money was paid accordingly, and the medal was delivered. 

 Mr. Petrie was then permitted to take away the manuscript, 

 to prepare it for the Press ; but he never returned it to the 

 Council for publication, though frequently urged to do so. 

 In the year 1840, eight years after the delivery and pay- 

 ment of this medal and prize, myself and other members of 

 the Academy called upon the Council to account why this 

 Essay, which had excited so much interest, had not as yet 

 appeared in the Transactions. In reply, we were assured 

 that it then was, or very shortly would be, in the Press. 



" In July, 1844, we again inquired when the Essay was 

 to appear, and were told it would be published by the 1st 

 January, 1845. I, therefore, gave notice that I would move 

 at the next meeting of the Academy for certain returns 

 respecting the proceedings of the Council. On the 30th 

 November these returns were laid on the table of the Aca- 

 demy, in compliance with my notice, without motion. By 

 these returns it appears that the Council had permitted 

 Mr. Petrie to enlarge his Essay (which, when read and 

 adjudged, consisted of about fifty pages), so much as to 

 occupy an entire volume of the Transactions (about 500 

 pages), and had expended £144 in wood-cut engravings, to 

 illustrate it. They also appointed a committee to confer 

 with Mr. Petrie (himself a member of Council), relative to 

 the publication of his Essay on the Round Towers, who, on 

 the 29th June, 1840, reported the following proposition 



from Mr. Petrie : 



" '22nd June, 1840 



" ' I propose to supply the Academy with 400 or 450 



copies of my Essay on the Round Towers, at thirty shillings 



per copy, printed in the form of the Transactions. 



" ' Signed, George Petrie.' 



And the Committee recommended the Council to adopt the 

 above proposal, and to request Mr. Petrie to send the work 

 to Press immediately. 



