THE FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY in the City of Brooklyn was held in the Directors' at the Academy of Music on Wednesday evening, December 5th, 1894. In the absence of the President and both of the Vice-Presidents, Mr. John Winslow was elected President pro tem., and called the meeting to order. The minutes of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting, held December 6th, 1893, were read and approved. On motion, the following gentlemen were elected members of the Society: Rev. J. Brewster, 219 High street; Rev. C. B. Brewster, 53 Remsen street, proposed by Mr. A. A. Low; Mr. James Hamblet, 20 Sidney place, proposed by Mr. W. H. Ingersoll. The report of the Treasurer was read and referred to the Committee on Finance for audit. It showed a balance on hand of $24,063.47, deposited as follows: Franklin Trust Company (4% certificate).. Total .$22,000 00 1,307 77 755 70 .$24,063 47 The Annual Report of the President was read by the Secretary. THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT. To the Members of the New England Society in the City of Brooklyn. Gentlemen:- Pursuant to Article 6 of the ByLaws, I make the following Annual Report: There has been no material change in the membership of the Society during the past year. The Treasurer's report shows a still further increase in our funds. The last Annual Dinner and the Spring Festival were both occasions which were fully up to our standard of excellence. And we have joined with the Brooklyn Institute and the Historical Society in sharing the expense of a course of lectures upon the lives of the founders of New England, which are to be free to our members, and which I trust many of them will attend, being assured that they will find their knowledge of the history and men of New England largely increased thereby. The plan of hiring rooms for the Society, to be kept open for the use of our members, has been the subject of much consideration during the year. If there were to be, as has been suggested, some building in which all the various Societies of our city might be accommodated, our Society would almost, of course, establish in it a permanent headquarters. But there is no immediate prospect of such a building. And, independent of such a building, the prospect involves an expense whose wisdom as yet would be doubtful. Moreover, the increased impetus of the plan of consolidating the cities of New York and Brooklyn has brought some new considerations into the matter. We are the New England Society in the City of Brooklyn. What effect will be produced upon the Society by the cessation of the existence of the city of Brooklyn? For myself, I do not think that it should produce any serious effect upon this Society, unless it may be that we shall possibly think it wise to change our name. We may, perhaps, become The New England Society in Long Island, for even if legislation should speedily destroy the municipal existence of the city of Brooklyn, I fancy that it will be a long time before the East River will be filled up, or Long Island cease to exist as an island, which with eminent fitness might furnish us a name as well as a "local habitation." Aside from the change of our name, it seems to me that unless the incorporation of Brooklyn as a suburb of New York shall have a deteriorating effect upon the character of our population (which only time will show), the influences which led to the formation of our Society will be powerful to maintain its existence and its prosperous growth. |