For the first time since 193O the Institute's Executive Council held its annual meeting in Rome. None of the fourteen members of the Council who attended the meeting in 1930 participated on the present occasion, though two of them—Professor *Westermann and General Derendinger—are life members of the Council, and three others—Dr. J. Oldham, Dr. E. W. Smith and Professor Labouret—still maintain their interest in African studies and in the fortunes of the Institute.

The meeting this year, though perhaps less formal than its predecessor, must have been an equally memorable experience, especially for those who were visiting Rome for the first time. This is not the place—even if it were possible—to attempt to put into words the impact of Rome, which a modern English poet has described: