52 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Feb. 



tli an I have been to promote your interests. My absence from 

 among you this evening, which necessity alone could have caused 

 has confirmed my opinion that your President ought to be one con- 

 stantly resident in Calcutta. And I look forward with great hopes 

 to the steady progress and increased utility of the Society, under 

 the presidency of the learned member, to whom I now resign the 

 Chair. 



Camp Chanda, January 22nd, 1870. 



Before the meeting terminated it was proposed by the chairman, 

 Dr. S. B. Partridge, and seconded by H. F. B 1 a n f o r d, Esq., 

 and carried with acclamation — 



That the special thanks of the Society be given to Colonel J. E. 

 Gastrell for his very able services rendered to the Society as 

 Treasurer for the last six years. 



Ordinary Meeting for the month of February, 1870. 



The meeting then resolved into an ordinary meeting — 

 Dr. S. B. P a r t r i d g e, in the chair. 



The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. 



The receipt of the following presentations was announced : — 



1. From Colonel Gr. H. S a x t o n, Canur, — a set of iron imple- 

 ments &c. found in a cromlech in the estate of Major Sweet. The 

 following letter, dated 25th Nov., 1869, accompanied the donation. 



"The accompanying were quite recently dug out from a cromlech on 

 the estate of Major S w e e t in the South side of the Nilgherry plateau. 

 Many other things of the same description as well as some quite dif- 

 ferent, were found in the same place. Similar Cromlechs exist all 

 over the Nilgherries, and some have been opened before this, but 

 I believe not many. In some of those, precisely similar articles have 

 been found, but in others the search has been fruitless, perhaps they 

 had been previously opened. I dont know whether the Society has 

 on record any information regarding the Nilgherry cromlechs, but 

 I send these, hoping that some Archaeologist may make them inter- 

 esting by instituting enquiries, which I shall be happy to assist in, 

 after my return to the hills in the hot season. None of the present 

 hill tribes possess the slightest knowledge as to the origin of either 



