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ANNUAL MEETING.— July 28th, 1876. 

 Dr. J. Matthews, F.R.M.S., President, in the Chair. 



The minutes of the preceding meeting were read and confirmed. 



The President then formally declared it to be the annual meeting, and 

 proceeded to the election of officers for the ensuing year. Mr. Reeves was 

 appointed scrutineer on behalf of the Committee, and Mr. Topping on 

 behalf of the Members. 



The Secretary read the Annual Report of the Committee, and also the 

 Treasurer's Annual Statement of Accounts. 



The following resolution was moved by the President, seconded by Dr. 

 Gray, and carried unanimously, " That the reports which have just been 

 read be received and adopted, and that they be printed and circulated in the 

 usual way." 



The President said he had next a very pleasing duty to perform in mak- 

 ing the awards of the Committee from the munificent donation of Mr. Frank 

 Crisp. They would no doubt remember that when this fund was first placed 

 at their disposal, the Committee gave their careful attention to the best 

 means of applying it, so as to further the object for which it had been given, 

 and that they had drawn up a series of rules for their gnidance in the 

 matter. In accordance with the spirit of these rules, the Committee, whilst 

 carefully avoiding anything like the stimulation of any special work which 

 might be the means of drawing members away from their own more useful 

 studies, or of creating a spirit of rivalry, had been watching silently the 

 work which had been going on in the club and had found it to be satisfac- 

 tory. But whilst many had been doing good work, there were some who 

 had been more prominently distinguished than others, and the Committee 

 had selected three members as being specially deserving of honourable dis- 

 tinction, namely, Mr. Cole, Mr. Hammond, and Mr. R. P. Williams. The 

 paper of Mr. Cole " On Spltcerularia Boynbi," was not perhaps a matter of 

 original research ; but to examine and to verify, if possible, the work of 

 those who have gone before, was work of the highest value, and a man who 

 could do this was capable of embarking in original research. The pains- 

 taking paper of Mr. Hammond, " On a comparison between the Metamor- 

 phoses of the Crane-fly and the Blow-fly," was one which entitled the 

 author to special distinction. Few persons knew how arduous a thing it 

 was to engage in constant and continuous observation of living objects, and 

 the labour and painstaking of Mr. Hammond in this respect were beyond 

 all praise. Then, again, as Microscopists, they were not all gifted in the 

 same way — some were skilful manipulators, others were glad to avail them- 

 selves of mechanical aids, and to these last the section-cutting machine was 

 an important and valuable addition ; its parts might have been known before, 

 but it was in the combination of these parts, and in the perfection of the 

 way in which it was done, that the merit of Mr. Williams was displayed. 



