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William H. Parsons ,
William Fahnestock ,
Horace Russell, Counsel.

In the absence of the Secretary, the Chair appointed Gen. Wilson Secretary pro [underlined] tem [underlined].

The minutes of the preceding monthly meeting, held November 18th, were read and approved.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Lanier asking to be excused , and Mr. Gerry stated that Mr. Haven also requested to be excused.

The Secretary read a letter from Counsel in regard to the legal right of the Society to compel the executors of the Estate of Augusta Markely to give bonds for the faithful performance of their trust. Counsel stated that the will of Mrs. Markely, after appointing her husband and William Ramberger executors, contained a clause requesting "that neither of them\be required to give any bonds as such executors, except such bonds as the Orphants' Court is required by law to exact." This provision of the will prevents the surrogate from requiring from the non-resident executor security which it otherwise would be his duty to exact under the general statutes of New Jersey. The other provision of the law of New Jersey provides in effect that the power of the court to order security in such a case is limited to instances where there is proof that the property is unsafe, insecure or in danger of being wasted. The Society has no proof of misconduct on the part of the executor, but Counsel stated that he purposed to send to Freehold and have the records of the Orphants' Court examined to see what the executors have done in the last four or five years in the administration of the estate.

President Haines stated that H. A. Fletcher, the Society's ambulance driver, had been re-admitted to the New York Hospital and that he was slowly recovering from his injury. After some discussion, the following resolution, offered by Mr. Gerry, was duly seconded and adopted :

RESOLVED, That the President be and he hereby is authorized to notify Fletcher on his discharge from the Hospital that the Society had no further use for his services, and to pay him on month's wages in advance.

In the matter of the overhanging cornice on the New Headquarters, Counsel stated that he had prepared an agreement bet-