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THE ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
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address from him. He was sure that nothing would give the Corporation of Southampton greater pleasure than to feel that the Institute would leave that town with agreeable feelings of satisfaction. It had been usual, in other places, to have a formal address presented to the Institute by the Mayor and Corporation, and one had been voted by the Corporation, but was nut ready for presentation; in lieu of which he hoped his words of welcome would be accepted as a temporary substitute.

His Worship vacated the chair, which was then occupied by Lord Talbot de Malahide, on behalf of the Bishop of Winchester, as President of the meeting, and in very cordial terms he acknowledged the wel- come of the Mayor and Corporation, remarking that he was very glad to hear that, notwithstanding the "improvements" in Southampton, they had still many interesting antiquities remaining in the town. After adverting to the early history of that part of England, his lordship spoke of the peculiar good fortune of the meeting in securing the presidency of the Bishop of Winchester, who had so often charmed them by his eloquent and instructive orations. Regretting much the circumstances which had interfered with the bishop's attendance at the opening meeting, he proposed that the Bishop be requested to take the chair when it was convenient to do so.

The Rev. Basil Wilberforce expressed his great regret at the unavoidable absence of the Bishop, who had been subpœnaed to Guildford in an action for libel. He had promised, however, to attend the Mayor's soirée that evening, and hoped to be with them on the morrow.

The Archdeacon of Winchester had been requested to say a few words of salutation to the archæologists on the part of the clergy, and he thought he had some right to do so, as the name of this Institute had been formed, after some discussion, at the house of his father-in-law. He well remembered the great meeting at Winchester some years since, and he thought they might now have a great meeting at Southampton. He continued: "When archæology was rightly understood, their acquaintance with the times that had gone by was really an instrument of life to them. They did not pore over the dust of antiquity to put their eyes out, but they inquired into antiquity with the view of ascertaining the power and the light which existed in days which had gone by. Therefore they took what was presented to them, not simply as records of time, but as records of human progress and thought, remembering that we were made by those who had gone before, and that it would be most ungrateful for us not to recognize the merits of our forefathers." After referring to the address delivered in 1845 at the Winchester meeting, by the Bishop, who was then Dean of Westminster, the Archdeacon proceeded to speak of the discoveries which had been made in the Cathedral there since that meeting, and chiefly in regard to the tomb of William Rufus.

Sir Edward Smirke acknowledged the welcome which had been so well expressed towards the Institute on the part of the clergy by Canon Jacob.

Lord Henry Scott, M.P., bade welcome to the Institute on behalf of the landed gentry of the county. He knew that the Institute would be heartily welcomed wherever they went, and he was sure the landed gentry would vie with one another in showing an interest in what the Society came to look at. He continued his remarks by a rapid sketch of