98 Report. [Jan 



5. The President in Council will on receipt of the statement above called for, be 

 better prepared to judge of the manner of the past appropriation of the Govern- 

 ment grant, and to decide on the present application of the Society. 



I have, &c. &c. 

 (Signed) G. A. Bushby, 

 Secretary to the Government of India 



Council Chamber, the 2\st November, 184G. 



On receipt of Mr. Busliby's letter the Secretaries, then but recently 

 elected, made the requisite examination of the accounts, with the result 

 set forth in the foregoing sketch, and which correspond with the gene- 

 ral statements previously made by the Sub-Committee of Finance, but 

 unintelligible because unaccompanied by details. 



The Committee of Papers regret deeply that any portion of the 

 Oriental Publication Fund should have been used for other purposes, 

 and they consider the Society bound to acknowledge the sum so used 

 as a debt to Government, but one of which the present state of their 

 pecuniary affairs, renders it impracticable for them to offer immediate 

 payment. In partial extenuation of the irregularity, the Committee 

 refer with some satisfaction to the magnificent Zoological collections, 

 to the procural of which no small portion of the fund has been directed, 

 to the very large contributions made to the Museum of the India House 

 —and to the additions to their buildings, and the gathering together of 

 suitable monuments in their Hall to the great men by whose labours the 

 Asiatic Society has gained such fame, as the patrons and promoters of 

 Oriental, Literary, and Antiquarian research. The Committe too would 

 represent to Government that for 58 years previous to this grant the 

 greater part of their funds has been expended on the publication of re- 

 searches of the same, or an allied nature, and in the promotion of every 

 branch of antiquarian investigation. Having at least disbursed more 

 than two lacks of Rupees in this pursuit, the Committee trust that Go- 

 vernment will look indulgently on the irregularity which has occurred. 

 They would state that it was in no small degree caused by the indiffer- 

 ence of the few Oriental Scholars among us during the period under 

 review to the editing or publishing of works of acknowledged import- 

 ance. They would express the resolution of the Society — to watch 

 carefully over the future application of the grant, and to refer regard- 

 ing this on all occasions to the advice of the section of eminent Orien- 

 talists already appointed for the purpose. 



