Blank pages are left in our first volumes of the journals of the House and Council with the certificate of the then Secretary, assigning the reason why those pages were left blank. These deficiencies, in a measure, have been recovered.

Again, at the commencement of my researches, the State Department and Library were deficient of printed pamphlet journals of the Assembly, of which we have record in the State Department. Long have the Secretaries of State received their stated salaries, yet they, since A. D. 1815, have neglected to record the journals of the House of Representatives. At the present time the State Department and Library are deficient of the journals and pamphlet laws of about twenty-six sessions of our General Assembly.

Agreeable to the joint resolution of both Houses requesting me to deposit with the State Librarian one copy of the Pamphlet Laws and Journals of the General Assembly of which the Library is deficient, I shall be able to deposit with the Librarian one copy of the Pamphlet Laws of each session commencing February, A. D. 1779, including the first Re