ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 21

are only accountings of these activities they too become fixed in con-
tent if not necessarily in form. The only area in my report which still
permits some freedom of maneuver is the Letter of Transmittal; and
there, from time to time, I am at liberty to abandon facts and statistics
and to replace them with hopes, reflections and judgments. In the
Twenty-Fifth Annual Report I took advantage of this situation to write
a brief account of the first twenty-five years of the Hall of Records. It
was challenging to me and I hope useful to you. This report appeared
January 24, 1961.

MARYLAND MANUAL, 1961-1962

There is only a short while between the appearance of one Manual
and the start of preparation for the next one. In addition to the compi-
lation of data, we have had in the past to consider changes in form. We
believe that this part of our work is over: the 1961-1962 Manual looks
precisely like its predecessor except of course for color of the binding.
The text has as always been thoroughly revised but the book looks the
same and for the first time it is exactly the same size. This is the first
Manual which has been paid for out of the budget of the Hall of
Records Commission; previously it was a charge of the office of the
Secretary of State. We have also taken over from the Secretary of State
the responsibility for distribution. As an innovation we have printed
extra copies to be made available to the public for $3.50 per paper-
bound copy, $4.50 for clothbound. The Manual will be ready for the
first day of the General Assembly, February 7, 1962.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COURT OF PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY. Liber A.
1696-1699

This project was undertaken first in 1945 jointly with the Little-
ton-Griswold Committee of the American Historical Association. It
has now at long last and after many vicissitudes of fortune come within
striking distance of the end. It is expected that type will be set during
the last months of fiscal year 1962 and that the book will appear in
fiscal year 1963, perhaps in the early fall of 1962. While it has been
discouraging to see one editor follow another through so many years,
we feel that it proved to be worthwhile because the editor who is bring-
ing the book to completion is extraordinarily interested and competent.
When Joseph H. Smith undertook the editorship he was in private prac-
tice; he is presently Professor of Legal History at the Columbia Univer-