41 



land, or even disendowing the Established Church, that the evils 

 which haunt Ireland will be banished. 



But what she does need is the development of manufactories, 

 and the utilisation of her mineral products. 



After the usual discussion, and election of new members, the 

 meeting — the last for the session — closed. 



THE ANNUAL COVERSAZIONE WAS HELD ON THE 14th MAY. 



(The followiny is extracted from the local papers.) 



Hitherto these reunions have been marked by success in every 

 respect, and this formed no exception to the general rule. The 

 Museum, where the meeting was held, presented an exceedingly 

 gay and animated appearance, and it is a circumstance worth 

 notice that this gaity and animation were due in a very large mea- 

 sure to a cause intellectual as well as ornamental — we refer to the 

 decorations of the rooms, which embraced articles of vertu, and curio- 

 sities and antiquities, both illustrative and suggestive. The company 

 was very select, and comprised a large number of ladies who graced 

 the scene with their presence. The evening was spent in a manner 

 both agreeable and instructive. This flourishing society has been in 

 existence five years, and during that period its members have devoted 

 themselves with great energy and attention to the investigation of the 

 Botany, Geology, and Archaeology of the neighbourhood, and, indeed, 

 have left nothing undone that could promote the object of its founders. 

 The Summer Excursions — a very instructive and delightful part of the 

 Society's operations — are arranged so as to enable the members to 

 acquire information on scientific matters in the most agreeable manner, 

 while the Winter Meetings are calculated to call public attention to the 

 scenes around this neighbourhood that would otherwise be unappreci- 

 ated. Its successful management is such as to secure for it a growing 

 popularity, which was exhibited by the large increase in the membership 

 last year. The conversazione last evening was the fifth which has been 

 held in connection with the Society. The rooms were tastefully 

 decorated for the occasion by members of the club. The room to the 

 right of the entrance was fitted up as a ladies' cloak-room, and that to 

 the left as a refreshment-room. The large room on the first landing 

 was the apartment in which the reception took place, and was tastefully, 

 not to say lavishly, decorated with bunting. At the door a large Union 

 Jack, suspended from poles, formed a handsome porch. It was sur* 

 mounted by evergreens, which contrasted well with the bright scarlet 



