1837.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society . 1097 



All the works which the Society had undertaken to finish were now completed 

 with the exception of the Mahabharata itself advanced to the 300th page of the 

 fourth or last volume. Of the sale of this work it was somewhat premature to 

 form any estimate before the whole series could be offered to purchasers ; but 

 judging from the other finished Sanskrit works, the native demand would be very 

 limited ; owing to the great poverty of the learned classes, to the absence of a tika 

 or commentary which most readers required, and to the adoption of the Deva- 

 nagari character ; the proportion of Bengali readers being far above that of up- 

 country pandits. By the time the edition would be completed there would pro- 

 bably be a balance against the undertaking of near fiOCO rupees. 



As one mode of diminishing this large debt, the Committee of Papers had 

 recommended the acceptance of an offer of 1000 rupees for the incomplete copies 

 of the Fataxoa Alemgiri, of which a maulavi was willing to undertake a reprint, 

 and it was thought still higher terms might be obtained, so numerous were the 

 demands for law books among the educated Muhamedans. Confident hopes 

 were long entertained of a favourable answer to the Society's Memorial to the 

 Honorable Court of Directors in 1835 : it was known that the Court had recom- 

 mended the local Government to subscribe 5C0 rupees per month expressly to 

 the furtherance of the Society's Oriental publications, but even that degree of 

 patronage had been since understood to be negatived by the Board of Control; 

 leaving the cause in a more hopeless condition than if a decided refusal had at 

 first been given, from the growing liabilities incurred on the expectation of aid. 



Meantime the local Government had most liberally seconded the Society's ap- 

 peal for support to its museum, and had forwarded with its favourable recom- 

 mendation, a scheme for elevating that museum into a national institution. The 

 greater success was anticipated to this important movement, since Professor 

 Wilson had been placed in charge of the museum and library at home, to which 

 he was well aware how powerful an auxiliary the Indian institution might prove. 



At the meeting of October the existing museum was placed under a special 

 Committee, in lieu of appointing a curator. Too short a period had elapsed to 

 render a formal Report necessary from them. Upwards of 200 new specimens 

 of natural history had in that time been added, besides the ordinary setting up 

 of skeletons, &c. Catalogues of several branches of the collections had been 

 prepared by Messrs. Pearson, Cantor, and McClelland. 



In the publication of the Researches great delay had taken place from the 

 Orphan Press having been engaged on urgent Government business. The se- 

 cond part of the 20th volume however was in a forward state. 



A catalogue of all the Oriental MSS. now in the Library had been printed in 

 the native character for circulation — the Sanskrit portion containing, as an 

 appendix, lists of such books as the Sanskrit Colleges of Benares and Calcutta 

 possessed exclusively. 



In conjunction with the Naw£b Taha'war Jang, the printing of the Sharaya 

 ul Isldm, a text book of Shialaw, had been undertaken. 



Out of the society had appeared many interesting acquisitions to the science 

 and literature of the country. A dictionary of the Manipur dialect, a grammar 

 of the Sindhi, grammars of the Belochi and Baruni : besides the Cochin-chinese 

 and Burmese dictionaries, the former now nearly through the press : Mr, Tur- 

 nour's P&li Annals of Ceylon.- and a full account of the caves of Adjanta. 

 Captain Boileatj's Survey of Shefciwaii had given a valuable accession to geo- 

 graphy and statistics of India ; and many reports of scientific expeditions to 

 Assam — to the interior of Maulmein, to the valley of Sinde, &c. had been made 

 public by Government. At the present moment two fresh expeditions had been set 

 on foot, one to Bootan under Captain Pemberton, the other under Captain 

 Burnes to Cashmir ; and, under the auspices of the Patron of the Society, in- 

 quiries had been circulated on several points of scientific and commercial interest 

 ■ — the tides — lichens — coal, &c. 



The current publication of the Society's proceedings in the journal rendered it 

 unnecessary to dwell upon the general subjects that had engaged attention within 

 its walls during the past year. It might be sufficient as an evidence that mem- 

 bers were not relaxing in their labors in any branch of research, to state, that al- 



