since the last catalogue was printed, or, during the last 15 years. This list, of which an abstract is given below, is now submitted for inspection, whereby it will be observed that, while the classes containing works for the general reader have received by far the largest additions, the others have not only, not been entirely neglected, but have probably, had as much expended upon them as the Society's funds have been able to allow; or if not, it is because the deficiencies in them have not been pointed out to the Committee by members conversant with the subjects treated of in these classes :

10. Of the services of Vishnu Shastree, which, at the solicitation of the Society, have been kindly made available to it by the Government at a salary of Rs. 50 per mensem, since the 10th April 1856, for the purpose of deciphering the Cave-Temple inscriptions of the Bombay Presidency, the Rev. Dr. Wilson, Honorary President of the Society, and President of the Cave-Temple Commission, under whom Vishnu Shastree has been engaged, states as follows:

"Vishnu Shastree's progress is, on the whole, as good as could be expected; my late illness has prevented me from collating all his transcriptions and translations; but I hope to be able to do this service for the Society as soon as I get my work on 'Caste,' through the Press. The results I see are important, and bring to light many errors in the former tentamina connected with the caves."

11. It is with much regret that the Committee have to inform the Society that the White-Ants, which infest the Town-Hall throughout, have found their way into the Library, and destroyed many of the books.

This was first discovered in September 1858, and since that there have been several incursions in different parts of the Library. In all they have amounted to seven, during which 12 works or 33 volumes have been destroyed, and 12 works or 38 volumes slightly injured; fortunately those which have been destroyed have chiefly consisted of Novels, the others have been works in the classes of Classics and Chemistry;" Nicholson's Journal" however, has severely suffered. The last incursion discovered, was in the month of August. Means have been taken for suppressing these insects, but without holding out any probability of success, and therefore the subject has become one of much anxious consideration with your Committee, who, in despair of being able to find out any radical remedy without a reconstruction of the book-cases generally, which would be attended with great expense, have resolved to refer the matter to Government.

12. Your Committee also regret to have to record that, previously, and also since the incursions of the White-Ants commenced, the classes of Foreign Literature and Biography suffered on two occasions severely from leakage in the roof; one from the obstruction of a waterpipe, and the other from obstruction in the gutter leading to it. The former took place in June 1858, when 300 volumes of the classes mentioned were soaked through and more or less destroyed, and the latter in July last, when 400 volumes more of the same classes were similarly injured. On each occasion report was immediately made to the Civil Architect, who promptly had the obstructions removed, and stated that they had occurred accidentally.

13. Another, but more pleasing fact for record, is the addition of the room formerly used for the office of the Director of Public Instruction to the Library. This was occasioned through the erection of the statue of the late Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, Baronet, in the central doorway of the Library looking into the vestibule, and the consequent alterations that were necessary in the vestibule and Library, which so deprived the Society of room in the latter, that, on application to the Right Honorable the Governor, Lord Elphinstone, for compensation, connected with the fact that, there were already upwards of two thousand volumes in the library concealed behind others for want of room, His Lordship was pleased not only to make over to the Society the apartment used for the office of the Director of Public Instruction, but at the same time to place the private room of the Director at the disposal of the "Geographical Society," thus giving up the whole of the upper rooms of the northern end of the Town-Hall to the two Societies; bringing them together, by which they might mutually assist each other; and

removing from their neighbourhood everything that could tend to disturb that quiet and repose which is so essential to the attainment of their respective objects.

14. Consequent on the addition of the room mentioned to the Library, the Society becomes in possession of a much better apartment for its Museum, both as regards space and light, than the present one, and therefore your Committee would suggest that, the contents of the latter should be transferred to the former as soon as possible, particularly as, through the liberality of the President, a sum of money has been guaranteed to the Secretary, for defraying all expenses connected with this change.

This report was received, and the best thanks of the Society voted to the President, Vice-Presidents, and Members of the Committee of Management for their valuable services during the past year.

Dr. Leith, seconded by Dr. Harkness, moved a special vote of thanks to the President for his liberality towards the Society in behalf of the removal of the Museum to the newly acquired apparent, which was unanimously carried.

