34 Asiatic Society. [No. 109. 



per mensem is made to the Society for a Curator and the preparation of Specimens, 

 as a sanction and modification of the allowance previously made to it, and not as an 

 independent or additional assignment. 



The Secretary Drought to notice, for the opinion of the Meeting, the proposal made 

 to him for the support of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for enabling Mons. Callery 

 of Macao, to print a Chinese Dictionary, French and English, now compiling by 

 him. 



The meeting were of opinion, that as three Dictionaries in the Chinese language 

 were already in the Library of the Society's Museum, it was not expedient to encourage 

 the patronage solicited, but that a few copies of the work after completion might be 

 purchased for the Library and presentation to the learned Societies in Europe, and 

 that a recommendation at the same time should be submitted to the Government for 

 the purchase by them of, say 25 or 30 copies for transmission to the Honorable the 

 Court of Directors for their Library. It was accordingly Resolved — That a com- 

 munication to the foregoing effect be made to Mons. Gallery, through Mr. Hurry. 



The Secretary also submitted a proposal for printing Wilford's Manuscript on 

 the Ancient Geography of Tndia to complete the 22d vol. of the Transactions of the 

 Society, which proposal was negatived, on the consideration that though the paper 

 contained much matter to be of interest to the general reader, yet in the opinion of 

 the Society, the time had gone by for its publication ; productions of recent date from 

 other authors on the same subject, containing more correct and valuable information, 

 having superceded the object for which Wilford wrote, but that the Secretary was 

 at liberty to use the Manuscript as Editor of the Asiatic Journal, by printing extracts 

 of such portions of it as he considered desirable and useful for his object. 



Read letter from Mr. Secretary Bush by, of 30th December 1840, and enclosures. 



« To H. Torrens, Esq. 

 ' No. 995. * Secretary to the Asiatic Society. 



* General Department. 



' Sir — I am directed by the Right Honorable the Governor General in Council to trans- 

 mit to you the accompanying copy of letter, No. 17 of 1840, from the Honorable the Court 

 of Directors in the Public Department, dated the 16th September, and to request that 

 the Society will enable the Government to carry into effect the wishes of the Honorable 

 Court in respect to all Zoological and Entomological collections deposited in their 

 Museum on the part of Government, or by persons conducting Missions on the part of 

 the Government, and will assist the Government in giving effect to the commands of the 

 Honorable Court in respect to future supplies to their Museum, as also in regard to 

 the immediate dispatch of Dr. Helfer's and Captain Pemberton's Collections in 

 Tenasserim and Bootan. 



' I am also directed to transmit a copy of the list of the present contents of the 

 Honorable Court's Museum as far as regards the Mammalia and Birds, that the So- 

 ciety may see the descriptions most desiderated. 



