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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIX. 



additional space provided will be most fully in demand — indeed 

 already, I believe, some of our friends of the " Ceylon Society of 

 Arts " are wondering if space could be made in the Museum 

 building for a limited collection of paintings, if such should be 

 brought together, as the nucleus of a future national collection. 

 The Members of this Society, I feel sure, will be in full sympathy 

 with this aspiration ; but whether the space can be made avail- 

 able is another matter to be considered hereafter. 



In view of a recent decision of the Council of this Society, on an 

 application from Government, it is satisfactory to have an opinion 

 from Mr. D. W. Ferguson by a recent mail to the effect that "It 

 will be a thousand pities if the Ceylon Government do not wait for 

 Dr. Geiger's edition of the Mahawansa before printing a new 

 edition of the English translation. Wijesinhe's edition " — he 

 adds — " is utterly inadequate." 



This Society may well take an interest in the completion of Dr. 

 Herdman's great work on our Pearl Oyster Fisheries, Parts IV. 

 and V., having appeared since I referred to the subject in my last 

 year's address. The great permanent value of the large number of 

 reports by the great experts of the day on the Marine Biology of 

 Ceylon cannot be over-estimated, and the Government as well as the 

 Royal Society may well be congratulated on the result. Mention 

 should be made of the "Finds" of the Archaeological Survey brought 

 to the Museum during the past year and filling no fewer than three 

 cases. Photographs of the same lie on our table to-night ; but all 

 who possibly can should make a point of examining the originals, 

 which make a valuable addition to the Museum Collection. In the 

 Museum generally progress has been made ; but more room is 

 the urgent need. The headquarters of the Mineralogical Survey 

 are now in the Museum, where Mr. Parsons and his Assistant work. 

 There are several bits of useful work before the Members as yet 

 untouched ; but for this I must refer to my address in last year's 

 Journal. 



Meantime, with reference to Mr. Bell's long and able summary 

 of his archaeological operations, just read to us, I wish to direct 

 attention specially to one point, namely, the wholly inadequate 

 vote made by Government at present for restoration work. This 

 is, I believe, only Rs. 5,000 in all, whereas the Indian Government 

 votes for this single purpose Rs. 132,500, or about double the total 

 Archaeological Survey vote for Ceylon. Now the small sum 

 allowed in Ceylon is becoming a serious question from a practical 

 point of view, and for this reason Mr. Bell who, for eighteen years 

 has devoted himself with so much enthusiasm to this archaeological 

 work, is getting on in years ; his time for pension is, in fact, 

 within sight, even if the Government, as we hope it may, secure 

 his services as Archaeological Commissioner until 1911, when he 

 will be sixty years of age, or why not indeed (as Mr. Bell is still 

 hale and hearty) until 1916. But the point is, that it will be a 

 thousand pities if the Ceylon authorities do not make the fullest 

 use of Mr. Bell's great experience and ardour, during whatever 

 time remains for him at his present work, by enabling him to 

 supervise far more extended works of restoration. With Rs. 5 ,000 



