252 A HISTORY OF 



Naper made a special statement to the committee, and 

 contradicted the utterances of some of the witnesses. 

 These circumstances precipitated the outcome of the 

 differences between Government and the Society, for 

 on the 31st of March 1836, a Select Committee of 

 the House of Commons to enquire into its management 

 was appointed. 



Before closing this chapter, and entering on the 

 history of the Society under the new conditions which 

 resulted from the report of the committee, there are 

 a few matters of interest which must not be omitted. 



In 1832, John D' Alton, author of the History oj 

 the County oj Dublin > made a communication as to 

 Irish manuscripts supposed to be preserved in Copen- 

 hagen. He stated that no original documents from 

 the time of the Danes or Ostmen who invaded this 

 country, were to be found anywhere in Denmark. Many 

 interesting comments on Ireland and its inhabitants, 

 relating to migrations of the Irish in the ninth century 

 to Iceland, where they introduced Christianity, were, 

 however, to be found dispersed in old Scandinavian 

 works. Professor Magnussen, keeper of the records, 

 had offered to collect all such passages and to supply 

 Latin translations. He reported that there were old 

 manuscripts at Copenhagen, dealing with the cycle of 

 King Arthur, and giving accounts of his court ; and 

 said that the King of Denmark in Queen Elizabeth's 

 reign was believed to have written informing her of the 

 existence of Irish manuscripts in his library, and offering 

 facilities for copying them. 



About this period, the committee of agriculture 

 and planting offered premiums for — 1, The best essay 

 on the consolidation of farms, and maintaining in 

 Ireland the mixed system of plough and spade industry. 



