lists of the members of the Law Library; an invitation to gentlemen of the bar, not members, to become such, a notice. that the use of the books hereafter would not be permitted to any but members, and a copy of said list be sent to each member of the bar that is not already a member of the Law Library Company.

Again at the meeting in December, 1810, it was resolved that: "Whereas, It is of considerable importance to the profession to increase the funds of the company so as to enable the directors to procure a large stock of books and to add to the collection from time to time all new works of merit and authority, and it is also just and proper that all the members of the bar should contribute to so desirable an object; therefore, resolved, that the librarian be directed to call upon each member of the bar who is not a member of this company and to request his subscription, and that he be directed to inform those gentlemen that the use of the books by any others than members of the company is expressly prohibited."

Again at a general meeting of the stockholders in March, 1818, it was ordered that none but stockholders be permitted to use the books belonging to the library, and that the librarian be directed to put up a copy of this order in some conspicuous place in all the courts. Ordered further, that the librarian obtain a list of the members of the bar who are not stockholders and request them to become so, and that it shall be the duty of the librarian hereafter upon the admission of any gentleman to the said bar, to make the like request of him. At the same meeting it was also ordered that from the first Monday in December to the first Monday of April, annually, hereafter the librarian shall keep the library open from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m., with fire and, if necessary, candles for the use of the stockholders.

Again at the meeting in March, 1823, it was resolved that the directors be authorized and it is hereby recommended to them to appoint a librarian, who shall receive such compensation as they may fix, and to take such other measures as may prevent the books from being used by any per

sons who are not members. Lawyers, with the freemasonry of the profession, seem to have regarded books as common property and were not always careful as to paying for the right to use them. The practice appears to be incurable, and continued down to my day as librarian. It is hard to deny a book to a member of the bar in the pinch of an argument in the adjoining court room; but, like the sick man urgent for a doctor, when the pinch is over and he is safe again, it seldom seems to occur to him that he owes anything.

In March, 1824, it appears by the treasurer's report that fifty-two new volumes had been added during the year; that a new catalogue had been printed, including 650 volumes, and that the number of shareholders was then 87.

I must now go back a few years. From time to time even before 1802 there had been movements among students and members of the bar looking to closer association, to supplement, if not to improve, legal education and to advance the mutual interests of the bar. In 1784 a small informal debating society of students had sought to revive the moot courts of the Inns of Court and restore them to their prominence in the days of Coke. Again in 1798 another of the same kind. Both were short lived, but finally grew into the Law Academy as their legitimate successor. The law lectures of James Wilson, and later those of Charles Willing Hare and of Joseph Barnes, grew out of the same feeling.

An entry in the minutes of the meeting of March 11, 1810, speaks of the Law Society of which Peter A. Browne was president. As Mr. Browne was admitted in 1803 and lived down to my day it is probable that the Society was composed of young lawyers if not of students. But we have no further knowledge of it or of its existence. The untimely fate of the Society for the Promotion of Legal Knowledge and Forensic Eloquence has already been mentioned. But in 1821, or shortly before, a society was formed which included the principal lawyers of the day. The minutes have not sur

vived and little is known of its early history; but the constitution and by-laws are in print (1821), and the title was The Associated Members of the Bar of Philadelphia Practicing in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (They never did anything for short' then.) The officers were chancellor, vice-chancellor, treasurer, secretary, librarian and two standing committees, one of censors and one of finance. The officers had the usual duties pertaining to their titles. The objects of the society are not set out, but are best indicated in the committee of censors, which was the notable point. The duties of the censors were to bestow special attention upon the practice of the bar and to report to the association every member whose conduct professionally may be deemed reprehensible, together with the circumstances of the case; to suggest to the association all alterations or amendments in the rules of practice adopted in the different courts which they may deem wise and beneficial in order that if approved, they may be authorized to present the same to the proper judge or judges for sanction and enforcement, but generally to aim at maintaining the purity of professional practice, and to prevent unfair intrusion upon professional rights. There was also a relief fund to be established, and the committee of finance was to ascertain and report every case in which pecuniary aid or relief ought to be afforded, together with the mode in which the same might be done with the most efficacy with respect to the object and the least pressure upon the treasury. The experience was against the utility of this fund, and in practical operation it failed. The only instance I find in which it was resorted to was in the case of the family "of our late respected fellow member, John Purdon." At the meeting held in December, 1835, it was resolved "that the interest on the present fund invested in five per cents, being the whole amount over which the association has any power, shall be paid to the order of Mrs. Purdon until the further order of the board, to be applied by her to the education of the children of our late lamented friend and esteemed professional brother, John Purdon."

