Henry Schenck Harris, John Clarke Sims, William P. Barber, F. Wolcott Jackson, William W. Ballard, Paul A. Hendry, John L. Caldwalder.
W. S. Stryker, F. W. Jackson, F. D. Howell, J. C. Sims, H. S. Harris, W. T. B. S. Imlay.
J. L. Cadwalader, F. W. Jackson, T. M. Cheesman, F. L. Humphreys, J. W. S. Campbell.
The Standing Committee recommend the adoption of the report of the committee on By-Laws.
The By Laws were adopted as follows:
BY LAWS
Meetings.
Section I. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the 4th day of July. Such other stated meetings may be held as shall be ordered by the Society. To the banquets given at any stated meeting four (4) guests may be invited by the Committee of arrangements and three (3) by the President, these seven (7) guests to include the speakers, and to dine at the expense of the Society. Extraordinary or special meetings may be called by the President, or in the event of his death, absence or inability to act, by the Vice President, and shall also be called upon the written request of ten (10) members of the Society. No business shall be transacted at extraordinary or special meetings, except such as shall be mentioned in the call therefore.
Quorum.
Sec. II. Twelve (12) hereditary members shall constitute a quorum.
Order of Business.
Sec. III. The order of business at the annual meeting shall be:
Officers.
Sec. IV. The officers of the Society shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, a Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer and a Chaplain, who shall be elected by ballot, at the annual meeting, to serve for one year or until their successors are chosen, and shall be members of the Standing Committee provided for in Section IX. The official headquarters of the Society shall be in the State of New Jersey and the President, the Secretary (when the Secretary now in office shall cease to serve) and the Treasurer shall be residents of the State of New Jersey.
Delegates to the General Society.
Sec. V. At each annual meeting five (5) delegates and five (5) alternates shall be elected by ballot, to represent the Society at such meetings of the General Society, as may be held during the ensuing year.
Presiding Officer.
Sec. VI. The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall preside at all meetings of the Society, and such meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order. In the event of the absence of the President and Vice-President the meeting shall elect a chairman.
The President shall be ex-officio a member of all committees.
Duties of the Secretary.
Sec. VII. The Secretary shall have the custody of the seal, books and papers of the Society, and shall record the minutes of all meetings in a book to be kept for that purpose; he shall record the dates of the death of members, the names of their successors, with the dates of their admission, the various National, State or Society offices held by them, and such other memoranda of their histories as he may be able to obtain.
Duties of the Treasurer.
Sec. VIII. The Treasurer shall receive and have charge of all monies (except the permanent fund provided for in Section X) belonging to the Society, whether interest on the permanent fund or from other sources; he shall deposit all monies received in such New Jersey bank or trust company allowing interest on the daily balance to its credit, as may be designated by the Standing Committee; he shall pay only such bills as shall have first been approved in writing by the President, and shall pay the same only by check countersigned by the President. The Treasurer shall keep regular accounts and present them before the annual meeting and at other times if required to the Standing Committee for audit.
Standing Committee.
Sec. IX. There shall be a Standing Committee, which shall be elected annually and shall be composed of seven (7) members of the Society and the general officers named in Section IV, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the general affairs of the Society, and of such special matters as may be referred to it, or which may be of special interest to the Society; to examine all claims and authorize the payment of such as are proved to be just; to recommend to the Society such donations to the families of deceased members as investigation may show to be necessary and proper, and to fill vacancies for unexpired terms of all officers, becoming vacant by death, resignation or other reason. It shall have power to invest, call in and reinvest any of the monies belonging to the Society, and shall audit the accounts of the Treasurer before each annual meeting. It shall elect a chairman who shall preside at its meetings. The Secretary of the Society shall be the Secretary of the Standing Committee.
Depository for Securities.
