350 
ANNUAL REPORT 
AND 
ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF A GENERAL MEETING OF THE ROYAL 
ARTILLERY INSTITUTION, HELD ON JULY 1, 1878. 
Lieut.-General Sie J. H. Lefroy, C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R.S., in the Chair. 
1. The Committee of the Royal Artillery Institution beg to submit 
the Annual Report to the General Meeting of members. 
2. There are now 1553 members of the Institution. (Vide Table, 
Appendix “ C”) During the past year 57 officers have joined the 
Institution, against 34 casualties from deaths and withdrawals. 
3. The financial condition of the Institution continues very satis¬ 
factory j the general credit amounting to £2550. This is less by about 
£120 than the general credit of last year; the difference being due to 
increased expenditure in the Printing Department, consequent upon 
the preparation of a new edition of the “ Handbook for Field Service/-’ 
and also to increased outlay in assistance to Classes at out-stations. It 
will be seen that the cash in hand at the end of the year amounted, to 
about £243. A portion of this sum has been absorbed by payment for 
a turning lathe ordered in the year, but not delivered until after its 
expiration. The remainder the Committee propose to expend upon the 
improvement of the Library; a Sub-Committee having been formed to 
suggest scientific and professional works which it is desirable that it 
should contain. 
4. The French and German Classes held in the Institution have been, 
as usual, taken full advantage of. Classes have also been held in 
Turkish, Russian, and Drawing. There have also been Classes at out- 
stations, assisted from the funds of the Institution, for the study of 
French, German, and Drawing. 
5. The Committee have to lament the loss of one of the earliest, most 
constant, and most generous friends of this Institution, in the person of 
tlie late Major-General Frederick Marow Eardley-Wilmot—an original 
member, late Trustee, and one of the “ two Subalterns ” (the other 
being Lieut. Lefroy) to whom its origination is due. It was particularly 
by his influence and exertions that the present building was erected at 
the public expense in 1851-4, and provided on so liberal a scale with 
whatever is necessary for instructional purposes. Major-General 
Eardley-Wilmot took from the outset a large view of the place and 
functions of such an Institution at the head-quarters of the regiment. 
His personal services were always at command, and his straightforward 
advocacy, supported by the well-known manliness and purity of his 
character, contributed greatly in its earlier career to enlist confidence 
