REPORT. XXxl 
and further details will be announced as soon as possible. All 
offers of the loan of objects of interest for a temporary museum 
will be gratefully accepted. 
The Council felt justified, considering the satisfactory condition 
of the funds, in authorising a decided increase in the size of the 
annual volume. It is hoped that some increase on previous years 
may be permanent, though possibly not to the extent of the 
present one. The society may be congratulated on possessing 
Annual Transactions that do not seem to be equalled by any 
other county societies of a like subscription, whether the number 
and contents of the pages, the style and amount of the illustra- 
tions, or the severely local character of the articles are considered. 
A beginning has this year been made of publishing abstracts of 
some of the more interesting and original county records in that 
great national store house of history, the Public Record Office. 
The value of such absolutely authentic information to the future 
parochial or general historian of the county, and its general 
interest to all readers interested in the past life of Derbyshire, can- 
not be exaggerated. This year the early “Fines,” or Final 
Agreements are-begun. Probably more space will be given in 
future numbers of the Transactions to this feature. 
For the past three years our journal has been edited by Mr. 
W. H. St. John Hope, F.S.A., and your Council wishes to take 
this opportunity of acknowledging the debt of gratitude which our 
society owes to Mr. St. John Hope for his carefully executed 
work. The work of editing requires the expenditure of much 
time and patience, as well as a thorough and complete knowledge 
of detail, and the society is most fortunate in having had the 
advantage of Mr. Hope’s able help. 
This year the Rev. J. Charles Cox, at the request of the 
Council, has resumed the editorship of the journal. He wishes 
to express his regret at the omission or holding back of two or 
three articles and the curtailment of others, owing to exceptional 
pressure of material. 
It is the Editor’s desire, with the concurrence of the Council, 
that the articles and illustrations should be as (1) original and as 
