PRESIDENT’S VALEDICTORY ADDRESS. 19 
be desirable to frame a new code and advised the appointment of a 
committee for the purpose of drafting one. Thecouncil at once 
acted upon their advice, and after some months’ deliberation a code 
was submitted to council, amended and accepted, and finally passed 
at a special general meeting of the association. It forms therefore 
the existing constitution of the society. It is too soon to pass a 
‘yerdict upon the working of the code and we who framed it shall 
not be in our rightful position if we become its critics, but it may 
be permitted to us to ask the loyal support and friendly help of you 
all in giving it a fair trial. 
So far there is only one cloud over the recollection of our legislative 
endeavours; this you will all share and regret with us that one of our 
most respected and hard working colleagues felt it to be his duty 
to disapprove of our action and retire from ourcouncil. You will 
I am sure join with us in the hope and trust that the results of the 
working of the rules will prove far other than he fears and that his 
misapprehensions on this point being removed he will consent to 
return and by your cordial votes will be returned to the post he-is so 
well fitted to occupy. 
During the year the association has had to deplore the loss by 
death of one of its honorary members, Mr. Alderman Marsden. 
With this exception and one other, every person who has been 
connected with the society, during its six years’ history is still alive. 
By change of residence the association has lost the valued aid of 
an able member of council and contributor to its meetings, the 
Rey. J. C. Odgers. You will join with me in wishing him every 
success in his new field of labour and in the hope that this association 
may have the pleasure and profit of contributions from his stores 
of knowledge. 
The scientific history of our association must be viewed from the 
stand-point of its constitution, which defines the objects of the 
association as follows:—In the first place the minute investigation 
of the natural history in all its branches of the immediate neighbour- 
hood of Leeds, and the more general investigation of the whole of 
the West Riding; the collection of information whether at present 
on record or as yet unwritten, the completion of the work by 
original research and eventually the preparation of a comprehensive 
account of the natural history of the district. Secondly, the 
endeavour of the society is to cultivate a taste for scientific know- 
ledge amongst the inhabitants of Leeds, to combine and strengthen 
- individual effort and afford facilities for the reading and discussion 
of papers on scientific subjects. 
As regards the first the association has this year had little to say 
that is worth the sayiug. Individual members of the association 
have done good work and our fortnightly conversational meetings 
