February, 1905.} Annual Address. 
their copies correct up to date, since lists of the additions are pub- 
lished quarterly with the Proceedings. 
Another important matter was the part which the Society was 
able to take in contributing to the objects to be exhibited in the 
Victoria Memorial Hall. The Society’s existence is nearly coeval 
with British rule in Bengal, and it has represented the lnguistic, 
scientific and literary activity of this rule. It has numbered 
among its members, besides its founder, some of the most distin- 
guished men whose services have helped to make India what it is 
now, and it possesses unique memorials of them. The members 
resolved, with but little difference of opinion, to lend some of the 
most interesting of their treasures to the Trustees of the Memorial 
Hall to be exhibited there. The Society is gratified at this public 
recognition of its achievements, and cannot but gain by the wider 
interest which the exhibition of these objects will arouse among 
those who will visit the Memorial. 
The collection of Oriental MSS. is an important branch of the 
Society's work. The Society has received during many years an 
annual grant from the Government for the systematic search after 
and the purchase of Sanskrit MSS. This is in the charge of 
the Joint Philological Secretary, Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad 
Sastri. He has found and acquired a large number of valuable 
and interesting writings. No similar measures have hitherto been. 
taken to collect Persian and Arabic MSS. from among the stores 
that exist in this country, except such as private persons have 
undertaken at times on their own behalf; but during the past year 
the Government of India has generously assigned a further annual 
grant in order that a systematic search may be made for those 
classes of writings, and that valuable MSS. may be bought and 
preserved here in the same way as Sanskrit MSS. This business 
has been placed in the hands of the present Philological Secretary, 
Dr. Ross, and he has been prosecuting an active search witb the aid 
of maulavis during the last five months. He has discovered a 
number of private libraries that were not known to us before ; the 
works in them have been examined, and what has been already 
found offers sanguine expectations that the grant will enrich 
our collection with writings of the highest interest and value, 
especially for historical purposes. I may add that the recent 
expedition to Thibet has brought to light a quantity of Thibetan 
MSS. ; these have been placed temporarily in the Imperial Library 
here and are available for study. 
The Society has about 600 Jain manuscripts in its custody at 
present. These are not always easy to be obtained, because the 
Jains do not part with their writings readily. Mahamahopadhyaya 
Haraprasad Sastri has however recently learnt of a valuable col- 
lection of such manuscripts, comprising nearly two thousand works- 
or portions of works, and the owner, who is not a Jain, is willing to 
sellthem. It is very desirable that they should be secured. An 
application has been made to the Government of India for special 
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