20 TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT

Additional visitors were: John W. McCleary, Professor of His-
tory, State Teachers College, Towson; Reverend Eric McDermott, S.J.,
Georgetown University, Washington, D. C, historian; Delegate Richard
D. Mackie, Cecil County; Delegate Daniel M. Murray, Jr., Howard
County; John D. R. Platt, historian for the preservation of Independence
Hall, Philadelphia; Ernst Posner, Professor of History and Government,
American University, Washington; Robert W. Ramsey, Professor of
History, Hollins College, Virginia, authority on the Maryland emigrants
to North Carolina; Leonard Rapport, National Historical Publications
Commission, and student of the ratification of the Constitution; Dele-
gate Orlando Ridout IV, Anne Arundel County; Howard Rovelstad,
Director, University of Maryland Libraries, College Park; Reverend
Edwin Schell, President, Methodist Historical Society, Baltimore; Joseph
H. Smith, Editor, Prince George's County Court Records, 1696-1699,
and Professor in the Law School of Columbia University; William T.
Stone, President, Historic Annapolis, Incorporated; Neil Swanson, fea-
ture writer of the Baltimore News-Post. and student of Maryland in
the Civil War; Mollic Thomson, Liaison Officer at New York for the
National Library of Australia; P. V. H. Weems historian of Annapolis;
James H. Whyte, historian of Southern Maryland during the Civil War,
Acxokeck, Maryland: Mrs. Charles W. Williams, member of the Society
for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities and a Trustee of the
Maryland Historical Trust, Baltimore County; Genevieve Zito, student
of legal aspects of the life of Samuel Chase, University of Minnesota.

PUBLICATIONS

In my last Annual Report I expressed to you my pride—perhaps a
little unbecoming pride—in the number and quality of our publications
for fiscal year 1960. I was quick to add (in the same sentence) that
we could not hope to duplicate that performance in the next fiscal year
and this proved to be the case. The odd years seem always to be years
of preparation, the even, bear fruit. What follows then is only a
"progress report" but one full of promise.

TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ARCHIVIST

After a fairly long testing period, the activities of any governmental
agency become fixed, a certain enclave is carved out of the vast area of
government where one moves with knowledge and without fear of
impinging on the duties and prerogatives of others. Since annual reports