162 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK 



CH. 



y compris l'lrlande, qui n'en est pas encore a avoir pour 

 vous la reconnaisance qu'elle devrait ressentir depuis 

 pres d'un demi-siecle. 



Agreez, tres honore" Monsieur, mes felicitations et 

 mes vceux bien sinceres pour le constant succes de votre 

 glorieuse patrie. — Votre devoue, B. St. Hilaire. 



Je me rappelle au bon souvenir de M. Grant Duff. 



He attended the meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion held this year at Dublin, and received the 

 honorary degree of LL.D. of the University. 



The same spring the Bankers formed them- 

 selves into an " Institute," and did him the 

 honour of making him their first President. He 

 gave the opening Address on June 9, choosing 

 as his subject the early history of Coinage and 

 Currency, which, many years afterwards (1902), 

 was published by Murray. He had addressed 

 some enquiry on the subject to Sir H. Rawlinson, 

 and the following, from that distinguished 

 authority, refers to the early financial operations 

 of Babylonia and Assyria : 



21 Charles Street, May 4th, 1879. 



My dear Lubbock — I can give you very little 

 information as to the financial arrangements of Babylon 

 and Assyria. An extensive series of business documents 

 (leases, loans, mortgages, contracts, deeds of sale and 

 barter, etc., etc.) have been found at Nineveh and the 

 books of the banking firm of Egibi and Sons of Babylon 

 extending over a century and a half, from Nebuchad- 

 nezzar to Xerxes, have also been brought to England, 

 but these tablets have hitherto been examined mainly 

 for Chronological purposes and not with a view to 

 elicitating any general principles of finance, if indeed 

 any such results could be possibly obtained, which is 

 doubtful — I have looked over some thousands of these 

 tablets myself, but the only clear impression I have 

 derived from their study is that the relative value of 



