224 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. 



petition are such as to place it within the reach of any person 

 who takes an intelHgent interest in the common objects of the 

 country, they will be glad if the members of the Society can 

 use their influence to make the nature and scope of the com- 

 petition more widely known. 



During the past year your Committee have received a very 

 important proposal from the Durham College of Science, who 

 enquired whether the Society would be willing to allow the 

 erection in the Museum grounds of a block of laboratories for 

 the teaching of Natural Science in connection with the Museum, 

 in which case the College would be prepared to find the money 

 for their erection, and to provide the staff. The teaching 

 would be conducted under the direction of a Joint Committee 

 of the College and the Natural History Society, and the 

 Natural History Society would have a representative on the 

 Council of the College. 



The preliminary details of this matter have been very care- 

 fully considered by your Committee in conjunction with a 

 Sub-Committee from the Durham College of Science. Having 

 regard to the fact that the want of systematic teaching in 

 connection with the Museum has been for many years keenly 

 felt, and that there does not appear to be any probability of 

 the Society itself having sufficient funds to enable it to do 

 more than preserve and enlarge the collections in its charge, 

 your Committee felt that the scheme was one which deserved 

 the most favourable consideration of the Society, and they 

 accordingly intimated the same to the Council of the College 

 with a request that the College would furnish them with a 

 detailed plan showing the nature and proposed site of the 

 buildings which they would consider necessary for the pur- 

 poses in question, but up to the present no further details 

 have been received. Your Committee suggest that as soon 

 as a definite scheme has been received from the College a 

 special general meeting of the members of the Society be 

 called, at which the matter can be fully discussed. 



A petition has been received signed by local residents and 

 many members of the Society protesting against the erection 



