146 A HISTORY OF 



Ireland, and the Council of the Royal Dublin Society 

 contributed ^30 towards its purchase for the National 

 museum. (Report of Mr. Dudley Westropp, Museum 

 Bulletin, Sept. 191 2, p. 8.) 



On the 1st of March 1770, certain by-laws as to 

 subscriptions and arrears were passed. The Society's 

 collector laid before it an account of the subscriptions, 

 which in March 1769 amounted to £228, 12s. gd. 



In 1772, Colonel William Burton presented to the 

 Society a chart of the Shannon from the sea to 

 Limerick, executed by John Cowan. It was proposed 

 that £2$ should be given to Cowan, when he should 

 have succeeded in taking a survey and chart of the 

 river above Killaloe, towards its source, so far as the 

 Society might think him deserving of it. 



In May 1772, the Dublin Society took quite a new 

 departure, when it was suggested that a select standing 

 committee should be appointed to enquire into the 

 ancient state of the arts, literature, and other antiqui- 

 ties of this kingdom ; and to examine the several un- 

 published manuscript tracts in possession of the Society, 

 and all other tracts on those subjects, of which the com- 

 mittee could obtain perusal. The committee included 

 the president, vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer ; Lord 

 Charlemont, Lord Moira, the Bishop of Derry, the 

 Speaker, Dean Woodward, Dr. Ireland, Major Val- 

 lancey, the Marquis of Kildare, and Lord Dartrey. 

 Dr. Ireland and Major Vallancey were appointed 

 secretaries. The Society authorised the Chevalier 

 Thomas O'Gorman to apply to the college of the Lom- 

 bards in Paris, and to other learned bodies, for copies of 

 any ancient manuscripts, records, &c, illustrative of the 

 history and antiquities of Ireland. At the time, Charles 

 O'Neill was principal, and Lawrence Kelly prefect, of 

 the Irish community of the college. At a meeting 



