9 
“ 
for the great pains and trouble taken in carrying out the 
views of their fellow-members. The arrangement of 
the various portions of the zoological collection was 
carried out by Messrs. Hyndman, Dickie, Garrett, and 
Grainger; that of comparative anatomy by Dr. Gordon; 
and Mr. M‘Adam made a complete new arrangement 
of the society’s minerals. Messrs. R. M‘Adam, Grattan, 
Getty, and Murphy undertook to arrange the anti- 
quities and objects of art; but it occurred to those 
gentlemen that a most interesting exhibition might be 
afforded to the members of the association by inducing 
a number of collectors of Irish antiquities to lend them 
for the occasion; accordingly an application was made, 
and, to their high gratification, it was universally re- 
sponded to. ‘The result was, that one of the most 
complete collections of the antiquities of this country 
that has ever been exhibited was brought together in 
the Belfast Museum. The new room, called the 
‘Thompsoa Room,’ in commemoration of our late 
lamented president, was devoted by the council to the 
reception of these antiquities; and they have more par- 
ticularly to record their obligations to Mr. Robert 
M‘Adam, on whom devolved a very great part of the 
labour of receiving the borrowed specimens, and 
afterwards of returning them to the owners. <A de- 
scriptive catalogue of these antiquities was published 
at the time, containing full particulars of the whole 
series. 
“During the meeting of the Association, the Museum 
was visited by his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and 
the Countess of Eglinton. These distinguished visiters 
and their suite expressed themselves much gratified by 
the view of the collections, which were explained to 
them by different members of the council. 
“The council would now direct more particular at- 
tention to the progress of the society itself. Its 32d 
session has now terminated, during which the minute 
book has recorded one conversazioné, jive public, and 
eight private meetings, as having been held from No- 
vember, 1852, till May, 1853. At the opening conver- 
sazione more than 100 gentlemen were present; and 
there was also a large audience assembled at the intro- 
ductory address, delivered some time after by the 
president, Robert Patterson, Esq., on the first public 
night of the society’s regular meetings. ‘The details of 
these two occasions need not be recapitulated here, as 
