2 



The Twenty -Eighth General Meeting. 



He would now call upon the Secretary, Rev. A. C. Smith, to read the 



REPORT. 



"The Committee of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural 

 History Society, again desires to report a summary of the Society's 

 proceedings during the past year. 



" Your Committee has to lament the decease of an unusual number 

 of old and valued members during the past twelvemonths. Amongst 

 these should be specially mentioned Mr. R. P. Nisbet, of South- 

 broom House, Devizes ; Mr. G. W. Anstie, of Devizes ; Sir F. 

 Bathurst, and the Rev. J. N. Peill, all of whom were original 

 subscribers. Also Major Calley, of Burderop, and Mr. T. E. Fowle, 

 of Chute Lodge, who became members in 1854 and 1855 respectively. 

 There are also losses of other members who have joined the Society 

 at a later period ; as well as the resignation of others under the 

 pressure of hard times. On the other hand, and in some degree to 

 counterbalance these losses, have been enrolled twenty-one new 

 members during the year, the result being that there are now on the 

 books of the Society 380 members, being a very slight decrease 

 since this time last year. 



" In regard to Finance, the balance-sheet shows a slight improve- 

 ment with respect to funds in hand since last year's report, and this 

 is mainly attributable to the handsome sum passed over to the credit 

 of the Society at the close of the annual meeting at Bradford, in 

 1881. It must not however be supposed that the Society's income 

 is in excess of its expenditure ; on the contrary, it cannot be too 

 generally published that its operations are oftentimes considerably 

 hindered by a lack of adequate funds at its command. It should 

 not be omitted to mention with gratitude that a donation of £2 was 

 made to the funds of the Society by Mr. William Brown, Mayor of 

 the Borough of Devizes, for the year ending November 9th, 1881. 



" In regard to the literary work of the Society, two more numbers 

 of the Magazine have been issued in the course of the year, which it is 

 hoped are not inferior in interest to their predecessors. The sixtieth 

 number, concluding the twentieth volume, is now in course of pre- 

 paration. The Society has also decided on the immediate publication 



