40 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Feb. 



Paris : — Asiatic Society. 



St. Potersburgh : — Imperial Academy of Science. 

 Vienna : — Imperial Academy of Science. 

 Washington : — Smithsonian Institution. 



The chairman then read the following brief address of the Presi- 

 dent, Dr. Thomas Oldham, who has been called away from the 

 presidency town by important official duties. 



ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 



Gentlemen of the Asiatic Society, 



The necessity of attending to important professional 

 duties, at a distance from Calcutta, will, I regret to say, prevent my 

 having the pleasure of being with you at the annual meeting of your 

 Society. I do not, however, wish that anniversary to pass, without 

 a few words of congratulation, and of farewell, although I cannot 

 deliver them to you personally. 



It was my duty to point out to you at the last anniversary meet- 

 ing, that from the state of the finances of the Society, your Council 

 had been compelled to insist upon the necessity for curtailing, in 

 every possible way, the expenditure of the Society. It was even 

 seriously in contemplation to suspend the publication of the Journal 

 of the Society, until the finances had recovered. But, it was de- 

 termined that every effort should be made in other directions, before 

 this last act, amounting almost, as we thought, to the extinction of 

 the Society, should be resorted to. We felt strongly also, that if 

 the Society had failed to command the support of those interested in 

 natural history and philological enquiries, the cause of that failure 

 must be sought in the action of the Society itself, and must not be 

 presumed to arise from any absence of an intelligent appreciation of 

 tho value or importance of such enquiries. This view I endeavoured 

 to impress upon you in my brief address of last year. And I rejoice to 

 think that the same views have guided tho management of your So- 



