X<> )i'?i{ <?. iqo^ PROCEEDINGS ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL Sk EDITED DY THE GENERAL SECRETARY. JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1 16 5. 'a. 5£- iN= CALCUTTA : PRINTED AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PRESS. 1866. CONTENTS. Page Proceedings for January, 1865, ... 1 List of Members for December, 1864, 17 Proceedings for February, 1865,... 31 „ March, 1865, 39 Abstract Statement of Accounts for 1864, 49 Proceedings for April, 1865, ... 65 „ May, i865, 75 June, ,, 1865, 93 July, 1865, ... 111 August, • • 141 ,, 1865, *•* „ September, 1865, •• ••• 157 „ November, 1865, 181 193 ,, December, 1865, Index, ... i List of Papers received, vii „ Donations, xii s^Ar* m } In accordance with the announcement of the Council in the Annual Report read at the Annual General Meeting held on the 11th January, 1865, the Proceedings of the Society's meetings will henceforth he printed in parts separate from the Journal, to be issued monthly to all members and subscribers. They will be paged and indexed separately, so that at the close of each year, they may, at the option of members, be bound up either in a small separate volume, or as a third division of the Journal. The original papers which will henceforth form the Journal proper, will be classified under two heads, viz., Historical, Archaeological, Numismatic, Philological and Literary on the one hand, and Natural and Physical Science on the other. With the latter will appear the Meteorological registers as heretofore. These two divisions will be paged and indexed separately, forming respectively parts I. and II. of the volume for the year. They will also be issued in separate numbers, alternately or simultaneously, according to the number and character of the communications awaiting publication. The price of the Journal to subscribers will be the same as hereto- fore. The subscription to the Proceedings will be, to members, (additional copies,) 3 as. a number, or 2 Us. 4 as. yearly, to non- members 4 as. a number or 3 Rs. yearly. HENRY F. BLANFORD, > Joint Secretaries. W. L. HEELEY, PROCEEDINGS OF THE . ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, For January, 1865. The Annual General Meeting of the Asiatic Society was held on the 11th January, 1865. E. C. Bayley, Esq., President, in the chair. The Secretary read the following Report for 1864. ANNUAL REPORT. In presenting the usual report for the year just ended, the Council have again the satisfaction of congratulating the Society on its con- tinued prosperity, as indicated hoth by the accession of new members, and the number and value of its publications. His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir John L. M. Lawrence has been pleased to accept the patronship of the Society, left vacant, at the close of the previous year, by the decease of the Right Hon'ble the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine. Fifty-three Ordinary members have been elected during the past year, but the losses by death and retirement have been unusually nu- merous, viz. 7 of the former and 21 of the latter, so that the net in- crease is 25, making a total on the 31st December of 380 members against 355 of the preceding year. Among the losses by death, the Council regret to record that of a member of their own body, Mr. H. Scott Smith, Registrar of the Calcutta University, whose sudden and most unexpected death in May last, shortly after his election to the Council of the Society, is remembered with the deepest regret by all who were in any way associated with him. The death of Major J. L. Sherwill while on his way to Europe, has deprived the Society of a member, who, on two occasions, contributed valuable papers to the Society's Journal. 2 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Jan. The Obituary further enumerates Col. A. D. Turnbull, It. E. late Superintendent of the Ganges Canal ; Prince Jalaluddin Moham- mad, Huzrat Shah Kabeeruddin Ahmed, L. F. Byrne, Esq., and It. H. Russell, Esq., B. C. S. The present condition of the member list, as compared with that of previous years, is shewn in the following table, which exhibits the num- bers of paying and absent members for the last 10 years. Paying. Absent. Total. 