stantly attend to the diligent discharge of the duties enjoined on it:

Section 1. Be it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Counsellors, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth, and the President of Harvard College for the time being, with fifteen ministers of Congregational churches, and fifteen laymen, all inhabitants within the state, to be elected as is herein after mentioned, shall forever hereafter constitute the Board of Overseers of Harvard College; they, or the major part of them, present at any legal meeting, to exercise and enjoy all the rights, powers, and privileges, and to be subject to all the duties of the existing Board of Overseers of Harvard College Provided however, that all the ministers of Congregational churches who are members of that Board shall remain members of the Board of Overseers established by this Act, so long as they shall continue ministers respectively of their Congregational churches, and no longer.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That as soon as conveniently may be, after this Act shall be in force, the present Secretary of the Board of Overseers, or, if that office be vacant, the President, or a major part of the Fellows of Harvard College, shall call a meeting of the Overseers of Harvard College, to be holden at some suitable time and place, for electing fifteen laymen, inhabitants of the State, to be members of the Board of Overseers; the said meeting to be notified by publishing the time and place of holding the same, in each of the public newspapers printed in Boston, ten days at the least before the time of holding the same; and the said elections to be made by ballot, by the major part of the Overseers present: And all persons who then, if this Act had not been in force, would have been members of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, shall have right to meet and vote in the said elections.

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the Board of Overseers, as constituted by this Act, may, at any legal meeting, choose by a majority of votes, a Secretary, when that office shall be vacant, who shall be under oath truly to record all the votes and proceedings of the Board, and faithfully to discharge all the duties of his office; and the said Board may, at any legal meeting, by a majority of votes, determine from time to time, when and in what

manner its meetings shall be held, called and notified; and at any legal meeting of the said Board, the Governor, if present, shall preside; if not, the Lieutenant Governor, if present, shall preside; in their absence, the oldest member of the Council present shall preside; if they also be absent, the President of the Senate shall preside, if present; but in his absence also, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside; and if neither of them be present, the greater part of the Overseers present at such meeting shall choose a President pro tempore, and until one of the officers aforesaid shall be present: Provided nevertheless, that the Secretary of the Overseers shall have power to call a meeting of the said Board, at such times as he shall be thereto requested by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, such meeting to be notified as the said Board shall direct.

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That when any minister of any Congregational church, being a member of the said Board, shall cease to have the ministerial relation he now has, or may have had at the time of his election; or when any member of the elective part of the said Board, shall remove out of the State, the place of such minister or member shall thereupon become vacant. And the said Board may at any legal meeting, by a vote of the greater number present, remove from his place any member of the elective part of the said Board, who shall neglect to attend the meetings thereof, without reasonable excuse, when duly notified, or who by his immoral conduct shall have rendered himself unworthy of holding his place; but before any vote shall pass to remove any member, he shall have reasonable notice, and a fit opportunity to be heard in his defence.

Section 5. Be it further enacted, That for establishing a perpetual succession in the elective part of the said Board, whenever a vacancy shall happen therein, by death, resignation, or otherwise, the Overseers may, at a legal meeting, by a majority of the votes present, fill up such vacancy, by electing therefor some suitaable person, who shall be an inhabitant of the State. Provided however, that no minister of any Congregational church shall be so elected, when there are fifteen ministers of Congregational churches, members of the elective part of the said Board; nor shall any layman be so elected, when there are fifteen laymen members of the elective part of the said Board; but in all cases, when there are fifteen ministers and fifteen laymen members of the elective part of the said Board, there shall not be deemed to be any vacancy therein.

Section 6. Be it further enacted, That this Act shall be in force when the Overseers of Harvard College, as heretofore constituted, and the President and Fellows of Harvard College shall agree to accept the provisions in this Act contained.

In the House of Representatives, March 5, 1810,

This bill, having had three several readings, passed to be enacted,

In Senate, March 6, 1810,

TIMOTHY BIGELOW, Speaker.

This bill, having had two several readings, passed to be enacted,

March 6, 1810,

Approved, C. GORE.

H. G. OTIS, President.

At a meeting of the President and Fellows of Harvard College in Boston, March 16, 1810,

The President, having laid before the President and Fellows of Harvard College an exemplification, under the great seal of the Commonwealth, of a certain Act passed by the General Court at the last session thereof, entitled, "An Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College," in the sixth section of which act, it is enacted as follows: "This Act shall be in force when the Overseers of Harvard College, as heretofore constituted, and the President and Fellows of Harvard College shall agree to accept the provisions in this Act contained;" and the said Act having been read, and the provisions therein duly considered, it is unanimously voted,

That the President and Fellows of Harvard College do agree to accept the provisions in the said Act contained; and it is further voted,

That the President be requested to lay the aforesaid vote before the Honourable and Reverend the Board of Overseers of Harvard College.

Attest,

SAMUEL WEBBER, President.

At a meeting of the Overseers of Harvard College, April 12, 1810, the proceedings of the Corporation and Act of the Legislature above stated being laid before the Board, the Board voted to accept the provisions in said Act contained.

JOHN LATHROP, Secretary.

6. It will be observed, that the Act of 1809, chapter 113, last cited, was not to be in force until the Corporation and Overseers should " agree to accept "the provisions of it; which was accordingly done, as appears by the votes of those two bodies immediately following it. But on the 29th of February, 1812, that Act was repealed by the General Court, without any reservation for the consent of the Overseers and Corporation. The repealing Act is as follows:

An Act to repeal an Aet, entitled, "An Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College," and to regulate certain meetings of that Board.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That an Act made and passed the seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten, entitled, "An Act to alter and amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College," be, and the same is hereby repealed; and the Board of Overseers from and after the passage of this Act shall be constituted in the same way and manner, and be composed of the same persons, and no others, that it would have been, had the same Act never been made or passed.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That there shall be a meeting of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College, as the same will be constituted after the passing of this Act, on the second Wednesday of the first session of the General Court, annually, in the Senate Chamber, at three o'clock in the afternoon, unless othewise ordered by the said Board of Overseers, if the General Court shall remain so long in session; and at such other times and places as the said Board shall order; at which annual meeting it shall be the duty of the Secretary of said Board, at the first meeting thereof, to lay before them the records and proceedings of the Corporation of Harvard College, and of the said Board of Overseers, which have been had since the passing of the Act aforesaid, which is hereby repealed, and in like manner all the proceedings which may have been had by said Corporation and Board of Overseers shall be laid before them, at their next succeeding meeting, to be held agreeably to the provisions of this Act.

This important measure, while in progress, was the subject of much discussion; and the following Historical View of the Constitution of the College, was published by vote of the Corporation;

accompanied with the able memorial addressed to the General Court, which is subjoined to it:

THE foundation of Harvard College was laid by the General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in September, 1636 ; when the "court agreed to give £400 towards a school or college; the next court to appoint where and what building." In the year 1637, the college was ordered to be erected at Newtown, and twelve gentlemen were appointed to take order for that college. In May, 1638, the name of Newtown was changed to Cambridge; and in March, 1638-9, it was ordered that the college to be built at Cambridge be called "Harvard College."

In August, 1640, "at a meeting of the magistrates and elders at Boston, the Rev. Henry Dunster was by them invited to accept the place of president of the college, which he accordingly accepted, and to him," by the same persons, 66 was committed the care and trust of finishing the college buildings and his own lodgings, and the custody of the college stock and such donations as might be added to the increase thereof;" so that in fact President Dunster executed the duties of a treasurer of the college, which duties the year before had been assigned by the General Court to the Rev. Mr. Shepherd. As the election of president Dunster was previous to the establishment of the Board of Overseers, the appointing him to that office and to the discharge of those duties, by the magistrates and elders, seems to have been without any legal authority.

In the constitution of the Board of Overseers, no authority was given to them to appoint a treasurer of the college; but they were empowered to "dispose, order, and manage all gifts, legacies, bequests, revenues, lands, and donations, which had been, or afterwards should be conferred, bestowed, or any way should fall or come to the said college." In the charter of the Corporation, or President and Fellows, express provision is made for a treasurer of the college. But by this Charter no Acts of the Corporation were valid until consented to by the Overseers. The inconveniences resulting to the College from a Corporation with powers thus limited were so great, that the President and Fellows do not appear to have exercised their corporate powers, nor the Treasurer to have entered on his office, until after the Appendix to the College Charter granted in the year 1657. Previous to the granting of this Appendix, President Dunster put into the hands of the Overseers his resignation, which was addressed to the General Court of the