A Ballot having been taken, the following gentlemen were duly elected Fellows:

The Hon. JAMES HOZIER, M.P., Mauldslie Castle, Carluke,

ANDREW LANG, 1 Marloes Road, Kensington, London,

WILLIAM RICHARD PHILLIPS, Architect, Westbourne Lodge, Goldhawk

Road, London.

The Meeting resolved to express their sense of the loss the Society had sustained in the deaths of the following Members, deceased since last Annual Meeting:

Honorary Members.

WILLIAM FRAZER, F.R.C.S.I., 20 Harcourt Street, Dublin, .
Sir HENRY DRYDEN, Bart., Canons Ashby, Northampton,

Corresponding Member.

Rev. GEORGE WILSON, Free Church Minister, Glenluce.

Elected 1892

1865

J. G. SINCLAIR COGHILL, M.D., Ventnor, Isle of Wight,

1870

Surgeon-Major-General S. A. LITHGOW, M.D., C.B., Superintendent

His Grace THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, Alnwick Castle,

1867

Sir JOHN STRUTHERS, M.D., LL.D., 15 George Square,

1891

WILLIAM E. WILLIAMS, Architect, Leicester Square, London,

1871

GEORGE WILLIAMSON, 37 Newton Street, Greenock,

1887

WILLIAM YEATS of Aquharney, Aberdeenshire, .

1887

The following Report by Dr Christison, Secretary, of events of interest to the Society which have occurred during the past Session, was read:

REPORT ON EVENTS OF LAST SESSION, 1899.

The Council having considered that a statement of important recent occurrences connected with the Society and the Museum would introduce some variety into the merely formal business of our Annual Meeting, and could hardly fail to interest the Fellows, I was commissioned to draw up such a statement, and this has been done under the heads of Historical or Business and Archæological events.

Under the first head, one of unusual importance, has been our connection with a Parliamentary Committee appointed in October of last year mainly to consider and suggest regulations for avoiding undue competition between museums supported out of public funds in Scotland and Ireland on the one hand, and the British Museum on the other, for the acquisition of objects of antiquarian or historie interest; and for ensuring that in the case of objects which from their origin or associations are of peculiar interest either to Scotland or Ireland, the museum in the country so interested should be afforded an opportunity of purchasing them before they are acquired by any other institutions supported out of public funds,"

This inquiry arose from the purchase by the British Museum of certain articles found in Ireland, which the Irish authorities demanded should be transferred to their National Museum. But we in Scotland had a grievance of our own, which necessarily came within the scope of the inquiry, viz., the purchase by the British Museum at a sale in London of the Glenlyon Brooch, in spite of an intimation to their authorities from Mr Carfrae, who has long acted for us in purchasing articles offered for sale in the Metropolis, that the Society desired to acquire this Scottish article for our National Museum, a claim which on all previous occasions had been courteously acknowledged as valid by these authorities,

This change of attitude on the part of the British Museum seriously menaced the prosperity of our National Museum, and a representation, warmly supported by Lord Lothian, our President, was made to the Trustees of the British Museum, pointing out the scandalous nature of such a competition between two Government institutions supported by public funds, and requesting that the Glenlyon Brooch should be transferred to the Scottish National Collection. Our representation was supported by the Board of Manufactures and the Secretary for Scotland, and privately by the Duke of Argyle, Lord Rosebery, and other Scottish patriots of influence. The Trustees replied, however, that they had no power to part with any article once acquired, but offered to have a replica of the brooch, as well as of another ancient Scottish brooch in the British Museum, made for deposit in our Scottish Museum. This offer, under the circumstances, was accepted by the Council, but they expressed to the Secretary for Scotland a hope that some means might be found of preventing such competition in future, and of establishing our superior claim to Scottish articles. The Parliamentary inquiry, therefore, came most opportunely for us, through the pertinacity of the Irish Members, who insisted in Parliament upon their national rights in a manner which is too rarely followed by the Scottish Members in similar questions affecting our own country.

The Committee consisted of Lord Rathmore, Chairman; Sir John Lubbock, and Sir John Evans, who might be considered as representing the British Museum; Mr Thomas H. Grattan Esmonde, and Sir Herbert Maxwell, as representing Irish and Scottish interests; lastly, Mr John Morley, who as an Englishman, a Scottish M.P., and an Irish sympathiser, stood in a somewhat different position from the others.

The Council were desirous that our evidence should be given either by Sir Arthur Mitchell or Dr Joseph Anderson, whose knowledge of the affairs of the Society and the Museum has been so long and so intimate, but as both of them were unable to go, the duty devolved on me, conjoined with Mr Carfrae, whose evidence regarding the Glenlyon Brooch was indispensable.

My examination ranged over:

(1) The modes by which objects were obtained for the Scottish National Museum, particularly through the action of Treasure Trove.'

(2) The nature of the understanding by means of which competition with the British Museum had been avoided prior to the Glenlyon Brooch incident.

(3) The reason for its breaking down in that case,

(4) The expediency of relaxing the Rules forbidding the parting with objects.

(5) The means of doing so,

(6) The means of securing for each Museum the first choice of objects appertaining to its own area, and of avoiding the risk of the loss of objects through the delay that might thus be caused.

The examination of Mr Carfrae turned mainly upon the sale of the Glenlyon Brooch, and his previous experiences with the British Museum. Our evidence is printed at full length in the Report now on the table. The chief recommendations of the Committee are briefly as follows:That whenever it comes to the knowledge of the officers of any one of the National Museums that any object of peculiar interest to another National area has been offered or is likely to be offered for sale, information should be given to the authorities in that area, so that they should have the first opportunity of acquiring it, an understanding being arrived at as to what constitutes a reasonable price, and care being taken to prevent the risk of loss of the object through delay.

That the Regulation prohibiting the Museums from parting with objects should be relaxed, but that the conditions would need to be carefully considered, and should probably be confined to such articles as the Trustees are willing to transfer by exchange or otherwise,

As to the incident of the Glenlyon Brooch, the opinion is expressed that it was mainly due to a misunderstanding between Mr Read of the British Museum and Mr Carfrae, and that had the Regulations allowed it the Brooch would probably have been handed over to the Scottish National Museum after its purchase by the British Museum.