372 



Proceedings of Societies : 



[Oct. 



have acquired a complete knowledge of Oriental tongues, without hav- 

 ing visited that quarter of the globe. 



Alexander Pearson, Esq., conferred a valuable gift on a large porti" 

 on of the human race, by introducing the vaccine inoculation in^^o 

 China. This useful, and, with regard to so exclusive a people, diffi- 

 cult measure, he accomplished in the year 1^05; and wrote, at the 

 same time, a pamphlet on the subject, which has been much circulated 

 in China. 



The " History of British India," has placed the name of James Mill, 

 Esq., in the list of British Historians of the first class ; while his works 

 on political economy have secured to him an equal eminence in this 

 branch of science. The great ability displayed by Mr. Mill in his 

 History, and the investigations made by him into the political condi- 

 tion of India, recommended him to the notice of the Court of Directors 

 of the Hon. the East India Company, in whose employ he long held one 

 of the most distinguished situations, 



Your Council would now turn to a more pleasing part of its duty. It 

 is happy to congratulate the Members on the increased number of elec 

 tions since the last Anniversary, which exceeds the usual average of 

 former years ; and comprises, in the class of contributing Members, 

 nineteen Resident, and twenty-one Non-Resident. One Honorary, and 

 five Corresponding Members, have also been elected during the same 

 period. 



The additional Honorary Member is His Highness the Imam of Mus- 

 cat. On the arrival in this country of Captain Cogan, of the Indian 

 Navy, in command of the Liverpool man-of-war, a present from the Tm^m 

 of Muscat to the King of England, the Council took occasion to re- 

 commend to the Society to elect His Highness an Honorary Member, in 

 token of its approbation of the encouragement given by His Highness 

 to the Arts and Sciences amongst his people, particularly to those of 

 ship-building and navigation ; and as manifesting its high sense of his 

 desire to open a direct intercourse between his country and Great 

 Britain ; and of the friendly feeling he has on all occasions exhibited 

 towards the subjects, Asiatic as well as European, of the British empire. 



Of the Non-Resident Members elected last year, seventeen are native 

 gentlemen of Bombay, one of Madras, and one of Bengal. Thirteen 

 of the former are Justices of the Peace at the Presidency to which 

 ihey belong. To the kindly feelings of Sir Charles Forbes, we are in- 

 debted for the introduction to the Society of sixteen of the gentlemen 

 of Bombay; and this accession to our numbers must in every point of 

 riew be a matter of congratulation. Your Council would hope, likewise, 



