1904.] Announcement hy the President. 53 



lias three portraits of Sir Wm. Jones — one of him as a youth and two 

 of him in middle age ; and of these two, one (No. 41 in the catalogue) 

 is the original, and the other (ISTo. 71) is a copj. The original 

 portrait of Sir Wm. Jones in middle age, the bust of James Prinsep 

 (No. 19), and the cannon (No. 2) are the Society's own property; 

 but the copy of Sir Wm. Jones in middle age and the youthful 

 portrait (No. 67), and also the picture of Warren Hasting belong to 

 the ''Home Bequest." The Society's functions in dealing with the 

 two classes are not the same, and it is necessary for me therefore to 

 explain the difference regarding the "Home Bequest." 



Mr. R. Home was an artist who came to India about the close of 

 the eighteenth century; he became a member of this Society in 1797, 

 and was its Secretary for two years from 1802. At that time the 

 Society had a museum, and he contributed towards it. He settled 

 down in Lucknow and made a considerable collection of pictures, books, 

 casts, &c. Before his death he expressed the wish that his collec- 

 tion might become of public benefit in Calcutta. Accordingly, after 

 his death, Ool. Home and Capt. Home presented the collection to 

 the Society in compliance with their father's wish, in order that the 

 objects should be preserved in some public institution in Calcutta, 

 where they might be properly attended to and be at all times open to 

 public inspection. This Society accepted that trust on e5th November, 

 1834 (Journal, 1834, Yol. III. p. 524). The collection then is not the 

 Society's property, but is held by the Society in trust for the purpose 

 mentioned. 



At that time the Society had its own museum in this building, 

 the Home Collection was placed here and was always open to the 

 public. In 1887 the Society asked the Government for pecuniary aid 

 "to convert that institution into a public and national concern," but 

 the E.I. Co. declined (Procdgs. 1837, p. 493). In May 1857 the 

 Society went further and resolved that a proposal should be made to 

 the Government for "the foundation at Calcutta of an Imperial 

 Museum, to which the whole of the Society's collections, except the 

 Library, might be transferred" (Procdgs, 1857, p. 232); and after 

 some hesitation the Government approved of the proposal in May 1862. 

 The scheme sanctioned provided for the establishment of " the Indian 

 Museum," with space enough to meet various scientific requirements, 

 and also to accommodate this Society with the whole of its Library, 

 property, and business; and it was agreed that the Society's collections 

 should be transferred to the Government, (Procdgs, 1862, p. 320). 

 That was the beginning of the present Indian Museam ; and when the 

 quadrangular portion of it was finished, the Society's Archaeological 



