Annual Meeting. 43 



and to increase its reputation. Perhaps he might be pardoned for 

 referring to various observations that appeared in the newspapers 

 in the spring of this year with regard to the fate — not of the Society 

 he was glad to say — but of its museum. He thought it should 

 be clearly understood that the gentlemen who wrote to the news- 

 papers did so on their own responsibility, and that they had not 

 any special authority from the Council to express any views on 

 that very debatable subject. He occupied the same position — he 

 had no authority from the Council to express any opinion — but 

 they must admit that they were surrounded now by altered 

 circumstances from those which attended the earlier Work of the 

 Society. The city — he was not quite certain from what reason, 

 whether from an innate love of the subject or in order to carry 

 out some Act of Parliament — had undertaken to do the work that 

 that Society did to some extent. He was thoroughly in sympathy 

 with the idea of the city undertaking work of that kind. There 

 was no doubt there were many advantages connected with the 

 maintenance of museums either by Government or municipal 

 authorities. At the same time, there were undoubtedly advantages 

 associated with the direction of a museum by persons who had 

 evinced a personal interest in the subject. He presumed that 

 none of the members of the Corporation were elected for their 

 knowledge of archseology or any of the sciences with which that 

 Society was specially identified, though they were perhaps quite 

 qualified to undertake that work. Speaking for himself, it would 

 be with some reluctance, though it might be necessary, that he 

 would see an extremely interesting and valuable collection passing 

 out of the keeping of those specially interested in the subject. 

 Then he would like, with reference to the general affairs of the 

 Society, to say that it seemed to him that it would be a calamity 

 for the organisation to part with its building. Some people thought 

 that a Society like that should dispense not only with its museum, 

 but also with its building, and trust to charity to find the members 

 occasional accommodation for their meetings. He believed it was 

 extremely important to the healthy life of the Society and for the 



