Minutes of Proceedings. 261 



generally partaking more or less of a popular character as intended 

 for a larger and more mixed audience, such as that at the Friday- 

 evenings of the Royal Institution in London or the afternoon lectures 

 of the Eoyal Dublin Society. 



At the evening meetings of the Eoyal Dublin Society in recent 

 years, abstracts of Papers in current periodicals have sometimes been 

 given and experiments shown, I think, with advantage, and have, I 

 believe, given increased interest to the meetings. 



I commend these facts to the consideration of the Royal Irish 

 Academy. 



Probably no body has suffered more- from competition than the 

 British Association for the Advancement of Science, which meets only 

 once a year. People cannot wait so long for the bringing out of their 

 results. But the loss of original work has, I think, been in great 

 measure compensated for by bringing forward again communications, 

 already published, for discussion before a larger audience in one of the 

 sections, or even before the united audiences of two sections. 



Perhaps it may not be out of place for me to interpose here a few 

 remarks on the position of various archaeological, literary, and scien- 

 tific societies in Ireland. 



One cannot but feel that with our small population relatively to 

 that of other places, and the greater part of that small population of 

 that class which, engaged in agricultural pursuits, far removed from 

 contact with literary or scientific circles, and taking little interest in the 

 advance of knowledge outside of its own immediate requirements, 

 we may very easily spread our efforts among too many societies and 

 too many small meetings. It is one thing to classify our work, so 

 that Papers in each line, or in cognate lines of research, may be col- 

 lected together for reading before, and discussion by, an audience 

 specially competent to discuss those subjects. It is another to 

 include Papers dealing with a wide range of questions, and read 

 them before a very mixed scientific audience, few of those present 

 being qualified to discuss each effectively. 



You are aware that there are other antiquarian Societies in 

 Ireland working in their respective spheres and localities, but the 

 Academy is on friendly terms with them, and gives them all the 

 assistance in its power, and they are probably able to cover ground 

 in their respective neighbourhoods in a way that the Academy is not 