1855, 128 34 162 1856, 131 36 167 1857, 109 38 147 1858, 193 40 233 1859, 135 45 180 1860, 195 47 242 1861, 226 55 281 1862, 229 82 311 1863, 276 79 355 1864, *288 92 380 During the year 1863, this Society had to congratulate itself, on the formation at Lahore, of an Auxiliary Committee, working in conjunc- tion with this Society and with similar aims, while it enjoyed all the advantages of an independent Society. In the name chosen by it, as well as in its correspondence with this Society, the Lahore Committee expressed its desire to ally itself so far as was compatible with its in- dependent character, with the Asiatic Society of Bengal ; and its pro- positions were cordially received by this Society, in the hope that in other distant provinces, bodies of a similar character might be formed, with the view of undertaking the investigation and discussion of local subjects of Antiquarian and Scientific interest, and thus aiding in the accomplishment of that which has for 80 years been the object of this the parent Society. It is a most encouraging sign of the increased attention given in this country to History and Science, that during the past year, a Society has been formed at Nagpur, on a footing, as regards Society, similar to that of the Lahore this Auxiliary Committee ; and the Council are sure that the members of this Society will feel equal satisfaction with themselves, in learning that the Association thus esta- blished, notwithstanding the lamented loss of one of its most energetic * Resident, 140. Non- Resident, 148. 1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, members, the late Rev. S. Hislop, at the outset of its career, is in such a condition as to warrant the most hopeful anticipation of its prosperity. Finance. The contributions of members in entrance fees and Subscriptions during the past year, have amounted to Us. 9989-10, which is rather more than Us, 1,000 in excess of those of the previous year. Of this total, Rs. 1,600 were received on account of entrance fees, and Rs. 8,389-10 on account of Quarterly Subscriptions. As will be seen by the following table, the receipts for the past year are much in excess of those for any year of the previous decade. 1854, 7,082 1855, 7,166 1856, 8,096 1857, 7,068 1858, 6,923 1859, 6,750 1860, 6,441 1861, 6,812 1862, 7,222 1863, 8,930 2 9 The accounts for the last year have been prepared and referred to the Auditors, and on being passed by them, will be laid before a subsequent meeting of the Society. The following is the estimated income and expenditure of the So- ciety for 1865. Income. Subscriptions, 8,500 Admission Fees, 1,600 Journal, ... 600 Library, 300 Museum, ... 1,500 Secretary's Office, 20 Coin Fund, 30 12,550 . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Jan. Expenses. Journal, 3,500 Library, 2,500 Museum, . 1,500 Secretary's Office, 2,350 Building, . 1,800 Coin Fund, 250 Miscellaneous, 400 12,300 The receipt of the Government allowance for the Museum and the expenditure thereon, are estimated for three months only, as the trans- fer of the Society's collections to Government, already sanctioned by the Society, will probably be effected in the early part of the present year. Library. During the past year, all purchased additions to the Library with the exception of periodicals and serials in continuation of those pre- viously subscribed for, have been made under the direction of the Library and Phil. Committees, 500 Volumes and periodicals have been added, the majority of these being presentations from learned Societies and authors. No new large and expensive works have been added to the Library, and the majority of the works purchased have been either of Philological or Antiquarian interest. The Library Committee are, however, now engaged on the consideration of the wants of the Natural History Department, and it is hoped that some of the more striking deficiencies in this department may be supplied during the present year. The Society's Photographic Album has received two important series of contributions, from Capt. Melville and Mr. Mulheran ; the Council have also taken steps to procure by purchase a selection of photographs representing the destruction caused by the Great Cyclone. The rooms devoted to the library are now barely sufficient to afford the required accommodation ; and new and classified catalogues and a reclassification and arrangement of the Library are much required, in order that the latter may be placed on such a footing as to be readily available to members. These latter necessaries will receive the imme- diate consideration of the Council, but as their practical execution will involve an amount of labour which no honorary officer of the Society 1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 5 can be expected to devote to it, it will be necessary to engage spe- cially, some person qualified for the duty. With regard to the provision of additional accommodation, the Council consider that when the Library shall have been classified, temporary arrangements may be made for the preservation of the Books, pending the removal of the Library to the more ample space to be provided for it in the new Imperial Museum. Coin Fund. The numismatic collection has received several valuable accessions during the period under review, the most important being a trove of silver coins of the early Pathans lately found in Cooch Behar.