No. 58.— 1907.] 



PROCEEDINGS. 



281 



advice given to me to-night by Mr. James Pieris to attend the 

 meetings of the Society here and begin to learn and be a humble 

 disciple. In doing that I will not place myself in a worse position 

 than did the Governor when the Society was first founded in 1845, 

 and when the Governor of the day became the first President 

 and Patron of this Society. At the same time I have considerable 

 hesitation in occupying the Chair at your meetings, seeing what 

 distinguished predecessors I have had before me. I refer especially 

 to Sir William Gregory. I refer also to Sir Arthur Gordon, now 

 Lord Stanmore, who was a most active Member of the Society, 

 and gave them the benefit of a very large amount of knowledge. 

 My immediate predecessor also took the greatest interest in the 

 archaeology of this Island, and did in the same way as I hope 

 to do, even if I have not the fund of knowledge my predecessors 

 have possessed, assist the Society. I cannot help feeling that one 

 has a grand opportunity in a Colony of this sort of picking up 

 knowledge which is interesting in itself, but most valuable in keep- 

 ing the present in touch with the past. When I read books like 

 Emerson Tennent's Ceylon and Cave's Buried Cities one feels how 

 small one is in the presence of past great civilizations, such as those 

 that were on this Island. When you think of the cities of Anura- 

 dhapura, towns of enormous size with teeming populations, their 

 works of irrigation and remains of art, one has a field of study 

 — if, as I say, a wretched Governor can find time to study — which 

 will be most interesting and profitable for him. The Buddhist 

 remains in this Island are very wonderful, and it was only two 

 days ago I stood in this Museum talking of them with His Majesty 

 the King of Siam. He then said to me : " But the worst of it is 

 you have all the remains of Buddhism, but they are all in pieces. 

 You ought to come to Siam to see remains of Buddha." I replied : 

 " Your Majesty, I may go to Siam — I have been in Japan, where 

 I have seen monuments to Buddha — but when I come to Ceylon 

 I can study antiquity. We can show you antiquity which the 

 other two countries do not possess." One feels we have a grand 

 thing before us in the exploration, discovery, and piecing together, 

 and reconstruction now being done so profitably and well by that 

 hard-working officer of Government, Mr. Bell. I hope, as I say, 

 that you Members of the Society will excuse any ignorance I may 

 display of Oriental study when sitting in this Chair, but that 

 at all events you will feel I have the interests of the Society at 

 heart, and I will do all I can to profit by the instruction I get from 

 the different Papers read. I thank you very much for the way 

 in which you have responded to the vote of thanks. 



This concluded the Proceedings, and those present thereafter 

 inspected the specimens sent by Mr. Pole. 



17 MAR. 1308 