Sec. X. At each annual meeting of the Society a Trust Company shall be selected as a depository for Securities owned by the Society. Such Trust Company under the instructions and subject to the orders of the Standing Committee shall have the care of the securities of the Society, which shall be registered in the name of the Standing Committee as Trustees for the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey ; and at the meeting of the Standing Committe immediately preceding the annual meeting of the Society, three (3) members of the said committee, one of whom shall be the President, shall be appointed to represent the Standing Committee for the year following in its business with said Trust Company, and the Secretary of the Society shall under the seal of the Society notify the said Trust Company of the appointment of such Executive Committee.
Term of Office.
Sec. XI. All officers, delegates, alternates and members of committees shall continue in their respective authorities until others are elected or appointed in their stead.
Investments.
Sec. XII. All investments shall be in the Securities of the United States or of the State of New Jersey, or as specially authorized by the Standing Committee.
Debates.
Sec. XIII. The members of the Society shall be bound in honor to keep secret any matter offered in debate or any individual opinion expressed relating to the admission of members.
Honorary Members.
Sec. XIV. Honorary members or those applying under the provisions of Rule II must be proposed at the annual meeting previous to that at which they are to be ballotted for. All elections shall be by ballot and five (5) negative votes shall be considered as a rejection of any candidate.
Honorary members shall be entitled to all the privileges of regular members, except those of holding office and of voting. They shall have no interest in the funds of the Society and no right of succession shall attach to their membership. If any Honorary Member shall refuse or neglect to attend two (2) successive annual meetings of the Society, and no satisfactory reason shall be assigned for the same, such refusal or neglect shall be construed to be ipso facto a resignation of his membership, and the Society may thereupon proceed to declare his membership to have ceased. A copy of this by-law shall be sent to each Honorary Member.
Relief.
Sec. XV. All applications for relief or allowance from the £*ate Society shall be made in writing and addressed to the Standing Committee ; an^l such application must show that the party so applying or applied for is in necessitous circumstances and worthy of relief.
Committee of Arrangements.
Sec. XVI. At each annual meeting the Society shall elect a committee of three (3) members, whose duty it shall be to select the place of the next meeting and to attend to the necessary arrangements.
Sec. XVII. No by-law or rule shall be altered or repealed, unless such proposed change or repeal shall have been proposed at the previous annual meeting, and be agreed to by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.
Customs of the Society.
Sec. XVIII. The ancient customs of the Society shall remain unimpaired.
Sec. XIX. All by-laws inconsistent herewith, heretofore adopted, are hereby repealed.
RULES.
I. Where there are male descendants of an original member in the male line, the right of membership belongs to the eldest male heir of the eldest male line, but where the male line is extinct, the Society may determine which of the female line shall have the representation ; and when there are no lineal descendants of an original member, a descendant of a brother or sister of the original member may succeed to the representation. Upon the death of a member, the right of succession shall descend to his eldest heir in the male line, and if the person upon whom devolves the succession, being of full age shall fail to apply for his membership within two (2) years, he shall be notified by the Secretary at his last known place of residence (a copy of this rule accompanying such notification), and if within a year thereafter he declines or omits to make said application, the right of succession may, at the option of the Society, be offered to his next male heir; and if he declines or omits to avail himself of the offer within a year the Society may determine which, if any, of the other descendants of the original member shall succeed to the representation ; provided, however, if the next male heir of the person regularly entitled to the succession be a minor, the eligibility to membership being vested in him, such membership shall remain in abeyance until such disability shall cease.
II. The lineal descendants of officers of the army or navy of the Revolution, whose records are unsullied, who did not join the Society at its institution, and who are unrepresented in the Society, may be admitted to membership in this State Society, but such representation shall be upon the following conditions:
Each applicant shall furnish satisfactory evidence of his good character and moral worth and shall pay into the Treasury of the Society the sum of five hundred dollars ($500).
III. Any person claiming membership shall make written application to the Standing Committee stating clearly his claim. The Committee shall examine the same, and after receiving such proof as it thinks proper in its support, shall report to the Society, its opinion in writing. The Society reserves to itself the right to reject or pass over any application where it is deemed best for its interest to do so.
