Sept. 1846.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. lxxi 



Asiatic Society's Museum, July 17th, 1846. 



My dear Sirs, 



I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yesterday's date, requesting 

 information for the Society's Sub-Committee of Finance as to whether the ex- 

 penses of the Zoological Department of the Museum can be brought within 350 

 Rs. per mensem. 



With every disposition to carry out the wishes of the Sub-Committee, I cannot 

 but remark in reply, that I consider such an arrangement to be impracticable ; if 

 only that my own very moderate salary of itself more than covers that amount. 



It will be remembered that from May 1st, 1844, an increase of 100 Rs. per 

 month was granted me, to be paid with arrears when the letter-press to accompany 

 the publication of Burnes's drawings should be ready for printing ; and I leave you 

 to judge, therefore from the fact of the present accumulation of those arrears, how 

 exceedingly I require furt h er assistance in the Museum, to be enabled to discharge 

 efficiently all the duties of my office. 



That office requiring the whole undivided energies of the person holding it, is 

 therefore incompatible with any other appointment : hence what salary I receive 

 I must derive from this one source only ; and with no sort of promotion in view, it 

 must be acknowledged to be but a poor remuneration for the laborious occupation of 

 the entire time of an educated European in this climate. Nought but devotion to 

 Science could continue to reconcile me to it, whatever may be its non-pecuniary 

 contingent advantages. 



I would next remind the Sub -Committee, with all respect, that on my being 

 deprived of the great advantage of personal residence at the Museum, it was thought 

 but just to grant me compensation for the increased personal expenditure which the 

 new arrangement entailed upon me : but the amount of that recompense is still 

 under consideration, with six months of it due at the present time. 



Passing now to the consideration of the subordinates employed in my department, 

 I can only repeat the statement, which I have before had occasion to make, by again 

 urging that the present establishment is not merely at its extreme minimum, com- 

 patible with efficiency, but considerably below that standard. Our establishment 

 is not nearly adequate to the amount of work required of it, and the consequence is 

 that arrears are at this time accumulating. With an extensive collection of valuable 

 skeletons in store, scarcely one has been mounted upon wire for the last three 

 years ; other sub-departments under my superintendence become unduly neglected ; 

 my time is continually taken up with drudgery ; which might and ought to be per- 

 formed by additional assistants, — to say nothing of the incessant application which 

 it involves on my part ; and what is personally most of all annoying I feel how 

 much more I could accomplish for the Society with the necessary humble aid, 

 which the bestowal of an addiiional 50 Rs. monthly would place at my disposal. 



Under these circumstances, I can suggest no alteration between at least conti- 

 nuing the existent establishment in the Zoological department ofthe Society's Museum 



