1864.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 79 



No. 489, 

 From the Secretary to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, — To E. C. 

 Bayley, Esq., Secretary,- Government of India, Home Department. 



Asiatic Society's Mooms, Calcutta, 6th Nov., 1863. 



Sir, — With reference to the previous correspondence noted in the 



margin, on the subject of the pro- 



From the Govt, of India, Home posedtransfer of the Society's museum 

 Dept. No.., 2564, dated 22nd May, L >, i t i 



3*862. ^° Government, 1 have the honor to 



To the Govt, of India, in reply su bmit to you the views held by the 

 No. 180, dated 18th June, 1862. . J J 



To the Govt, of India, mcontinua- Council of the Society on those mo- 

 tion No. 173, dated 13th April, 1863. dificat i ons f the Council's scheme 



From the Govt, of India, m reply 



No. 5503 dated 1st September, 1863. proposed in your letter No, 5503 of 



the 1st September, 1863. 



Previous to doing so, I am desired to assure you that the Council 

 have received with much pleasure the announcement that his Honour 

 the President in Council is not unwilling to enter at once upon the 

 consideration of the proposed transfer, feeling that the interest thus 

 manifested by Government in the progress of natural science cannot but 

 have a most beneficial influence upon its cultivation in this country. 



Under these circumstances, I am desired to state that the Council 

 are prepared to modify, in accordance with his Honour's views, the 

 rules proposed in their late Secretary's letter, (dated June 18th) so far 

 as may not, in their opinion, seriously impair the well-being of the 

 Society which they represent. Thus, while their original proposal, 

 that one-half of the trustees of the new museum should be nominated 

 by the Society, was suggested by the probable preponderance of the 

 Society's collections for many years to come in the new museum as 

 well as by the fact that the Society has on many occasions acted as 

 the scientific advisers of Government, the Council feel confident that 

 the interests of Science will be so cared for by Government in the 

 selection of its nominees, that they may without hesitation defer to 

 his Honour's views on the proposed revision of their second Eule. 



With similar feelings and on similar grounds, the Council concur in 

 his Honour's suggestion that the fifth Eule proposed by them be so 

 modified that the public at large be admitted to the same free use of 

 the museum as that now enjoyed by the members of the Society. Both, 

 they understand, would be only subject to such restrictions as may be 

 necessary for the due preservation of the collections. 



