528 Asiatic Society. QJune, 



Literary and Antiquities. 



Read the following reply from Government to the request of the Society for a sub- 

 scription for a certain number of copies of the "Sharya-ul-Islam," which the Society 

 has undertaken to print in conjunction with the Nawab Jabawur Jung. 



To the Officiating Secretary to the Asiatic Society. 

 General Dept. 



Sir,— I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 2d May 

 last, and in reply to inform you, that the Honorable the President in Council will take 

 25 copies of the Sharya-ul-Islam at 20Co's Rs. per copy, for the use of the Seminaries 

 of education which give instruction in Arabic Law. On the receipt of the copies the 

 necessary orders will be issued to discharge your bill on presentation at the General 

 Treasury. I am, Sir, 



Your obedient servant, 

 Council Chamber, 24th July, 1839. H. T. PRINSEP, 



Secy, to Govt, of India. 



Read a letter from Captain P. Gerard, forwarding two boxes of stone Idols disco- 

 vered by his late brother, Dr. J. G. Gerard, and Lieut. Col. Sir Alexander Burnes, 

 near Manikayala, on their route to India, 1833 and 1834. 



' I take this opportunity of acquainting you for the information of the Asiatic Society, 

 of having despatched by water two boxes to your address, to the care of my agents 

 Messrs. Cockerell and Co., who shall be apprized of the same. One is a large 

 square box containing a Stone Idol in excellent preservation and beautifully executed, 

 and complete excepting the face of one of the female figures, which is wanting. 

 The face of the other female figure was accidentally broken off, but it has been carefully 

 packed up in paper, and with a little cement it can easily be united, and appear as 

 if nothing had occurred to it. 



'The other is a small square box containing fragments of Idols. The whole were dug 

 for at considerable expense in Afghanistan, at or somewhere near Manikayala by my 

 brother, the late Dr. J. G. Gerard, while he was on his return route to India, during 

 1833 and 1834, from Meshid in Persia, where he separated from his companion and fellow- 

 traveller, Lieutenant (now Lieutenant Colonel) Sir Alexander Burnes, Kt. May I 

 therefore request that you will do me the favour of presenting the contents of both 

 boxes on their arrival, to the Asiatic Society on my part, as having been the discove- 

 ries of my brother, the late Dr. J. G. Gerard. 



' I regret to say that no particulars of their locality were found amongst my late 

 brother's voluminous MS. papers, relating to his interesting journey, owing unftnv 

 tunately to the circumstance of two-thirds of the whole having unaccountably disap- 

 peared, or been lost, which is much to be regretted, as they contained valuable informa- 

 tion respecting Heerat and Kandahar, and the countries between Meshid and Cabul, 

 especially about the resources of these parts, their trade, manufactures, and productions. 

 What remained of his papers (with the exception of his meteorological observations 

 during his absence from the end of 1831 and beginning of 1832, till March 1834, which 

 I shall take an early opportunity of transmitting to the Society for publication at this 

 interesting period,) were forwarded to Europe in 1836. 