Finally, in 1846, the fund was ordered to be merged into the library fund, and though a subsequent effort was made some years later, at the instance of the late Judge Peirce, to revive the fund, it was not thought desirable and has not since been heard of.

The by-laws indicated a very active and positive society and contemplated business to be done in a businesslike way. Notice of each stated and special meeting, mentioning the day, hour and place, signed by the secretary, was to be posted in a conspicuous place in the District Court room of this city and county and in the room where the Supreme Court and Court of Nisi Prius or Oyer and Terminer should be sitting, during the whole week next preceding the day appointed for the meeting. Within half an hour at most after the time appointed for holding the meeting they directed that the chancellor shall take the chair and call the members to order; the roll shall be called in alphabetical order and the secretary shall mark the names of the absentees, after which the association shall immediately proceed to business. Every member who shall be absent at roll call shall be fined one dollar, unless he deliver a sufficient excuse, and no excuse shall be received but sickness, absence from the city, some recent domestic calamity or being necessarily engaged on public business. The absentee shall be bound within ten days after the fine shall be incurred, if present and in health, otherwise in the same period of time after his recovery from sickness, to pay the amount of his fine to the treasurer, or deliver to him a declaration in writing of the cause of his absence, which, if sufficient, shall be received in lieu of the fine. The secretary shall immediately, or as soon as possible after each meeting, deliver to the treasurer a list of the absentees and the treasurer shall, every three months, send or deliver a list of the delinquents to the committee of censors, who shall admonish them to comply with the laws of the association, or take such other steps as their prudence shall dictate. And, if their admonition shall be disregarded for three months, the committee shall report their names as wilful delinquents

to the association, that it may take order thereon. No debate shall take place but upon motion duly made, seconded and afterwards stated by the chancellor. When a member speaks he shall stand up, address himself to the chair, and avoid desultory remarks. He shall confine himself strictly to the question or point under consideration. No member, while speaking, shall be interrupted unless by the chancellor or presiding member when he shall think fit to call him to order or admonish him to a close adherence to the question under discussion. When a member speaking is called to order he shall instantly sit down or appeal from the call to the society. No member shall speak more than twice on the same question without leave from the meeting.

The first officers were Jared Ingersoll, chancellor; Horace Binney, vice-chancellor; William Rawle, Peter S. duPonceau, Sampson Levy, Charles Chauncey, John Sergeant, Joseph R. Ingersoll, Thomas Kittera and John M. Scott, committee of censors; George M. Dallas, secretary.

The

The constitution was signed by 67 members, including nearly all the principal members of the bar, and largely the same as the membership of the Law Library Company at the same period. That under these circumstances there should be efforts to unite the two societies is not strange. The wonder rather is that the two had ever been formed. natural tendencies favored union, but there seems to have been a latent antagonism, or more probably a conservative and a progressive party who stood in the way of united action. The Bar Association had the most money; the Library Company the most valuable property. When the union finally took place the Associated Bar had $1525 in United States six per cent loans, and paid in cash to the treasury $155.88, while the Law Library Company had only $55.91. It may interest some of our financiers to learn from the treasurer's report that in 1830 United States five per cents were at three per cent premium. Those past middle life may well remember just before the civil war it was considered a financial feat on the part of the secretary