IV. No elections for members shall be held except at the annual meetings.
V. None but males of full age shall be admitted to membership. The eligibility to membership in succession devolving upon a minor, shall be deemed vested in such minor, and such membership shall remain in abeyance until the disability cease or be terminated as provided for in Rule I.
The Standing Committee recommend that in the matter of the application of Thaddeus Kosciusko Chutkowski for membership in the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey as the representative of Brevet Brigadier General Thaddeus Kosciusko. Your Committee has examined the before mentioned application and find that the relationship of the applicant to General Kosciusko is not satisfactorily shown by any testimony submitted for the consideration of your Committee, but in view of the important testimonials to the high character of the applicant presented with his application we advise that no action be now taken.
That Ulric Dahlgren be admitted to Hereditary Membership as the representative of Surgeon William Messenger Barnett; Dr. Persifor Frazer as the representative of Major John Hollinshead; that the application of Mr. Alfred Lawton be made a special order for the adjourned meeting to be held February 22, 1899; and that the application of Mr. T. K. Chutkowski be laid on the table.
The Standing Committee would respectfully report that they have caused the Trustees’ report to be examined and audited, and find that the amount of all monies to the credit of the capital account is
| $24,387.50 | |
| There have been no expenditures, therefore the amount on hand is | 24,387.50 |
| The amount on hand to the credit of income account is | 402.90 |
The Treasurer’s report was referred to the Auditing Committee and found correct. It shows
| The total receipts from all sources to have been | $2,343.19 |
| Total expenditures | 1,319.14 |
| Leaving a balance on hand of | $1,024.05 |
Resolved, that the Treasurer be directed to pay to Miss Elizabeth Barber $50, to John James Piatt and William Bloomfield each $25, if necessity demanded it.
The Society of the Cincinnati, in the State of New Jersey, met on account of the intense heat on the lawn of the Hathaway Inn. In the absence of the Chaplain, prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Allen, of Newark, N. J., a guest of the Society.
The minutes of the adjourned annual meeting, July 4th, 1897, held at Princeton, N. J., Feb. 22, 1898, were read and approved:
Resolved, that all dies of the Society now in possession of any member be returned to the Secretary, who shall refund to the owner whatever he may have paid for the same. Any member desiring official stationary must apply to the Secretary for same:
Resolved, that a piece of colonial furniture now in the building known as Washington’s Headquarters at Rocky Hill, N. J., be purchased by the Society of the Cincinnati, in the State of New Jersey, and be presented to the Washington Headquarters Association, and that a silver plate be placed on the same, designating it as the gift of the Society of the Cincinnati, in the State of New Jersey, to the Washington Headquarters Association, at Rocky Hill, New Jersey. That the expenses are not to exceed fifty dollars, and that Mr. F. D. Howell be appointed a committee to carry out the foregoing resolution.
The Standing Committee would respectfully report the death of Genl. Robert Field Stockton.
The Standing Committee desires to announce the death at Baltimore, Maryland, July 1, 1898, of Assistant Treasurer, General Richard Merideth McSherry, and to express to the Maryland Society its deep regret at the loss of this distinguished member of their Order.
A recess being taken, the members and guests partook of the dinner, after which the Institution of the order was read by the Secretary, and the Declaration of Independence by Mr. Charles H. Woodruff.
Addresses were made by Ex-President Harrison, Governor Voorhees, Rev. Dr. Allen of Newark and General Daniel E. Sickles.
While the Rev. Dr. Allen was speaking, a messenger handed President Harrison a telegram. He immediately arose, interrupted the speaker and, with flushed face and voice showing suppressed emotion, announced the capture of Cervera’s fleet in the harbor of Santiago. For a moment there was silence, then as the full import of the news broke upon the audience, members of the Society and guests of the hotel broke into a round of enthusiastic applause, ladies waved fans and handkerchiefs while the men shook each other’s hands in congratulation. A voice struck up “Hail Columbia” and then “America,” in which all enthusiastically joined.
This closed one of the most eventful meetings of the Society.
W. T. B. S. Imlay, Secretary.