24 THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT

members of our staff who entered the area to select the records to be
transferred. Both of them became nauseated, but fresh air restored
them and the mission was accomplished. Such are the vicissitudes of
the archival profession.

The transfer of the records of the Register of Wills of Prince
George's County was less hazardous, although not without a certain
amount of inconvenience caused by the fact that the Courthouse was
being renovated at the time. The early records of this office had been
transferred previously, but with space at a premium in the Courthouse,
the Register requested that we accept additional material. The cut-off
date mutually agreed upon was 1900. The original records have been
replaced with microfilm copies.

The seemingly endless project of preparing microfilm security
copies of the Land Records of Baltimore City ground out another 154
reels containing 308 volumes. This advanced the years covered from
1941 to 1943 and leaves about six more years to be done.

The highly controversial speech made on April 11, 1968 by
Governor Spiro T. Agnew to a large gathering of Black leaders elicited
a mail response that now fills eight record center cartons (12" x 15"
x 10"). Whatever may be the merits of the speech, it may well be
that future historians will regard the opinions expressed and the
subsequent publicity as significant factors in the decision of presi-
dential candidate Richard M. Nixon to select Governor Agnew as his
running mate. Also of interest are the resignation of Governor Agnew
for the purpose of accepting the office of Vice President, his farewell
address, the resignation of Speaker Marvin Mandel as a member of
the House of Delegates, his acceptance speech as Governor and other
documents relating to the transfer of executive power that occurred
on January 7, 1969.

Practically all of the items added to our collection of church
records during the past year came from congregations in the United
Methodist Church. Although many of these are of fairly recent date,
we are certain that most of them will prove useful in establishing
dates of birth for individuals whose birth was not officially recorded.

We were also permitted to microfilm the records of Gunpowder
Baptist Church in Baltimore County, which date back to 1806. The
only original church records received were those deposited by the
Vestry of Chester Parish in Kent County.