COUNCIL FOR igOO. 
IX 
balance of £221. Considering £120 of this as of an extra¬ 
ordinary character, we may still point to the welcome fact 
that, in consequence of the great economy exercised, our 
income has exceeded our expenditure by over £100. And 
that this has been accomplished without any loss of efficiency 
will be evident to all who read the foregoing remarks, and the 
reports of the Honorary Curators that follow. 
The number of new members is quite up to the average, but 
the losses by death and resignation have been unusually heavy. 
The Council would again urge upon the members the desira¬ 
bility of bringing the claims and advantages of the Society 
before the notice of newcomers, and of such of their friends as 
are not acquainted with its work. The payment of the interest 
and sinking fund on the debt and the heavy establishment 
charges of the Museum and Gardens (most of which are 
practically fixed in amount; absorb by far the greater part of 
the Society’s income ; and it is only a small balance that is 
available for the scientific purposes of the Society, such as 
purchase and the preservation of antiquities, the maintenance 
and enlargement of the collections, the purchase of new books 
for the library and the expenses of lectures. 
As a result of rigid economy during the last few years, the 
accounts at last shew a substantial balance on the right side : 
but if more members could be enrolled, funds would be avail¬ 
able for many purposes to which the Council could most 
usefully devote them. It ought to be borne in mind that the 
claims of this Society ought not to be measured merely by 
the direct advantages accruing to those who become members. 
It has a just claim on the public inasmuch as it has preserved 
many objects of antiquarian and scientific interest which 
would otherwise have been lost to the world. With increased 
means such services could be indefinitely extended. Its claims 
rest on the same basis as those of the Minster Restoration 
Fund and similar objects from which subscribers do not expect 
immediate personal benefit. 
At the time of the building of the Museum, now many years 
ago, excavations were made in the most promising parts of the 
grounds then under the control of the Society, and many facts 
