ANTIQUARIES OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

the Society shall be ipso facto dissolved, and after satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities the property of the Society shall be delivered unto and become the property of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, if that Society be then in existence and willing to receive the same; and should that Society not be in existence and willing to receive the same, then the same shall be delivered to and become the property of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Papers.

xix

IX.-All papers shall be read in the order in which they Reading of are received by the Society. A paper may be read by the author, or by any other member of the Society whom he may desire to read it, or by either of the secretaries; but any paper which is to be read by the secretaries shall be sent to them a week previous to its being laid before the Society.

X.-The Council shall be entrusted with the duty and Publications of Society. charge of selecting and illustrating papers for the publications of the Society (other than the Proceedings).

Members.

XI. That the Society, at any ordinary meeting, shall have Removal of power to remove any member from the list of members. The voting to be by ballot and to be determined by at least four-fifths of the members present and voting, provided, nevertheless, that no such removal shall take place unless notice thereof shall have been given at the next preceding ordinary meeting.

XII.-All donations to the Society shall be presented Donations to the Society. through the Council, and a book shall be kept in which shall be regularly recorded their nature, the place and time of their discovery, and the donors' names. All duplicates of coins, Duplicates. books, and other objects, shall be at the disposal of the Council for the benefit of the Society.

XIII. Every ordinary member, not being in arrear of his Members entitled to pub. annual subscription, shall be entitled to such publications of lications. the Society as may be printed for the year of his first subscription and thereafter if in print; and he may purchase any of the previous publications of which copies remain, at such prices as shall be from time to time fixed by the Council.

The use of

XIV. Each member shall be entitled to the use of the

the library. Society's library, subject to the condition (which applies to all privileges of membership) that his subscription for the current year be paid. Not more than three volumes at a time shall be taken out by any member. Books may be retained for a month, and if this time be exceeded, a fine of one shilling per week shall be payable for each volume retained beyond the time. All books must, for the purpose of examination, be returned to the library on the Wednesday preceding the Annual Meeting under a fine of 2s. 6d.; and they shall remain in the library until after that meeting. Manuscripts, and works of special value, shall not circulate without the leave of the Council. The Council may mitigate or remit fines in particular cases.

Repeal or alteration of Statutes.

XV.—These statutes, and any statutes which hereafter may be made or passed, may be repealed or altered, and new, or altered statutes, may be made or passed at any Annual Meeting, provided notice of such repeal or alteration, and of the proposed new or altered statutes, be given in writing at the next preceding monthly meeting.

REPORT

OF

The Society of Antiquaries

OF

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

ANNUAL MEETING, M.DCCC.XCIV.

THE Newcastle Society of Antiquaries has now completed the eighth decade of its existence. Though it has to lament the loss of many valued members by death during the past year, their places, as far as numbers go, have been more than filled by fresh accessions to its muster roll, which now numbers nearly 350 honorary and ordinary members.

The past year has been memorable to the antiquaries of our county for the publication of the first volume of the new County History of Northumberland, containing the history of Bamburgh and Belford. The editor, or rather author, Mr. Edward Bateson, has fulfilled his task in a manner which has earned the applause of the least indulgent critics. It is earnestly to be hoped that the eleven remaining volumes may maintain the 'same high level which has been reached by the first.

In connection with this subject we desire to point out to our members the valuable work which may be done by them individually in connection with the several parishes in which they reside. Some important papers on parochial history have been read at our meetings during the past year. It is very desirable that steps should be taken to print the early Parish Registers of the two northern counties. In some districts, as we are informed, these are being published in the successive numbers of the Parish Magazines, an admirable plan, and one which will give a permanent value to publications otherwise of ephemeral interest. If efforts of this kind are continued, the labours of the county historian of the future will be greatly lightened.

It is also to be desired that the attention of our local antiquaries should be called to the propriety of publishing without further delay an archaeological map of the two counties of Northumberland and Durham. This has been done for the counties of Kent, Hertford,

VOL. XVI.

d

Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire north of the Sands, Surrey, and Lancashire, under the auspices of the London Society of Antiquaries. It is eminently desirable that our own district, so rich in remains of pre-historic and historic antiquity, should not remain without a similar record.

One of the most interesting events of the past year, from an antiquarian point of view, has been the visit to our district of General von Sarwey, a member of the commission appointed by the Imperial Government of Germany to examine and report upon the Limes Imperii in Germany. The general has rightly felt that a comparison with similar works of the Romans in Britain would greatly aid him in his researches, and he has therefore visited both the Roman Wall in Northumberland and Cumberland and the Wall of Antoninus between the firths of Forth and Clyde. On both journeys he was accompanied by a distinguished band of Oxford archaeologists, Messrs. Pelham, Mowat, Hogarth, and Haverfield. All these gentlemen, while recognising the careful and patient study which has been already given to the Roman Wall, especially by our late venerated vice-president, Dr. Bruce, are earnest in their recommendations that more should yet be done, and that the spade, that great revealer of archaeological truths, should be more efficiently wielded. The history of Roman Britain has yet to be written, and for that history we must in large measure depend on what we can find in the ground beneath our feet. The literary historians of the empire, little interested in the fortunes of our obscure, forest-covered island, have left large spaces in our annals utterly blank. We are under inestimable obligations to Tacitus, to Dion Cassius, to the writers of the Augustan History, for what they have told us, but their recitals and the precious chapters relating to Britain in the Notitia Imperi do little more than excite our curiosity, and suggest all sorts of problems which they do not solve. For the solution of these problems we must depend on the inscribed stones which it was the habit of the Roman legionary to leave behind him wherever he was quartered. Much light has already been derived from these sources, but undoubtedly much more yet remains undisclosed. The history of these early centuries of our country still remains to a large extent underground. Shall not we bear our part in bringing it forth to the day?

FOR THE YEAR 1893.

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The following is the

REPORT OF THE TREASURER

for the year ending 31st December, 1893 :

The number of ordinary members at the end of 1893 was 321. The additions during the year have amounted to 29, and the losses from death and other causes to 23.

The total income from revenue has been £486 17s., and the expenditure £455 5s. 6d., leaving a balance on the year of £31 11s. 7d.

The balance of revenue account carried forward to 1894 is £217 11s. 6d., and the capital account shows a balance of £45 18s. 3d., of which £42 18s. 5d. is invested in the 2 per cent. Consols, the remainder being deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank.

The receipts from members' subscriptions have been £320 5s., three guineas more than last year.

The receipts from the Castle and Black Gate have fallen off considerably as compared with previous years, in sympathy with the general dulness of trade. The total received from admissions being £115 9s. 7d., against £135 1s. 1d. in 1892. The expenditure, however, is somewhat less, so that there is a credit balance upon the two places of £2 11s. 6d.

The printing of the Archaeologia Aeliana has cost £97 9s. 10d., against £121 11s. last year, and the Proceedings £39 18s. 6d., against £31 Os. 6d. There has been a slight increase of £7 under the head of illustrations.

The purchase and the sale of books have nearly balanced each other, the purchases having amounted to £50 3s. 7d., and the sales to £51 2s. 5d.

The number of life members remains at three as previously.

SHERITON HOLMES,

Hon. Treasurer.