240 



President's Address, delivered at the Annual Meeting, 

 July 23rd, 1869. By Arthur E, Durham. 



Gentlemen, — 



My prolonged term of office as your President is now all 

 but at an end. The ballot is going round for the election of my 

 successor. With your permission I -will avail myself of the 

 minutes that remain to me to say to you a few farewell words. 



In the first place, I thank you very sincerely for the considera- 

 tion, courtesy, and kindiiess you have so uniformly shown me. 

 You have rendered my duties in this chair very easy and very 

 pleasant. 



In the second place, I must beg you to allow me to express thus 

 publicly my high appreciation of the cordiality and hearty good 

 will with which your committee and officers have co-operated with 

 me in endeavouring to promote the success of our meetings, and 

 to advance the general interests of our Club. To our indefatigable 

 Secretary, Mr. Bywater, my acknowledgments, and, I venture to 

 add, your thanks are especially due. It is impossible that any one 

 who has not occupied the position that I have done, can know the 

 attention and devotion that Mr. Bywater has displayed, and the 

 amount of work he has done on behalf of the Club. He has been 

 instant in season and out of season — ever ready to do all he could. 

 He has laboured well, and he has laboured successfully. Personally 

 I must express my obligations to him ; and I may be permitted to 

 add, I heartily wish that success similar to his may attend the efforts 

 of your excellent new Secretary, Mr. Charters White. 



In the next place, Gentlemen, I beg to assure you of the plea- 

 sure I have felt in fulfilling or attempting to fulfil during the past 

 two years the various duties that have devolved upon me as your 

 President. There must always be pleasure in being prominently 

 associated with undertakings which not only deserve, but actually 

 achieve success. And the success of the Quekett Microscopical 

 Club, I venture to believe, is not only well deserved, but is esta- 

 blished beyond dispute. It seems to me that the success of the 

 Club is due to the fact that it has supplied a want which was be- 

 coming felt by many young Microscopists, and that it has done so 

 without any undue assumption or any ambitious attempt to occupy 



