ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 99 



chapel, displayed the relics and costly vestments, and seemed 

 most desirous to satisfy the curiosity of the party without the 

 least reserve. After tea had been partaken of, the start for 

 home was commenced — Blue Anchor, Ladock, and Tresillian 

 were successively passed, and at about 11 o'clock home was 

 happily reached. 



The Society have to thank Mr. Robert Harvey, of Iquique, 

 Chili, for the present of a large inscribed stone, sent to this 

 country by that gentleman at some considerable expense. The 

 stone seems to describe the journey of one of the Tribes of 

 that country. Mr. Harvey has further provided a stand in 

 which it will be placed in the Museum. 



A series of maps of the river Fal and its tributaries has 

 been collected ; some of which have been judged by the council 

 to be worthy of publication. Some are mere artists' maps, and 

 even those based on actual survey are inaccurate in detail. 

 Yet they have all great interest for the local antiquary : such 

 documents over-ride and often confute current traditions. The 

 oldest were drawn in Elizabeth's reign prior to Carew, the 

 oldest of the county historians. They portray the towns, 

 churches, gentlemen's seats, and ferries, and also show how far 

 the tributaries of the Fal were navigable at low water, stating 

 some of the soundings. The amount and rate of silting can be 

 roughly estimated from these data. 



The ancient nomenclature and pronunciations of existing 

 names of places, will be valued by the student of the Cornish 

 language, and it will be noticed that English words had already 

 ousted the prior native terms. The full appreciation of these 

 documents will require the co-operation of several persons, who 

 are conversant with different portions of the locality. 



When we refer to the early Eeports of this Society and see 

 the very heavy debt the founders and those who succeeded them 

 had to contend against, it is a source of unfeigned pleasure 

 that the council can report so favourably on the present financial 

 position of the Royal Institution of Cornwall. Through a long 

 series of years, upwards of half a century, there hung over the 

 society a debt of such magnitude as would have quite discouraged 

 any others than the zealous band of men who with such ability 



