416 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Sept. 



The number of literary and scientific journals issued to the world in the nine- 

 teenth century, amounts according to the prospectus of the Bulletin to upwards of 

 fifteen hundred ; learned Societies have multiplied in an equal ratio ; so that it 

 would occupy a man's life to peruse the mass of information accumulated, even 

 if he could collect together the numerous works containing it. The Baron de 

 Ferussac would secure to France the privilege of assembling and concentrating in 

 a focus this scattered knowledge : he is perhaps the only man ambitious, pei-se- 

 vering, and laborious enough to put the feasibility of such a scheme to the 

 proof; but the experience of eight years has shewn that he is equal to the task. 

 His Monthly Bulletin Universel, in its eight parts, contains analyses of the con- 

 tents of every published journal, and with the aid of copious annual indexes, 

 forms a register of all that is done in literature and science, enabling the student 

 of any department to become acquainted with every new fact and discovery, and 

 the historian to trace the progress of each science, from a most perfect and com- 

 pendious record. 



But the scale of the work as hitherto conducted is found to be quite inade- 

 quate to embrace the mass of additional matter now offering itself for publica- 

 tion : — and the only mode of effectually keeping pace with the demands of 

 knowledge, is to enlarge the scheme by raising further capital, or forming a 

 kind of joint stock association among those who would otherwise patronize the 

 work as subscribers ; and of whom there are already 5000 enlisted. 



The following is a general view of the scheme : 



There are 500 shares, 450 regular and 50 supernumerary, valued at 1000 francs 

 each : a share may be held jointly by any number of persons not exceeding four. 



The holders will be entitled to such annual dividends as may be afforded by 

 the profits of the concern. 



The shares are to be transferable and heritable. 



Every share-holder has the option of receiving the monthly numbers of the 

 Bulletin to the value of 50 francs, per annum, per share, in lieu of a dividend 

 to that extent, or any thing below it. 



According to the prospectus published on the cover of our July No., 50 francs 

 will cover the subscription to any single division of the work, except the geogra- 

 phical. The whole work of eight parts costs 300 francs per annum. 



The Society to continue 25 years from the year 1828. 



Of the 500 Shares, France has already subscribed for 150 



Original proprietors and coadjutors, 89 



239 



Foreign countries, 51 



290 

 There are still 210 shares to be disposed of, and these have been assigned by the 

 projector to the various literary bodies, who have not yet joined the association • 

 thus six shares have been set aside for the members of the Societies at the se- 

 veral British establishments in India, and one share for the Governor General : the 

 originator of the scheme calculates more on the moral support and concurrence 

 of its friends, than on their expectation of pecuniary benefit ; and certainly view- 

 ing it as a money transaction, unless some prospect is confidently held out of much 

 higher annual dividends than 5 per cent., it is not clear wherein the advantage of 

 investing capital in the concern would lie : the interest of the same sum, safely 

 lodged in the securities of the country, would purchase an equal portion of the 



