134 Transactions. 
of the sub-committee (see Appendix) that had been appointed to 
make arrangements and carry out the operations in connection 
with the new rooms. On the motion of Mr J. Thomson, seconded 
by Mr Dods, the report was unanimously adopted, and the sub- 
committee were awarded a hearty vote of thanks for completing 
the undertaking so successfully, special thanks being given to 
Mr Barbour, Vice-President, and to Mr J. Wilson, Honorary 
Secretary. It was also unanimously agreed to award the 
Society’s thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen who had contri- 
buted so liberally towards the expense. 
Exhibits. —Dr Grierson exhibited a Japanese magic mirror, a 
black snake from South Africa, the nest of the trap-door spider, 
and several Indian curiosities. 
Election of President.—The Chairman intimated that the 
committee had resolved to recommend Dr Grierson to be their 
President in succession to the late Dr Gilchrist, and he moved 
accordingly. This motion was seconded, and unanimously agreed 
to. Dr Grierson, in accepting office, remarked that the first 
meeting of the old Society consisted of Dr Gilchrist, Dr Dickson, 
Mr W. G. Gibson, and himself, and that as the present Society 
numbered over 200 members, he was much gratified by the 
honour conferred upon him. 
CoMMUNICATIONS. 
I. Galloway Place Names. By Mr J. M‘Kie. 
To the greater number of us many of these names convey no 
intelligent meaning whatever, yet we may be assured that 
whether they belong to parishes or farms, hills or valleys, lakes 
or rivers, they are never mere arbitrary sounds devoid of meaning. 
Though many of them may have become so obscured by the mists of 
antiquity, and their passage through several languages as to make 
them but indistinctly visible, yet they ought always to be regarded 
as records of the past, inviting and rewarding a careful historical 
research, for they often record events which history has failed to 
commemorate, and embalin for us the guise and fashion of speech 
"in eras the most remote, and of language that may have long 
ceased to be vernacular. We owe a debt of gratitude to our 
semi-barbarous ancestors for the varied and beautifully descriptive 
names they gave to all the prominent features of the land. The 
Gaelic placenames in Galloway were word pictures of the 
country, as it appeared when first beheld by the original settlers. 
PREM AN ee seaygs 2 
a 
> 
dated Glhecaraet Toe 
et aye, 
So Be wh 
MERE mi 
