Excursion on Saturday, August 1\st. 173 



to it and it was carried before the Rector or the Mayoress, as might 

 happen. The last time it was carried before the Mayoress was when 

 the foundation stone of the Corn Exchange was laid in 1857. 



Mr. G. R. WiUGHT, RS.A., was then called upon for his paper 

 on " The History and Hardships of the Present Law of Treasure 

 Trove/' but he stated that the time was too far advanced to permit 

 him to read it that evening. His object, he shortly explained, 

 however, was to bring before their notice the anomaly of the law, 

 with the view of something being done as to its amendment. By 

 the existing law the Crown could claim any article o£ gold or 

 silver found buried in the earth; and the consequence was that 

 owners of property refused to allow search to be made ; and when 

 archaeological treasures were discovered, the fact was often concealed, 

 and the objects met wath never found their way into any museum, 

 and were lost, so far as public benefit was concerned, altogether. 



In the discussion which followed Mr. C. H. Compton thought 

 the law might stand if the Treasury were compelled to place all 

 articles claimed in museums for the benefit of the public. Mr. 

 Walter Myers, F.S.A, also spoke on the question, and it was under- 

 stood that the subject would be fully discussed at an early meeting 

 of the Association in London. 



The President then delivered a farewell address, thanking the 

 Members of the Association for the valuable information they had 

 given, and showing how important it was that their local antiquities 

 should be commented on by able archaeologists of such large ex- 

 perience. He now desired to give them a brief summary of what 

 they had seen and done during the Meeting. They had been able 

 to show the Association very fine specimens of the antiquities of 

 Wiltshire. They had given them several excellent examples of the 

 various earthworks of Wiltshire, and he had been much surprised 

 with the large number of fine specimens of old houses and remains 

 of conventual buildings, and of course. Churches, that there were in 

 the county. It appeared to him that though it had been allowed by 

 scientific men that what used to be always called Roman camps were 

 really British camps, they had at this meeting brought that fact 

 home and stereotyped it on the public mind. And he thought 



