394 



Proceedings of Societies: 



[Ocr 



the state of their finances, it might be worth while to see if a consider- 

 able saving could not be eifected by such a junction. The two Societies 

 had the same object in view, and held their meetings in the same house; 

 and yet their measures were carried on by a double machinery. The ex- 

 pense, of course, was greater, by such separate proceedings, and this he 

 thought might be considerably diminished by a connexion between the 

 two Societies. He did not mean at that time to move any Resolutions 

 on the subject ; but he would rrad two Propositions which he had pre- 

 pared as subjects to be considered on a future occasion: — 



1. That a more intimate union of interests and of government, be- 

 tween the Royal Asiatic Society and the Committee of the Oriental 

 Translation Fund is highly desirable for the promotion of their common 

 object, the diffusion of knowledge connected with Asia, whether by 

 means of Translations, or by means of Original Communications. 



2. That the following propositions be made to the Committee of the 

 Oriental Translation Fund : — 



That the Oriental Translation Committee be a Committee of the 

 R.oyal Asiatic Society : that all the present Members of the Committee 

 be confirmed : but that no new Members be elected who are not Mem- 

 bers of the Royal Asiatic Society. 



That the Oriental Translation Fund be in future called the Oriental 

 Translation and Publication Fund, and be applicable, in certain pro- 

 portions, to the purposes of original publications upon Oriental 

 subjects, as well as to those of translations of Oriental works ; and 

 that all Ten Guinea Subscribers to that Oriental Fund shall be entitled, 

 a^jcordingly, to receive copies of all the Publications of the Royal 

 Asiatic Society, in addition to those of the Translations published 

 under the direction of the Oriental Translation Committee. 



It is presumed that the plan of including the original publications 

 of the Society v/ith the translations of Oriental works, if approved 

 of by the present Subscribers, will add to the popularity of the Fund 

 and that the augmentation in the list of Subscribers would prevent 

 any diminution of the pecuniary resources specially at the disposal 

 of the Oriental Committee, while it would materially improve the 

 general finances of the Society. 



He thought it would not be difficult to show the advantages which 

 must arise from the proposed junction. When first the Oriental Transla- 

 tion Fund had commenced its labours, it had printed many valuable 

 works, which had been but little knoAvn. The first harvest of their 

 exertions was now reaped, as the works which remained to be translated 



