the officers of the League transmit to the President and the Secretary of the Navy a copy of the resolutions passed, with such additional communication as their judgment may dictate.

On motion of Mr. Rogers of Buffalo, the meeting then adjourned to 3 P. M.

BUFFALO LIBRARY, Sept. 30, 1891, 3 P. M.

The President took the chair.

The Treasurer's report was read by the Secretary pro tempore and accepted. The report of the Auditing Committee upon the report of Ira Bursley, Treasurer for October, 1890, was read and ordered placed on file.

Mr. Bonaparte then read the report of the Maryland Association referred to in the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee, September 29. On motion of Mr. Bonaparte it was unanimously voted that the report be submitted to the Executive Committee of the League with power to take whatever action it deems proper.

Mr. Wood of Philadelphia offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

"The League pledges itself to urge upon Congress at its coming session, two measures demanding legislative action in the interests of administrative reform;

“First, the repeal of the four years laws as to tenure of office which are the fruitful source of political removals.

Second, the passage of the bill which was before the last Congress providing for the appointment of fourth-class postmasters in a systematic manner."

Mr. Loomis of the Buffalo Association, made some remarks as to the need of constructive work on the part of the League as well as mere resolutions, and offered a resolution which after discussion by Messrs. Rose of Baltimore, Richmond of Buffalo, Wheeler of New York, and Bonaparte of Baltimore, was modi

fied so as to leave the matter in the discretion of the Executive Committee and finally adopted unanimously in the following form:

"Resolved, That the Executive Committee be requested to consider the feasibility of a plan for the re-organization of the postal and revenue service of the nation which shall provide for the selection of all Postmasters above the fourth-class grade, and of collectors of customs and of internal revenue, and the deputies in all offices by promotion exclusively. That if said executive committee consider such a plan feasible that it formulate and report the same to the next annual meeting of the League."

A letter was read from the Hon. Andrew D. White to the Hon. Sherman S. Rogers proposing a scheme for awarding prizes by the League to students in colleges and universities for essays upon "the Spoils System" and "the reform of the Civil Service." Mr. White offered to be one of four persons or of a larger number, to make up the sum of one thousand dollars to furnish the prizes. Mr. Richmond suggested that an extra $250 be added to the $1,000 mentioned, to be given for the best essay on the subject named, the competitor to be a member of a labor organization. It was thought extremely desirable to enlist the interest of those belonging to trades unions in Civil Service Reform. On motion of Mr. Rogers of Buffalo, the whole subject was referred to the Executive Committee, with power to act.

On motion of Mr. Bonaparte of Baltimore, it was voted that the President be authorized to appoint a Committee on Resolutions, of which he should himself be chairman, at some convenient period before the next annual meeting.

Mr. Bonaparte of Baltimore, invited the League to hold its next annual meeting in Baltimore, and Mr. Buell of Rochester tendered a similar invitation in behalf of that city. After some discussion it was voted on motion of Mr. Rogers, of Buffalo, seconded by Mr. Scott of Chicago, that the next annual meeting

be held in Baltimore unless it should seem advisable to the Executive Committee to hold the meeting elsewhere.

On motion of Mr. Rose of Baltimore, seconded by Mr. Peck, of Rochester, a vote of thanks was passed to the Buffalo Association for its courteous hospitality, and to the press of Buffalo for its full reports of the meetings.

On motion of Mr. Wood of Philadelphia, the meeting then. adjourned.

Among those who were in more or less regular attendance during the several sessions were the following:

Boston, Mass.; Moorfield Storey.

Baltimore, Md.; Chas. J. Bonaparte, John C. Rose, R. S. Albert,

Daniel Miller.

Buffalo, N. Y.; Sherman S. Rogers, Henry A. Richmond, Eric L. Hedstrom, John B. Olmsted, Frederic Almy, Frank M. Loomis, Sheldon T. Viele, Walter J. Shepard, John H. Cowing, Joseph N. Larned, F. A. Crandall, Herbert G. Lord, Henry W. Sprague, John R. Warner, Ansley Wilcox, Edward R. Rice, Frank F. Williams and others.

Cambridge, Mass.; W. W. Vaughan.

Chicago, Ill.; Frank H. Scott.

Cincinnati, O.; Charles B. Wilby, Geo. Hoadley, Jr.

Cleveland, O.; William E. Cushing.

Geneva, N. Y.; F. O. Mason.

Indiana.; Lucius B. Swift, Wm. Dudley Foulke.

New York, N. Y.; George William Curtis, Everett P. Wheeler, Edward Cary, Silas W. Burt, Charles Collins, Hamilton B. Tompkins, John H. Magee.

Philadelphia, Pa.; R. Francis Wood, Joseph Parrish.

Rochester, N. Y.; Porter Farley, Wm. F. Peck, Max Landsberg, L. P. Ross, Geo. C. Buell, Jr., Robert Matthews.

SECRET SESSIONS OF THE SENATE.

BY HON. WILLIAM D. FOULKE.

If we were looking for a gauge of the liberality and democratic character of any particular government, we could find a pretty accurate one in the publicity with which its proceedings were conducted. Just in the proportion that open administration takes the place of secret intrigue do we find the institutions of a community free, liberal and beneficent. Secrecy is the cloak of despotism. It is only that which is fair, beautiful and just to all men which can bear the full light of day. It was the robber baron who needed the secret torture-chamber and the oubliette to inspire awe and shroud his villany. It was the tyranny of the Bourbons which made use of the lettres de cachet and the iron mask. It was the usurpation of the Stuarts which needed the Star chamber. It was in Austria, where, applying for admission to a criminal trial, I was told that they were examining the accused and that examinations were not public." It is in Russia that the political offender who questions the beneficence of autocracy is tried by a military commission behind closed doors, or sent to Siberia by secret administrative order.

Wherever freedom prevails, whether in the Athenian Agora, the Swiss Canton, or the American Republic, trials are held in the light of day, the accused may confront his accuser, and the conduct of the rulers is subject to open scrutiny. The world believes that when men seek to cover their official conduct with the irresponsibility of secret proceedings it is because their action will not bear investigation, that they "love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil."