473 



Swmrmry of Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and 

 Antiquarian Field Club for tlie year 1872 3. 

 Mb. President and Gentlemen, 

 The first subject both in order of time and of importance calling 

 for especial notice is the statement which you, Sir, made to us at 

 our last Anniversary dinner. On that occasion during one of those 

 short and pithy addresses which it has been your pleasure to give, 

 and our delight to hear, we were grieved at the decision which 

 the necessities of your health obliged you to announce, i.e., that 

 we were then listening to the last of those Anniversary Addresses. 

 We earnestly hope, however, that strength will be granted you for 

 many more years to advise us by your counsel and encourage 

 us by your example, so that we may still continue to derive benefit 

 and pleasure from similar wise words spoken on other occasions 

 than those of formal dinners which are at all times a tax upon the 

 strength and energies of a President. We Ijope, too, that the 

 appointment of Dr. Hunter as chairman will tend to relieve you 

 from a portion of those onerous duties necessarily attaching to the 

 ofiice of the Presidential chair during our evening meetings. The 

 next point in our review of the past year is to conclude the account 

 of the third evening meeting held on Feb. 21, 1872, and to explain 

 that although the printed Proceedings for the year generally end 

 with the President's Address on the 18th, yet it was thought 

 advisable to depart from the usual custom and insert Mr. Mitchell's 

 paper as it touched upon subjects connected with local Geology 

 which otherwise would not have had any place in that number. 



The Chair on that occasion was taken by Dr. Hunter, who 

 in conveying to Mr. Mitchell the thanks of the Club for his 

 valuable biographical notices, said he had done what ought 

 to have been done long ago, an-anged in an interesting 

 manner whatever could be collected on Townsend, Richardson, 

 Lonsdale, and one or two other distinguished men who eai-ly saw 

 that the spark here struck by William Smith would illumine the 

 universe ; and that he had now secured to Bath the right to add 

 to her many titles to honour that of the maxiince scientice inctina- 

 bula. Mr. Conybearo he described as a very dark man with a 



