
Fifty Gears a Seeretary. 
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ee Society has the pleasure of announcing that Mr. 
Alderman J. Colbatch Clark, J.P., has attained his 50th 
year as Hon. Secretary. Mr. Clark (at that time J. C. Onions) 
took over the duties from Mr. T. B. Horne during the Session 
1857-8, was then formally elected, and has continued in office to 
this day—a term of work as Secretary probably without pre- 
cedent in the annals of any Society. Mr. Clark has worked 
with no less than thirty-seven Presidents. It was universally 
felt that any possible recognition must be perfectly trifling in 
comparison with the value of Mr. Clark’s services; but the 
members, past and present, subscribed for a silver salver and 
an illuminated address, which were presented to Mr. Clark at 
the Annual Meeting on June 6th. Such an event naturally 
drew considerable attention, as the following selections from the 
Press notices will show :— 
[Sussew Daily News, June 7th.] 
When the members of the Brighton and Hove Natural 
History and Philosophical Society yesterday evening at the 
Royal Pavilion re-elected Alderman J. Colbatch Clark, J.P., as 
Hon. Secretary, they had the unique pleasure of launching him 
upon his fiftieth year of office. So remarkable an occasion was 
very properly treated in an exceptional way, and the Alderman 
found himself the recipient of two permanent souvenirs of his 
half-century association with the work of the Society. One was 
a handsome 18-inch silver salver, with ornate shell border, and 
elaborate engraving; the other was a beautifully illuminated 
album containing an address, with the names of 79 subscribers. 
The salver, which bore a suitable inscription, was the artistic 
production of the Sussex Goldsmiths and Silversmiths’ Com- 
pany, Castle-square, Brighton; and the address was the no less 
skilful production of Miss Hudson, of the Brighton School of 
Art. The latter read :— 
: Dear S1r,—This album contains the names of past and present 
members of the Brighton and Hove Natural History and Philosophical 
Society, who desire to make some recognition of your services for the 
period of fifty years during which you have acted as Honorary Secretary 
to the Society. So long a service in an honorary position is a very rare 
and probably unprecedented circumstance in the history of any Society. 
In addition we recall that in the general management of the Society and 
in all your relations with its members you have always shown the 
