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History with such men. As to our future I cannot say much. I am 
no believer in spasmodic efforts. I think things grow naturally. As 
_ soon as you begin to force them they may apparently flourish for 
a time, but they soon become weak and feeble. I am a firm believer 
__ in the progress of science, and I also believe, unhealthy as the soil is, 
_ that it will grow in Brighton, and I am sure that in due course, by 
_ watching its opportunities and doing all it can to bring its influence 
_ to bear upon the public, this Society can, and will do much to further 
{ the study of Natural History, and, if you will, philosophy, in this 
_ town. And as in the present so in the future. Many who have had 
_ the benefit of its influence and its teachings will rise up, as I do this 
_ evening, to express gratitude and thanks for the many social and 
_ intellectual advantages arising from being a member of the Brighton 
and Sussex Natural History and Philosophical Society. 
NOVEMBER 28rd, 1888. 
DINNER OF THE BRIGHTON AND _ SUSSEX 
NATURAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 
During the thirty-five years of its existence, many pleasurable 
gatherings have taken place in connection with the Brighton and 
Sussex Natural History and Philosophical Society, but never until 
this evening had a banquet organised within the Society been held. 
Of course dinners had been held on the occasion of rural excursions, 
but the members of the Society had never met together in Brighton 
| for the one purpose of dining together and spending a social evening. 
| The idea, with whomsoever it may have originated, was a happy one, 
| as a more effective method of making members realise that they 
belonged to a Society, and of inducing them to take a deeper interest 
init, could hardly be imagined. Happily conceived the idea was 
successfully put into execution. The banquet was held at Markwell’s 
Hotel, and here was found a room of just sufficient size to comfortably 
accommodate the members who had expressed their intention of 
attending, and three or four guests who had presumably been invited 
on account of the distinguished position which they hold in the town 
or the sister town of Hove. The company was not large. It con- 
sisted of perhaps not more than a quarter of the total number of 
two hundred members enrolled in the Society, but it included 
ny of the most active members and of those who most 
ularly attend the business meetings. As President of the 
Society, Mr. J. E. Haselwood occupied the chair, and he was supported 