The following gentlemen were elected for the Committee of Management, Auditors, and Museum Committee for the ensuing year,-the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer being considered re-elected :

Dr. Birdwood, seconded by Dr. Dallas, moved—

"That the Cave-Temple Commission be requested to be good enough to furnish a detailed statement of the Caves examined, and Inscriptions deciphered or copied, and how many Caves and Inscrip

tions remain to be examined, together with an estimate of the time it will probably require to complete the work proposed to be gone through."

This was carried, and the Secretary directed to forward the "Resolution" to the President of the Cave-Temple Commission, with the Society's request that the Commission would reply to it at their earliest

convenience.

The following list of papers, proposed to be added to the periodicals already taken by the Society, was then laid before the meeting, viz:

The Leader, Saturday Review, Daily News, Press, Argus, New York Herald, Friend of China, a Cape paper, a Singapore paper, Westminster Review, London or Dublin Statistical Journal, Law Times, Malta Gazette, Le Nord, L'Univers, Le Moniteur, Le Pays, La Presse, Journal des Debats, Levant Herald, and Le Siècle.

After a prolonged discussion, it was resolved, upon the following motion proposed by Dr. Dallas, and seconded by Dr. Birdwood, and carried unanimously

"That the list be referred to the Committee of Management, with a request that they will decide on the proposition."

There being no other business before the Society the meeting adjourned.

FROM THE 28TH NOV. 1859 TO THE 25TH NOV. 1860.

With reference to the letter from the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, proposing an exchange of Publications with the Society, and offering" 14 or 15 volumes" of their "Memoirs" in return for as complete a set of the Society's Journal as possible, the Secretary was requested to forward a complete copy of the Society's Journal to the Manchester Society through Messrs. Smith, Taylor, and Co., with as little delay as possible; and on announcing the despatch to the Manchester Society, to express the Society's willingness to exchange all future publications with them.- 8th December, 1859.

Committee Meeting.—It was resolved, with reference to Dr. Dallas' motion regarding the Periodicals proposed at the Anniversary Meeting— "That the • New York Herald' and the Law Times' only should be added from the 1st of January 1860." The President, Dr. Bird

wood, and Bhawoo Dajee, Esq., having kindly offered to present the Argus," "Saturday Review," and "Leader" respectively.-28th December, 1859.

On the proposition of E. I. Howard, Esq., J. S. White, Esq. and Dr. Harkness, Vice-President, Dr. Martin Haug was unanimously elected an Honorary Member.-12th January, 1860.

Dr. Martin Haug's letter acknowledges, with thanks, the honour conferred on him by the Society, in having elected him an Honorary Member, and hopes to supply contributions from time to time to the Society's Journal on different subjects of Oriental Literature, especially on the writings of the Brahmans (Veda), the Parsee (Zend-Avesta), the Buddhist (Tripitaka), and on the Modern Indian tongues.-9th February, 1860.

With reference to M. Laporte's letter (No. 798, dated Bordeaux, 30th November 1859, to the address of the President, which was received on the 5th April), again inviting an exchange of terrestrial and other shells, &c. with the Society, and alluding to his having received no reply to his former communication on the subject, Dr. Birdwood, at the request of the Meeting, consented to address Monsieur Laporte, in behalf of the Society, in this respect.-12th April, 1860.

The Honorable the President stated, with reference to the decease of the Honorable Mountstuart Elphinstone

That it was customary in most learned Societies, when a distinguished member had been taken away from them by death, for the President of the Society, at their Anniversary Meeting, to give a sketch of his life and connection with the Society; that we had no such custom in our Society, but since a great and distinguished member of the Society had lately passed away, it would be thought becoming in us that we should place on record some Memoir of his connection with the Society, and his contributions to Literature.

The Honorable the President further observed that, his absence from Bombay at the first Meeting of the Society, after the death of Mr. Elphinstone had been heard, had prevented him from then bringing the subject forward, and he was confident that feelings of delicacy alone had prevented others from having taken upon them what they must have known to be his duty.

At the last Meeting of the Society, the first after his return to Bombay, the Honorable the President had requested the Rev. Dr. Wilson, our Honorary President, to draw up a short Memoir on the subject, which Dr. Wilson would now read to the Society. In deputing this