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PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

The tenth annual meeting of this Society was held on Saturday; the President, the Right Hon. C. W. Williams Wynn, M. P. in the chair. The reports of the council and auditors were read, and gave great satisfaction to a very fully attended meeting. The report of the council lamented the continued illness of Mr. Coleboooke, which deprives the Society of his valuable personal assistance; it also noticed in appropriate terms the many distinguished ornaments of whom the Society has been deprived by death during the past year, recording particular notices of the following: viz. H. H. the Rajah of Tanjore, Dr. Adam Clarke, Colonel Baillie, Mr. J S. Lushington, Dr. Turnbull Cristie, and Mr Hyde Villiers. Among the foreign members, were mentioned M M. Remusat, St. Martin, Chézy, Jacquemont, and Rask. The donations to the Society have been more numerous since the last report than during the preceding year. They are chiefly of a literary character; the East India Company, the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, Royal Irish Academy, the Société Asiatique of Paris, and many other distinguished literary institutions, were recorded among the donors. Of the presents received from individuals, the council particularly noticed the edition and Latin translation of Mirkhoud's History of the Gaznevide Monarchs, dedicated to the Society by Professor Wilken, principal librarian to the King of Prussia; and the Essay on the Architecture of the Hindoos by Ram Raz,* a corresponding member of the Society. The council intimated that this interesting work, with its beautiful illustrative drawings, was under the consideration of a committee, with a view of preparing a plan for its publication. After these notices of the most important donations, the report mentioned that a new prospectus of the Society's objects and means had been prepared, and would shortly be issued; and in the next place called the attention of the meeting to the 2d part of Vol. III. of the Society's Transactions, this day laid on the table. Among the papers contained in it, is a communication from a native of India, Ramasami Mudeliar Jaqhirdar, of the island of Sivasamudram, being the first of that description which has yet been published in the Transactions; and to this fact the attention of the members was particularly directed. In conclusion, the report adverted to the peculiar claims of the Society to support, as affording a medium by which the latent energies and acquirements of the na

This gentleman was for many years head English master of the College of Fort St. George; he has recently been appointed one of the native judges for the province of Mysore, the government of which has been transferred to the East India Company.

tives of India might be brought into active exertion, and do honour to themselves, while they proved beneficial to their country; and in alluding to the legislative measures at present contemplated with regard to the future administration of our Indian empire, the council trusted that they would be such as would not only tend to promote the prosperity of that important part of the British dominions, but be fully entitled to the approbation of posterity. Mr. Macklep, one of the members appointed to audit the Society's accounts for the year 1832, read the report, which stated that the total receipts for that year amounted to 11481. 10s. 4d., and the disbursements to 9871. 2s.; balance in favour of the Society at the end of 1832, 160.1 11s 2d.; ditto at the date of the report, 2301. 14s.; the es timated receipts for 1833 are 14581. 9s. 10d., disbursements 11651. 5s.; expected balance in favour of the Society, 2931. 4s. 10d. The assets of the Society are calculated at 35371. 10s. 11d. Sir Alexander Johnston then delivered the report of the proceedings of the committee of correspondence since the last anniversary, but we cannot do more than indicate the leading points of this interesting exposè; they were, the nature and extent of the systems of education as established among the natives of India; statistics, slavery, the modes of representative government formerly obtaining in Southern India, particularly the western coast, and the history of those places in the Southern Peninsula, and the island of Ceylon, which were in ancient times the emporia of the trade carried on between Europe, Arabia, &c. and Eastern Asia. Sir Alexander was requested to reduce his remarks to writing, that they might be printed in the Appendix to the Transactions, and thanks were unanimously voted to him for his able report. The president next addressed the meeting, recapitulating the principal subjects noticed in the various reports which had been read, and directing attention to the favourable prospects of the Society, as regarded its future progress. After this address, the thanks of the Society were unanimously voted seriatim to the council and officers of the Society, for their services during the past year; the resolution relative to the secretary, Mr. Graves Haughton, being couched in strong terms of regret at the loss of his valuable services in that department; Mr. H. having resigned the office from ill health. After the ballot, the scrutineers declared the following gentlemen to be elected members of the council, viz. Earl Caledon, Right Hon. H. Mackenzie, Hon. R H. Clive, Hon. M. Elphinstone, Col. Blackburne, Capt. Harkness, Mr. Hodgson, and Mr. Tucker, in the places of Earl Amherst, Lord Bexley, Sir William Ouseley, Mr. Baber, Col. Baillie, Mr. Butterworth Bayley,

Col. Lushington, and Mr. D. Pollock. Capt. Harkness was elected secretary.

The members and their friends dined together in the evening at the Thatched House Tavern, Mr. Wynn in the chair; supported by the Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, Prince Czartoryski, Count Neimcewicz, Right Hon. H. Ellis, Sir A. Johnston, Sir H. Willock, Sir Edward Owen, Sir Ralph Rice, Chevalier Don Lopez de Cordova,

&c. &c.

Proceedings of a meeting of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society held at the Society's Rooms, at the College, on Thursday evening the 8th August 1833.

Present.

The Right Hon. Sir F. ADAM, K. C. B. Patron.

The Honourable Sir R. PALMER, President in the Chair. The Venerable Archdeacon T. ROBINSON, A. M. Vice President.

Lieut. Col. CULLEN,

S. SAM, Esq.

Revd. Mr. SPRING,
Dr. J. STRACHAN,
Revd. Mr. HARPER,
Dr. BENZA,

Captain CHASE,

Lieut Col. NAPIER,
Captain T. MACLEAN,
A. DUNLOP, Esq.
Lieut. Col. COOMBS,
Dr. T. H. DAVIES,

C. V. LUTCHMIAH, and

J. C. MORRIS, Esq. Secretary.

An able and interesting paper on the rise and early history of the Syrian Christians on the Malabar Coast by the Venerable the Archdeacon, was read to the meeting by the learned author, to whom the thanks of the Society were unanimously voted. It was further resolved that the paper in question be adopted by the Society and be set aside for publication.

It was then proposed by Lieut. Col. Coombs and seconded by Lieut. Col. Cullen.

That it is desirable with reference to several interesting memoirs and papers which have already been submitted to the Society, and to others which may hereafter be received, to adopt means for giving them earlier publicity than the necessarily distant and slow publication of the Society's transactions will admit; and, that independently of papers read before the Society and of notices of their meetings and proceedings, the publication under the auspices of the Society of a monthly or quarterly Journal, similar to the Asiatic Journal of Calcutta, would by affording a suitable vehicle for occasional essays and papers connected with subjects of oriental litera

ture and science be in strict furtherance of the professed objects of the Society, and likely to prove if adequately supported and encouraged, eminently and extremely useful.

The foregoing resolution having been discussed was agreed to and it was resolved to refer the same to the Committee of Papers in the Asiatic Department to arrange the details and adopt the necessary measures for carrying the plan into effect.

The following works have been presented to the Society since the last meeting and the thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to the donors.

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The thanks of the Meeting were voted to the Honourable the Pre

sident for his able conduct in the chair.

J. C. MORRIS,

Secretary M. L. S. &ca.

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