| Sumario: | Thus Dr. William Smith, in a eulogium pronounced before it on the decease of its illustrious first president, Franklin, says, in speaking of the original Junto, that "after having existed forty years, and having contributed to the formation of some very great men, besides Franklin himself, this Society became at last the foundation of the American Philosophical Society." From the 22d of October 1762, until the 25th of April 1776, an interval of three and a half years, no minutes of the Junto are known to exist; yet it is certain that meetings must have been held, for when the minutes are resumed we find that six new members had been added; and besides, during the two first of these years, Dr. Franklin was in Philadelphia, and it must therefore have been to this time that Charles Thomson refers when he says, in his letter to Franklin of Nov. 1762, "From some conversation I had with you, some few of us exerted ourselves to revive it (the Junto) again, new members were elected, and our meetings became more regular." There was indeed a great effort made, on the suggestion of the president, Dr. Franklin, to promote the culture of silk, by encour- aging the growth of mulberry trees, and establishing a public filature at Philadelphia. Of these subordinate companies, a brief paragraph in Franklin's Life is the only remaining record. The candidates were, Dr. Franklin, president of the American Society, and identified with the popular party in politics, and ex-governor Hamilton, president of the Philosophical Society, and a leader of the proprietary party.
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