Minutes of the Academy. 
Ixxv 
each, for Essays on the Irish Language, and the Literature in that Lan- 
guage, A"vritten and un- written, in each province of Ireliind. They 
propose inviting, in the first instance. Essays relative to the Irish Lan- 
guage in the provinces of Munster and Connaught. The Council will 
take care to make it known that they do not undertake to award any 
Premium unless they shall consider the Essays sent in to possess ade- 
quate merit. 
A Bill for the preservation of Ancient National Monuments in the 
United Kingdom, having been prepared by Sir John Lubbock, was sub- 
mitted by him to the Council, with a request that they would supply 
a list of such Irish monuments as ought, in their opinion, to be enume- 
rated in the Schedule. The Council, having been informed that a Bill 
for the same purpose, intended to apply to Ireland only, had been pre- 
pared by Mr. P. J. Smyth, M. P., obtained a copy of it also; and re- 
quested the Committee of Polite Literature and Antiquities to consider 
both Bills, and to report as to any clauses in either of them which were 
open to objection, and as to the additional provisions which might seem 
necessary to make an efficient measure. The Committee was further 
requested to prepare such a list of Irish monuments as Sir John Lub- 
bock desired. This list was accordingly drawn up and sent to Sir John 
Lubbock, and a copy of it was also placed at Mr. P. J. Smyth's dis- 
posal. The Eeport of the Committee on the two Bills contains a very 
full examination of the merits and defects of the proposed measure ; 
and a copy of this Eeport has been forwarded to Sir John Lubbock. We 
have also, at his request, presented a petition to the House of Commons 
in favour of his Bill, pra5dng, however, at the same time, that it may 
be amended by introducing provisions for an enlarged representation of 
Ireland on the Board of Commissioners which it proposes to create, as well 
as for the holding of meetings of this Board from time to time in Ireland. 
After the Report of last year was presented, the Committee of 
Science, finding that Mr. Abraham, to whom a grant of £50 had been 
made, out of the sum of £200 annually placed at the disposal of the 
Academy for the assistance of scientific researches, was unable to avail 
himself of it, allocated this amount as follows: — 
1. To Mr. Alexander G. More, £15, for Researches on the Flora of 
the West of Ireland. 
2. To Mr. Charles W. Burton, £17 105., for the construction of a 
Spectroscope to investigate the Aurora Borealis and Zodiacal Light. 
3. To Mr. G. J. Stoney, £17 10^., towards the completion of the 
great Academy Spectroscope, to be used in that gentleman's Researches 
on the Interrupted Spectra of Gases, the original grant for this pur- 
pose having been insufficient. 
The action of the Committee in making this allocation was approved 
by the Council, and their Resolution to that effect was reported to the 
Academy. 
You will be asked at the present Meeting, to confirm the following 
grants, which have been made out of the same fund for the current 
year: — 
