12 Proceedings of Hie Asia fir Society. [Jan. 



He said that he congratulated the Society of Dr. Fayrer as their 

 President. It was especially opportune, as the arrangment for the 

 experiment of an ethnological congress, which had been first suggested 

 by Dr. Fayrer, would have to be matured by the Society during the 

 ensuing year, and would now have the benefit of Dr. Fayrer's 

 personal supervision. As to the exact present position of that ex- 

 periment, Dr. Fayrer would be better able to speak than himself, 

 but he could at least say that the proposal had excited, much attention 

 and warm sympathy among scientific men and scientific bodies in 

 Europe, and had already resulted in the collection of a large mass of 

 information, both valuable and interesting, regarding the tribes of 

 India and the countries on its borders. 



As regards the position of the Society too, the year which had 

 just passed was an important one. Their museum which, valuable 

 and extensive as it was, bad outgrown the measure of the Society's 

 resources, had been handed over to the Trustees of the future Imperial 

 Museum. 



The President could not but think that experience had already 

 shown the wisdom of this step. The valuable services of Dr. 

 Anderson, which the Society's means could never have enabled it to 

 secure, had already resulted in the addition of much that was required 

 to the Collections, and had saved, improved and utilized much which 

 they already possessed. The President was sure that all the members 

 of the Society who visited the museum would at once recognise the 

 value of Dr. Anderson's labours. And he was convinced that the 

 transfer of the Society's collections to the museum would tend greatly 

 to their improvement and better preservation, and to their better 

 service to the cause of science. 



To the members, these collections, with the collections of the new 

 museum, would be still as freely and conveniently available as before, 

 and he believed, in short, that the measure would only result in the 

 greater usefulness, dignity and prosperity of the Asiatic Society. 



On one subject only, the reports of the past year which had just 

 been read were unsatisfactory, and it was the point on which the reports 

 always had been unsatisfactory, and this was the pecuniary condition. 

 The labours of Dr. Anderson had shown the necessity for a large 

 expenditure even belore the transfer; and this heavy outlay had told 



