10 



The Twenty -Fifth Annual Meeting. 



of saying, " Give us the opportunity of purchasing" it at a fair 

 valuation." So that they would see that all those who, like Lord 

 Ailoshury, were anxious to preserve the monuments, would not be 

 interfered with the least bit in the world. That being the case, if 

 his Lordship had still been a Member of the House of Commons he 

 should have confidently claimed him as a supporter when he brought 

 the Bill forward again, as he proposed to do next session. He now 

 begged to propose the health of the General Secretaries, the General 

 Curators, and the Committee of the Society. In spite of all that 

 had been done, there still remained much to do, in fact, to use the 

 graphic simile of Sir George Balfour in the House the other day, 

 " What has been done in comparison with what remains to do, is 

 really but a flea-bite in the ocean/'' 



The Rev. A. C. Smith returned thanks, and proposed the health 

 of those who had really undertaken the work of the Meeting, the 

 Local Committee, and especially the Local Secretaries. The inde- 

 fatigable labours of the Rev. Mr. Preston, Mr. R. W. Merriman, 

 and Mr. H. P. Dixon, had secured a most successful Meeting, and 

 they were entitled to their warmest acknowledgments. 



The Rev. T. A. Preston, in reply, remarked that his share of the 

 work had been merely routine, and the credit was due to Mr. 

 Merriman and Mr. Dixon, who had arranged all the details. As to 

 the Museum, he could safely say there was no one to whom he ap- 

 plied for help who did not most cordially give it. Their thanks 

 were especially due to the College authorities, who wished to show 

 the Society some special distinction, for any ordinary Society would 

 not have been allowed to make use of the College buildings. The 

 authorities had placed the resources of the College entirely at their 

 disposal, and therefore their thanks were especially due to them, and 

 also to those who had so generously contributed to the museum and 

 those who had spent so much time in arranging it, and their name 

 was legion. 



The health of " The Ladies " was proposed by Lord Frederick 

 Bruce, and acknowledged by Mr. Woodward, after which the 

 company separated. 



