the bill, saying that while he did not claim great credit for some of his official acts, that that was one of which he was particularly proud.

NOTE.-The State Park at Niagara Falls was formally delivered to the people of the State of New York on Wednesday, July 15, 1835. The ceremonies of that day drew thither the largest gathering ever there up to that time, estimated in current newspaper reports at 75,000. There was a parade of some 2,000 troops, includ ing United States regulars and various organizations of the National Guard of the State, many towns being represented; and a detachment of marines from the United States man-of-war Michigan, with bands of music from Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Utica and Cleveland, the latter accompanying the Ohio militia organization known as the Cleveland Grays. The Mexican National band was also present. A salute of 100 guns was fired at sunrise by the 7th Battery, N. G. S. N. Y. The ceremonies attending the transfer of the lands were held at Prospect Park at 12 o'clock noon, Hon. Erastus Brooks being president of the day. The exercises consisted of a prayer by Rt. Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe; the singing of the National Anthem and of "The Star-Spangled Banner by a chorus of 400, drawn from the Orpheus and Schubert societies of Niagara Falls, and the Orpheus, Saengerbund and Liedertafel societies of Buffalo; a presentation address by Hon. William Dorsheimer, president of the Commission; response by Gov. David B. Hill; oration by Hon. James C. Carter of New York; the singing of Keller's "American Hymn," Doxology, benediction and a Federal salute. The Buffalo Historical Society was represented on the occasion by the following committee: William H. H. Newman, president; Hon. James Sheldon, vice-president; Dr. Leon F. Harvey, recording secretary; George G. Barnum, corresponding secretary; Sherman S. Jewett, Hon. E. G. Spaulding, Hon. James O. Putnam, Gerhard Lang, Hon. James M. Smith, William Clement Bryant, Rev. A. T. Chester, D. D., Hon. E. S. Hawley, Gen. John C. Graves, William K. Allen, Thomas B. French, George W. Townsend, J. H. Tilden, Emmor Haines, Otto Besser, Charles B. Germain. Among many other distinguished guests were Lt. Gov. Robinson of the Province of Ontario, Hon. Oliver Mowat, Premier of Ontario, and many other Provincial officials and officers of the Niagara Park Commission for Ontario. Letters were read from President Cleveland, the Governor General of Canada, and Samuel J. Tilden; and a cabled message of congratulation from the Commons Reservation Society of London, Eng. The day ended in a blaze of fireworks glory on both sides of the Niagara.

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF

THE BUFFALO LIBRARY,

PRIOR TO THE FREE LIBRARY MOVEMENT.

BY J. N. LARNED,

Superintendent, 1877-1897.

The Buffalo Library was known during the first 50 years of its life as the Library of the Young Men's Association, or, in common speech, as the Young Men's Library, of Buffalo. An earlier "Buffalo Library"-a little village collection of books, about 700 in number-had been formed in 1816, by a small company of stockholders who held together until 1832. A second library and literary society was organized near the close of 1830, under the name of the Buffalo Lyceum, which seemed vigorous for a time in several directions of activity. but which had no long existence. It was not until the winter of 1836 that a movement with some really lasting energy in it was set on foot, and resulted in the organization of the Young Men's Association of the City of Buffalo. The incidents and circumstances of that movement were investigated carefully by the late Charles D. Norton, when he prepared his historical address, delivered on the occasion of the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Association, in 1861, and he wrote: "If it were necessary to state the names of the men who deserve the title of founders of this association, it could only be said that the general and recognized necessity for such an institution induced a variety

of effort, in which all the young men of the place were more or less engaged. The letters furnished to me, by gentlemen of this city, render it not a little difficult to determine whose is the especial honor, but they indicate the general interest taken in it by our citizens." In the Commercial Advertiser of Feb. 20, 1836, Mr. Norton found the following notice, signed by nearly 400 citizens, "comprising all classes, trades and professions":

Y. M. ASSOCIATION.-The young men of Buffalo friendly to the foundation of a Young Men's Association for mutual improvement in literature and science, are requested to meet at the Court House on Monday, the 22d day of February, at the hour of 7 P. M.

At the meeting which followed this notice, Hon. Hiram Pratt presided, and Richard L. Allen and Isaac W. Skipner were secretaries. A constitution had been previously prepared at the office of Mr. Seth C. Hawley, copied in a great degree from that of the Young Men's Association at Albany, which was submitted to this meeting by Mr. Frederick P. Stevens. After some sharp discussion the constitution was adopted, and an adjournment was had to the 29th of the same month, that the constitution might be examined and subscribed. On the adjourned day Mr..Roswell W. Haskins. presided, Mr. George E. Hayes was secretary, and a committee of seven was appointed to nominate officers; and, with Mr. Henry K. Smith and Mr. Dyre Tillinghast acting as tellers, the persons who had become members elected as president Seth C. Hawley; Dr. Charles Winne, Samuel N. Callender, and George Brown as vice-presidents; Frederick P. Stevens, corresponding secretary; A. G. C. Cochrane, recording secretary, and John R. Lee, treasurer. The managers chosen were Oliver G. Steele, Henry K. Smith, William H. Lacy, Geo. W. Allen, Chas. H. Raymond, Henry R. Williams, George E. Hayes, Halsey R. Wing, Rushmore Poole and Hunting S. Chamberlain.

The Association came into existence at a time when everybody felt rich. It was the year of bubbles in land speculation which preceded the great collapse of 1837. A subscription that ran up to $5,700 in amount was raised with

astonishing ease to give the new library a solid footing. The books of the old Buffalo Library and of the Lyceum were transferred to it, considerable purchases were made under a contract with the Messrs. Butler, and 2,700 volumes in all were collected before the end of the year. The chief feature of the institution, however, was its newspaper reading-room, where six quarterly, 10 monthly and 44 weekly publications were on file, and which boasted of being the completest in any city west of New York.

The financial crash of 1837 swept many imagined fortunes out of existence, and with them a great part of the small endowment which the library was supposed to have secured in the subscriptions alluded to above. Its membership fell away, it was weighted with some debt which it had contracted too hopefully, and for half a dozen years, or more, it struggled doubtfully and hard between life and death. But there was pluck in the young men of those days, and a Spartan band among them stood fast by the Association through all difficulties until the coming of more prosperous times. Not, however, until 1845, under the presidency of Mr. Gibson T. Williams, was it cleared of debt and fairly launched upon its successful career.

The original roonts of the Association were on the upper floors of the building then owned by Mr. Joseph Dart, numbered 175 Main Street, now numbered 219, being three doors below Seneca Street. Mr. B. W. Jenks, a portrait painter, occupied adjoining rooms and became nominally the first librarian by reason of that circumstance, undertaking to overlook the library while pursuing his own work. In reality, the functions of the first librarian were performed by Mr. J. F. Young of Williamsville, then a lad taking lessons in art from Mr. Jenks, and to whom the latter delegated the care of the neighboring books and newspapers. Subsequently, the post was accepted by Dr. Charles H. Raymond, who had been prominent among the founders of the library and foremost in activity of effort to sustain it. The labor that he assumed, said Mr. Norton, speaking in 1861, and the patience he displayed under great discouragements, and the resolution with which he persisted in his unrewarded toil, assign