G 2 
[No. 1, 
Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 
9 
Oldham showed us that he hoped to derive from this collection most 
material assistance in determining the question of the true age of 
the coal-bearing strata of this country. 
“ The June meeting was also an interesting one. Information was 
communicated to it of the fall of aerolites at Peeprassee on the 12th 
May, and further particulars of the previous fall at Dhurmsala,—a 
magnificent specimen of the former was exhibited. 
“ It was then also that we received the first announcement of the 
intention of Government to send an expedition across the snows 
under Captain E. Smyth to Chinese Tartary, and although this 
project has since been dropped in consequence of the failure to obtain 
passports for the party from Pekin, it is to be hoped that it is aban¬ 
doned for a time only. I am, I believe, at liberty to mention the 
names of the gentlemen who were to form Captain Smyth’s party. 
They were Dr. W. L. Stewart, Mr. H. B. Medlicott, Lieutenant 
Basevie and Dr. T. C. Jerdon. 
“ At our August meeting, Colonel Yule read a memo, drawn up by 
M. de Mazure, Vicar apostolic of Thibet, on the countries between 
that country Yunan and Burmah, which had been sent to us by 
Colonel Phayre. Lord Canning, it will be remembered, attended 
at this meeting. The subject was full of interest, for at the time we 
had not heard of Colonel Sarel’s return from his attempt to penetrate 
to Thibet through W. China. It was thought that any day might 
bring us news of him from Lhassa or even Darjeeling. Colonel YYtle 
illustrated his remarks on the memo, by a map compiled by himself 
from the scanty materials available, and this map is, I believe, being- 
published with the memo, in the forthcoming No. of our Journal. 
At the next meeting the failure of the Y r ang-tse Kiang expedition 
was announced, and soon afterwards the purport of the unfavourable 
reply from Pekin to the application of the Indian Government for 
passports of Captain Smyth’s party was communicated to the Society. 
I earnestly hope that a renewed attempt which Colonel Sarel has 
applied for leave to make, up the Yangtse-Kiang, may ere long be 
sanctioned bv the home Government, and that the same authorities 
may further permit the vigorous prosecution of other expeditions 
which have been mooted during the last year, and which have for 
their object the extension of our geographical knowledge of the 
countries on our northern and eastern frontiers. 
