Brodhead remained for several years in the condition in which they had been deposited in the Secretary's office, aflfording light and

aid to historical inquirers, not only of this but of other States. The " Paris Documents"

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xlii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. "were found to be of special interest to the literary investigators of Canada and the northwestern States, while many of the papers procured in England contained new and important facts illustrating the general history of the Union. The " Holland

Documents" related more particularly to the local annals of New -York, while it was the Dutch Pro^-ince of New Netherland. Nevertheless, there were many pajjers found

in that series which had an important bearing upon points of great interest to the neighboring Colonies, and which explained some uncertain passages, especially in the history of New England, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. The documents procured in Holland and France, however, were in the Dutch and French languages the law of 1839 having required the Agent to obtain "if possible the originals, and if

not copies," of papers -- and proper translations were necessary in order to render them

generally useful.

In the meantime the new State Hall at Albany had been completed, and the records of the Secretary of State, together with those of the other State officers, had been

removed thither. A better opportunity was thus affi)rded to ascertain the character and extent of the historical archives which had remained so long in great disorder, and almost inaccessible. Measures were afterwards taken by Mr. Secretary Morgan to have these old papers properly arranged and bound ; and more than two hundred large folio volumes of original documents were accordingly prepared and placed in a condition for easy reference. For the first time, the State archives were thus reduced to comparative order, and a necessary work was accomplished, the want of which had caused many of