34 
President's Address. 
-l reswuni s jLaaress. [Feb 
twelvemonth to the remarkable series of discoveries of which the telephone 
Td ina t S a r he Ph0n0graphand m ’ cro pbone some of the results, 
and in astronomy one if not two planets have been shewn to exist, on far 
more satisfactory evidence than any previously existing, within the orbit of 
cury. there has been no lack of scientific energy, and the results have 
een in proportion to the labour, the correspondence between power expend- 
and work done holding good in mental as in material dynamics. In 
mope and America^ where the workers are many, the advance in scientific 
ought is great Here m British India and its dependencies, the labourers 
aie comparatively few, and the results are consequently small, but it will 
]a , ' f j? SS S ° me , ° f these bne % in review, and try to ascertain what the 
labours of the year have added to our knowledge. 
There is one feature in which almost all scientific work in India differs 
from that in Europe and America, and especially from the work done in 
the British Islands and in the United States. In the west nearly all that 
is effected is due to the labour, entirely spontaneous, and for by far the 
greater part unremunerated, of private individuals, or of associations like 
our own ; very little is due to the initiation of the ruling power, however 
willing the Government may be, in some cases, to aid and extend exploration 
already commenced. In India, although Societies like the Asiatic are not 
directly subordinate to the Government of the country, by far the laro-er 
proportion of our members are officers of the Government, and, in many 
cases are officially engaged in scientific enquiries. Hence no small portion 
of the scientific work of the year, instead of being due to private research, 
is the result of investigations made for the Government of the country by 
its own officials, and consequently a review of the year must deal largely 
with national rather than individual undertakings. 
. „ me ™ berS of the Asiafcic Society, and especially to those resident 
m Calcutta, perhaps the most interesting incident of the past year has been 
the opening of the new Indian Museum. The ornithological and reptilian 
and the archaeological galleries were thrown open to the public on the 1st 
April, and the mammalian gallery in December. The collection of speci¬ 
mens in spirit is arranged in cases and nearly ready for exhibition, and a 
poition oi the beautiful Buddhist railing from Bharahut has been set up in 
the archaeological gallery in the room to the south of the entrance Very 
much still remains to be done ; the ethnological collection has not yet been 
provided with cases, although arrangements have been made by the Trustees 
to meet the expense, and the archaeological collection, almost entirely trans¬ 
ferred from the Society,, is still unarranged and unprovided with stands ■ 
but for this also provision has been made by the Government. But seeing 
the progress that has already been made, and considering how great ha's 
been the labour necessary, I think that very much has been accomplished 
