President,—William Claflin, of Newton.
Vice-Presidents,—Francis B. Crowninshield, Alexander H. Bullock, Julius Rockwell, Peleg W. Chandler, Oakes Ames, John Gardner, Lee Claflin, Robert W. Hooper, James M. Barnard, Francis B. Fay, Jacob Sleeper, Edward S. Tobey, Stephen H. Phillips, Waldo Higginson, Samuel May, John Nesmith, William J. Rotch, Eliphalet Trask, Martin Brimmer, Henry I. Bowditch, Gerry W. Cochrane, Charles H. Parker, Charles O. Whitmore, John D. Baldwin, John R. Brewer, John M. S. Williams, James P. Thorndike, Samuel Hall, Artemas Lee, Robert B. Storer, Julius A. Palmer, John L. Emmons, William I. Bowditch, Abel G. Farwell, Alvah Crocker, Otis Norcross, John J. May, Phineas E. Gay, Nathan Cushing, Robert C. Pitman, Alexander H. Twombly, Warren Sawyer, James Adams, Moses Kimball, Theodore Otis, Alvah A. Burrage, David Snow, Edwin Lamson, John Demeritt, John M. Forbes, William Washburn, Arba Maynard, Joseph T. Bailey, Osborn Howes, Daniel Farrar, John Chandler, John Q. A. Griffin, Robert E. Apthorp, William Bellamy, Alexander Wadsworth, Edward Buffinton, Nehemiah Boynton, Phineas J. Stone, William B. Spooner, Frederick Nickerson, P. Emory Aldrich, Abijah W. Farrar, William Pope, Charles C. Barry, Timothy W. Hoxie, Avery Plumer, Ephraim Allen, J. Warren Merrill, Peter B. Brigham, George F. Williams, Pliny Nickerson, John A. Nowell, Arthur W. Tufts, Roland Worthington, John Bertram, Frank B. Fay, J. Ingersoll Bowditch, William Endicott, Jr., Edward Atkinson, Nathaniel C. Nash, Franklin Snow, J. Wingate Thornton, Samuel Johnson, Edward A. Raymond, Albert L. Lincoln, Francis E. Parker, Charles O. Rogers, William Fox Richardson, John G. Webster, Leister M. Clark, Chester Guild, Jr., Estes Howe, William Brigham.
Secretaries,—William S. Robinson, Delano A. Goddard, Stephen N. Stockwell, William W. Clapp, Jr., Hamlin R. Harding, H. Burr Crandall, Henry M. Burt, Ebenezer Nelson, George H. Monroe, Stephen N. Gifford.
On taking the chair, Mr. Claflin was received with great applause. He spoke as follows.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,—None of you can be more disappointed at the present time than myself, that I am called upon to occupy this position.
“At the last moment we were informed that his Excellency the Governor[111] was compelled by the duties of his position, and his desire ever to do for the interests of those brave men who have gone forth for our defence, to leave the State, and to leave us to-day in your hands. [Applause.]
“Under these circumstances, and at the last moment, by the desire of the Committee of Arrangements, I consented to occupy this position; but you will, of course, excuse me from making any remarks on this occasion. My heart is in the cause. This is a great era, and this is the time when every man should come up to the work and fight for this nation, doing everything which he can, whether by his purse or his sword, to sustain the Government. [Cheers.]
“Thanking you for the honor you have conferred upon me, I now await any motion which may be made.”
Resolutions sustaining Emancipation were then read by Charles W. Slack, and, amidst cries of “Good!” and great applause, were adopted.
The President then said:—