Geological Society. 28 1 



joice to see that he still has the lineaments of vigor 

 I cannot refrain, before I sit down, from expressing a fervent hope, 

 (in which you all will join me), that God may long preserve that 

 life he has employed so much to his own honour, and the advan- 

 tage of his country." 



The President then presented, in the name of the Society, a purse 

 of twenty guineas to Mr. Smith, being a portion of the proceeds of 

 the Wollaston Fund ; and promised to forward to him the first gold 

 medal struck from the die above mentioned. Mr. Smith, m a 

 short and manly speech, returned thanks for the honour conferred 

 upon him ; expressed his anxiety to be still a useful servant of the 

 public as a practical geologist ; and, finally, presented to the Society 

 some documents referred to in the President's address*. 



After electing the Officers for the coming year, the Society ad- 

 journed till the evening, when the following Address was delivered : 



Address to the Geological Society, delivered on the Evening of the 18th 

 of February 1831, by the Rev. Professor SEDGWICK, M.A. F.R.S. 

 S(c. on retiring from the President's Chair. 



I CONGRATULATE you, Gentlemen, on the general Report of the 

 Council laid before the Society this morning. The number of names 

 on our lists has increased by 45 since our last anniversary; and after 

 discharging all the expenses of the past year, besides paying off 835/. 

 of arrears, there remains a balance of more than 450/. to meet the 

 ordinary expenses of the current year. We have now a clear pro- 

 perty amounting in value to 1200/., without including in this estimate 

 our books, cabinets, and collections. Our Library has been enriched 

 with many valuable works, and our Museum with large suites both of 

 English and Foreign specimens. But it is not so much to the in- 

 crease of our various collections as to the great progress made in 

 arranging them, that I rejoice to call your attention. They have 

 received an immense accession of value from the labour bestowed on 

 them by Mr. Lonsdale, whose zeal, self-devotion, and great talents are 

 now well known to you all. I heartily concur in the sentiments recorded 

 by the Committee, and am convinced that no small part of our present 

 prosperity is derived from our official connexion with that gentleman. 



As a duty imposed on me by the office I have had the honour to 

 fill, I now proceed to throw a retrospective glance over the memoirs 

 which have come before us during the past year. To introduce them 

 in chronological order would be attended by no advantage, and would 

 deprive me of the power of showing their relations to each other, 

 and of making such general comments as are compatible with the 

 limits of this address. I shall commence, therefore, with the memoirs 

 relating to the older formations, and pass on to those connected with 

 the great secondary and tertiary groups j and in this way, without 

 mingling matters of fact and speculation, I hope to lead you to the 



* [Various papers detailing the history of Mr. Smith's researches will be 

 found in the former scries of the Philosophical Magazine ; in vol. xxxv. 

 p. 113, vol. xlii. p. 249. vol. liii. p. 112; &c. EDIT.] 



N.S. Vol. 9. No. 52. April 1831. 2 O consideration 



