HISTORICAL NOTICE.

THE preliminary meeting which led to the formation of the ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON was held in the Regents' Room of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday evening, February 10, 1879, in response to the following call through the public press:

"WASHINGTON, February 7, 1879.

"Many persons interested in American Archæology have expressed a desire for an organization in this city to promote study and diffuse knowledge upon the subject. All willing to join an Archæological Association are requested to attend a meeting at the Smithsonian Institution on Monday evening, 10th instant, at 71⁄2 o'clock, for a conference upon the subject, and the formation of such a society.

"J. M. TONER, M. D.,

"OTIS T. MASON, Columbian College, "GARRICK MALLERY, U. S. Army."

The following gentlemen responded to this call by attending the preliminary meeting:

Dr. A. Wellington Adams, Mr. S. Yorke At Lee, Prof. S. F. Baird, Mr. Otis Bigelow, Mr. George H. Boehmer, Mr. E. A. Burdick, Mr. Frank H. Cushing, Dr. Wills DeHass, Dr. Robert Fletcher, Mr. G. Brown Goode, Mr. John C. Lang, Col. Garrick Mallery, Prof. Otis T. Mason, Dr. James E. Morgan, Mr. P. W. Norris, Lieut. W. W. Reisinger, Dr. Elmer R. Reynolds, Mr. William J. Rhees, Dr. Miles Rock, Mr. Lenox W. Simpson, Dr. J. E. Snodgrass, Dr. J. M. Toner, Mr. Edwin P. Upham, Mr. Lester F. Ward, and Mr. Joseph M. Wilson.

At that meeting the propriety of such an organization was discussed, as well as the question as to the most appropriate name by which it should be known, and a committee consisting of Dr. J. M.

Toner, Prof. Otis T. Mason, Col. Garrick Mallery, and Dr. Wills De Hass, was appointed to draft a constitution.

The meeting adjourned to reassemble in the same room one week later and consider the report of the committee.

A second preliminary meeting was accordingly held on Monday evening, February 17, and the committee reported a constitution which, after discussion and slight modification, was adopted. The following is the constitution adopted at that meeting:

ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE I.-Name.

The name of this Society shall be "THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON."

ARTICLE II.—Object.

The object of this Society shall be to encourage the study of the Natural History of Man, especially with reference to America, and shall include Archæology, Somatology, Ethnology, and Philology.

ARTICLE III.-Members.

The members of this Society shall be persons who are interested in Anthropology, and shall be divided into three classes: Active, Corresponding, and Honorary. The active members shall be those who reside in Washington, or in its vicinity, and who shall pay the dues required by Article XV; corresponding members shall be those who are engaged in anthropological investigations in other localities; honorary members shall be those who have contributed by authorship or patronage to the advancement of Anthropology. Corresponding or honorary members may become active members by paying the fee required by Article XV.

All members shall be elected by ballot, as follows: The name of the candidate shall be recommended to the council, in writing, by two members. If a majority of the Council favor the election, the name shall be presented to the Society, and a vote of a majority of the active members present at a regular meeting shall be necessary to an election.

No person shall be entitled to the privileges of active membership before signing the constitution.

ARTICLE IV.-Officers.

The officers of this Society shall be a President, four Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Curator, all of whom, together with six other active members, shall constitute a council, all to be elected by ballot at each annual meeting. The officers shall serve one year, or until their successors are elected.

ARTICLE V.-The Council.

No business shall be transacted by the Society, and no communication received or published in the name of the Society, that has not first been referred to the Council, five members of which shall constitute a quorum.

They shall act on all nominations for membership, shall have direction of the finances, audit the accounts of the Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, and Curator, and provide a proper programme for regular and special meetings. They shall meet one hour before the regular sessions of the Society, and at such other times as they may be called together by the President. They may call special meetings of the Society.

ARTICLE VI.-The Sections.

For active operations the Society shall be divided into four sections, as follows: Section A, Archæology; Section B, Somatology; Section C, Ethnology; Section D, Philology. The Vice Presidents of the Society shall be ex officio chairmen of these sections respectively, and shall be designated by the President to their sections after their election. It shall be the duty of these sections to keep the Society informed upon the progress of research in their respective fields, to make special investigations when requested by the Council, to announce interesting discoveries, to collect specimens, manuscripts, publications, newspaper clippings, etc., and in every way to foster their divisions of the work.

All papers presented to the sections shall be referred to the Council, and through it to the Society.

ARTICLE VII.-The President.

The President, or, in his absence, one of the Vice Presidents, shall preside over the meetings of the Society and of the Council, and shall appoint all committees in the Council and in the Society.

ARTICLE VIII.—The Vice Presidents.

The Vice Presidents shall respectively preside over the sections to which they have been designated, and represent such section in the Council and in the Society.

All papers from a section shall be referred to the Council through its vice-president.

ARTICLE IX. The Corresponding Secretary.

It shall be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary to receive and answer all letters of the Society, to give due notice of all meetings, regular and special, to receive all donations to the Society other than money, acknowledge the receipt thereof, and deliver them to the Curator.

ARTICLE X.-The Recording Secretary.

The Recording Secretary shall keep the minutes of the regular and special meetings of the Society, and of the Council, shall keep a list of active, corresponding, and honorary members, with their residences, and shall inspect and count all ballots.

ARTICLE XI.-Duties of the Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall receive and have charge of all moneys; he shall deposit the funds as directed by the Council, and shall not expend any money except as ordered by the Council. He shall notify members in writing when their dues have remained unpaid for six months.

ARTICLE XII.—The Curator.

The Curator shall have charge of all books, pamphlets, photographs, clippings, and other anthropological material not deposited in accordance with Article XVI, in the National Museum, or the Army Medical Museum; he shall keep a record of them in a book provided by the Society; he shall keep a card subject-index of anthropological facts, to which the members are all expected to contribute.