46 Annua/ Meeting. 



The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, said he 

 thought he could congratulate that old Society on maintaining 

 its energy and vigour, and on the successful work done during 

 the past year, as well as on the favourable financial position 

 which it now occupied. He thought the work of the year was 

 in many respects very interesting, and three of the lectures, which 

 were fresh in his memory, were those given by Professor Turner 

 on " Comets," by Professor Sadler on " German Education," and 

 Professor Scharff on "The Aims and Scope of a Provincial 

 Museum." Those three lectures were of special interest and 

 value to them all. Continuing, the Chairman said he would like 

 to thank the various officials for the assistance they had given 

 him in the discharge of his duties during the year. He congratu- 

 lated the Society upon the improvements which had been effected 

 in the premises, which were now much more comfortable and 

 satisfactory than they were in former times. In that connection 

 he would like to acknowledge the services of Mr. Horner and of 

 Mr. Riddell. They all regretted that Mr. Patterson had resigned 

 the hon. secretaryship of the Society owing to pressure of business, 

 but he was sure everyone in that room would be delighted to hear 

 that they had secured as his successor Mr. J. M. Finnegan. 

 Their collections, as they had heard, were being taken over by 

 the Corporation, and were being put in excellent order. The 

 members would be glad to know they were proving even more 

 valuable than had been anticipated. The Irish antiquities, 

 the collections of local tokens and of coins, he believed, would 

 prove of great interest and value. They had to deplore some 

 losses by death. The late Mr. John Ward had been well known 

 to them all as an author, a traveller, and an archaeologist. His 

 books on Egypt were recognised as authoritative, and^ he had also 

 been a collector. He had the pleasure of seeing his collection of 

 ancient coins, and he thought at the time they were most rich and 

 valuable. Their proceedings that present year, he thought, were 

 very favourable. He would like to emphasize what had been 



