The report of the committee about Harvard Coledge: presented to the Generall Court held the 3 of (3) month, 1654

Two folio-sized leaves with a handwritten draft of the May 3, 1654 report of a General Court Committee authorized to investigate the financial state of Harvard College. The report responds directly to eight questions raised in the September 10, 1653 Order of the General Court that established the Committee. The report provides summaries of Harvard's income sources and disbursements, offers recommendations regarding the President's salary and the allowances for the academic Fellows, steward, butler, and cook, and indicates specific contributions from local towns.

The item is transcribed and published in Morison, Samuel. Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century. Part II, pp. 570-573, and is preceded by a transcription of the Order of the General Court, September 10, 1653 (pp. 569-570).

Title transcribed from document. This collection was originally cataloged as part of the Chronological miscellany collection.

In its early decades, Harvard College relied on government grants (including the General Court's allocation of the Charlestown Ferry rents), contributions from local towns, and private donations to support the College. The inconsistency of these income sources created financial problems for the College in the 1650s. Presumably in response to a request by President Henry Dunster for additional funding, the General Court adopted an Order on September 10, 1653 that authorized a Committee to "examine the state of the Colledge in all respects...since the president undertook the worke." The Committee was comprised of "Mr Increase Nowell, Captain Daniell Gookin, Captain Jno Leueret, Captain Edward Johnson, and Mr Edward Jackson." In December 1653, Dunster responded to the investigation with a Memorandum that summarized his work as President (since being appointed in 1640) and asked the Court to "inform mee faithfully if you see or suspect any injury don by mee to any person or society in reference to the case in hand." The Report of the Committee, presented on May 3, 1654, communicated no criticism of Dunster's administration, and instead identified income sources, allocated specific funds, and established policies.

Related documents in the Harvard University Archives include the Memorandum of Henry Dunster, 1653 December (UAI 15.850 Box 1, Folder 16), and Propositions Concerning the Colledg business, ca. May 3, 1654 (UAI 15.120 Corporation Papers 1st Series Supplements). Corporation Papers.