20 



EEV. ANDREW CRAIG ROBINSON^ M.A., ON 



of tlie Book of Daniel and 30tli verse, which seems to imply 

 the same account, is also — not contradicted — but confirmed 

 by the inscriptions ; and the words of the Book of Daniel, with 

 all that they imply, stand unrefuted, "In that night was 

 Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain." 



Discussion. 



The Chairman, in opening the Meeting, previous to the reading 

 of the paper, said that since their last Ordinary Meeting the 

 Victoria Institute had suffered a severe loss in the death of its 

 Secretary, Mr. F. S. Bishop, M.A., J.P. During the three years that 

 he had held that office, Mr. Bishop had worked most devotedly for 

 the welfare of the Institute, and the result of his labours had been 

 seen in the enhanced interest of the Meetings, and in the increase 

 in the roll of Members and Associates. But the Institute was 

 fortunate in securing as his successor Mr. Maunder, who had just 

 retired after forty years' service from his important post as 

 Superintendent of the Solar Department of the Royal Observatory, 

 Greenwich. The Institute had been founded for the discussion of 

 questions in philosophy arid science, and it was therefore to be 

 congratulated in having secured as its Secretary a man of scientific 

 eminence, one who had already served on the Council of the 

 Institute for four years, and had contributed two papers to their 

 Proceedings. 



After the paper had been read, the Chairman said that he desired, 

 on behalf of the Institute, to offer his hearty thanks to the Rev. 

 Andrew Craig Robinson for the admirable paper to which they had 

 just listened. He was glad to see that Dr. Pinches was present, 

 who was so high an authority on Babylonian inscriptions, and that 

 there was also present another veteran in the controversy on the 

 Book of Daniel — Sir Robert Anderson. That controversy presented 

 features similar to those respecting the Book of Genesis. It was 

 only seventy years since they first began to gain from the excavations 

 light upon the ancient history of Babylonia ; but, long before 

 that, every child in a Christian household was acquainted, from 

 what he had read in the Book of Genesis, with the most important 

 facts concerning the origin of the Assyrian and Babylonian 

 kingdoms. In the same way, the facts which were now 1)eing estab- 

 lished respecting the Conquest of Babylon proved to have been 

 those implied in the Book of Daniel. 



