112 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [April, 



that time, Dr. Oldham was absent from Calcutta, and he did not 

 receive notice of his election until his return some weeks later. When 

 however, he got this notice, he objected that the advertisements of the 

 Annual Meeting of the 15th January had not been published a suf- 

 ficient number of days before the meeting according to the rules which 

 specified seven days in that respect, while only three had actually 

 elapsed between the publication and the meeting. On this ground he 

 maintained that the meeting at which he had been elected was no 

 proper meeting for the election of officers, and consequently his pre- 

 tended election was void. After this, a special meeting of the Council 

 was held at the request of Dr. Oldham, at which he was present and 

 stated his views. The Council then unanimously resolved that not- 

 withstanding the irregularity in question relative to the advertise- 

 ments, the election of the President was perfectly valid, and they 

 called upon Dr. Oldham to say whether he would accept the office or 

 not. Dr. Oldham's answer is exhibited in the letters now placed 

 before the Society. In substance, he denies that any real election has 

 yet taken place for this year, and demands that proceedings should 

 now be taken de novo for the purpose of effecting one. It was im- 

 possible for the Council to concede to this. In their view, the correct- 

 ness of which, he [the Chairman] was not now concerned to discuss, 

 there had been a perfectly valid election, and the Council could of 

 course only act according to the facts as they themselves saw them. 

 Under these circumstances, they would have been justified, no doubt, 

 as the executive body of the Society, in treating Dr. Oldham's 

 behaviour as amounting virtually to non-acceptance of the office ten- 

 dered to him. If they were right, the Society had offered Dr. 

 Oldham its highest office, and he had not within a reasonable time 

 signified his acceptance of the offer. The Council might therefore on 

 their own responsibility have taken the necessary steps for the 

 election of another person* They have thought it better, however, to 

 lay the whole matter before the Society, while at the same time 

 they have considered it to be their duty to recommend the Society 

 to act in it in accordance with the view, which they, after much 

 consideration, have already taken. As the organ of the Council, he 

 therefore now begged to notify to the Society that Wednesday, 

 6th of May, had been fixed as the day for a Special Meeting to 



