CEYLON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 149 



THE CEYLON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 



First Business Meeting.* 



THE first business meeting of the newly-formod Ceylon Natunal 

 History Society was held in the Colombo Museum Library 

 at 9 P.M. on Tuesday, March 26, 1912. The Hon. Sir Hugh Clifford, 

 K.C.M.G. , Colonial Secretary, presided, and there was a good attendance 

 of members and visitors. 



The Pkesident's Address. 



After the Minvites of the Inaugural Meeting had been read, the 

 President addressed the Society as follows : — 



Ladies and Gentlemen : The agenda tells me that the next item on 

 the programme this evening is an address from the President. At the 

 invitation of the Committee I very gratefully accepted the post of 

 President of this Society, though I ventured to point out to them that 

 the many calls upon my time, and the peculiar nature of my own 

 individual studies, somewhat precluded me from examining as closely 

 into insect life as might be appropriate for the President of a Natural 

 History Society. I suggested the name of another officer senior to 

 myself, but was informed that on the whole, I had better continue, 

 at any rate, for the moment. So I trust that the members of this 

 Society — which has just been inaugurated so successfully, mainly 

 through the efforts and the initiative of Dr. Pearson — will pardon 

 any shortcomings on the part of its present President. And I can 

 only assure you that I will always do my best to serve the Society to 

 the utmost of my ability. The Society which has just been formed is, 

 to some extent, a new institution in this Colony. But this morning 

 I had my attention drawn to the prospectus of a Society which was 

 established on December 11, 1820. I noticed that the opening para- 

 graph of the prospectus said that " to a coimtry nearly unprovided 

 with naanufactures and dependent almost entirely upon its natural 

 productions the investigation of its Natural History must be of the 

 highest importance " — a sentiment which, I feel sure, every member 

 of this Society will endorse. Yet, though I tried to carry fvirther my 

 investigations into the history of that Society, its records proved 

 quite elusive. It seems to have carried on a nuniber of literary and 

 antliropological discussions and to have left Natural History severely 

 alone, in spite of the bright promise contained in the first words of its 

 prospectus. I feel sure tliis Society — considering the short time that 

 has elapsed since its inauguration, and considering the comparatively 

 slight amount of advertising which it at present is receiving — ^has 

 obtained a degree of encouragement. The numbers read out to you 

 by the Secretary are of a most encouraging character. Already we 

 have 107 members of this Society, and my earnest hope is that all 

 persons whose occupations take them into the wilder parts of the 

 country will hasten to join the Society and will assist it by contributing 

 notes of interest to the publications of the Society. It has been said 

 that the proper study of mankind is man. We all study mankind with 

 sympathy in our own persons and with a certain amount, frequently, 



* This account is taken parth from the newspaper reports of t'le meeting. 



