COUNCIL FOR IQOl. 
9 
Turning to the financial condition of the Society, the Report 
is not so satisfactory. We are faced by the unpleasant fact 
that our expenditure has exceeded our income by nearly £50. 
There is a simple and perfectly satisfactory explanation of this 
fact, but the statement is one that a managing body cannot make 
with cheerfulness. A brief examination of our financial state¬ 
ment, however, will shew that there is absolutely no cause for any 
uneasiness. The income for 1900 was £1353 18s. 3d., that 
for last year, £1248 5s. od. But it must be remembered that 
the income for 1900 included £100 from the Bulmer bequest 
and a donation of £20 from the Rev. W. Haworth, while the 
past year’s income contains no item that is not of ordinary 
occurrence. Comparing these ordinary items, we find that 
on these our income for the past year shews an increase 
of nearly £15 on that of the year before. The gate money 
shows a substantial increase and the tent has proved a useful 
source of revenue. But it is disappointing to note that 
the members’ subscriptions are £20 less than in 1900. This 
is not due to diminution in our numbers ; the Society has an 
accession of 52 to place against a loss of 48 ; it is owing to a 
curious and inexplicable disinclination on the part of some of 
our members to pay at the proper time. The Council desires 
to take this opportunity of pointing out the extreme incon¬ 
venience that arises from this irregularity, and begs of all 
members to assist in simplifying matters by punctual payment 
of subscriptions—which are payable in advance on January 1st 
of each year. 
While our financial statement shews no extraordinary item 
of income, it does shew an unusual item of expenditure, and 
one that fully accounts for our deficit, viz. : the excavations in 
the Abbey Church referred to before. The amount expended 
on this amounts to over £75, and it will be at once seen 
that had not the Council actively pushed this important and 
interesting work, instead of an adverse balance of £50 we 
should have had a surplus of £25. Valuable as is the work of 
excavation, it becomes a question whether the Council should 
prosecute it without an appeal for external assistance to 
supplement the sorely strained resources of the Society. We 
are still faced by several urgent needs, the most important of 
