358 



" In November last, the Academy authorized the Council to 

 employ Mr. Curry to draw up a Catalogue Eaisonne of the Irish 

 manuscripts in the Library of the Academy. This work has been 

 ever since in progress, but will still require some months for its 

 completion. 



" Some time ago the Council became aware that it was contem- 

 plated by Her Majesty's Government to withdraw from the Irish 

 branch of the Ordnance Survey those grants of money which have 

 hitherto been made to the departments of Geology and Natural 

 History, as well as of Topographical Antiquities and Statistics, so 

 that the future operations of the Survey should be limited to the 

 completion of the Maps. Sensible of the great benefit that must 

 accrue to the country at large by the continuance of those depart- 

 ments, for which already a vast body of materials have been col- 

 lected, which, if publication were now abandoned, may be totally 

 lost, and feeling that independent of its interest, as positively extend- 

 ing the domain of science, and of which so brilliant an example has 

 been already presented to the Academy, on the part of the Board of 

 Ordnance, by Captain Portlock, the Geological branch of the Sur- 

 vey is of the highest practical importance to Ireland, as making 

 known the true position and limits of our mineral wealth, and 

 guarding enterprize from those latent perils on which, from want 

 of such scientific knowledge, it has been so often wrecked, the 

 Council did not hesitate to interpose its voice against the relin- 

 quishing of that undertaking. A deputation of the Council waited 

 on His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant with a memorial, in which 

 the more evident reasons in favour of the continuation of this truly 

 national work were embodied. His Excellency received the depu- 

 tation with his usual courtesy, and was pleased to express his sym- 

 pathy with its objects. He undertook to forward the memorial to 

 the heads of the Government in London, and the Council is not 

 without- sanguine hopes that the Memoir of the Ordnance Survey 

 may be finally continued on its original extended scale. 



" In obtaining this result, the Council believe that the voice of 

 the Royal Irish Academy will have afforded some assistance. 



" Since the date of the last Report, the Library of the Academy 

 has been increased by numerous donations of books, for which 



