MIDLAND UNION PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 160 



MIDLAND UNION OF NATUEAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 



ADDRESS BY APPLEBY STEPHENSON, Esq., M.D., 



President of the Union. 



I cannot for a moment justify my appearance in this distingnished 

 position, but at least I can explain it. I owe it entirely to the fact — 

 not of any special fitness or suitability, and certainly of no desire — 

 but simply to the accidental circumstance that for two consecutive 

 years I was President of the " Literary and Philosophical Society of 

 Nottinoham," and so by " natural selection " it would seem it came to 

 me. Y''et in justification of myself I am bound to tell you I accepted 

 this post of honour under pressure and under protest. I can only see 

 one advantage that will accrue — my predecessors will by this contrast 

 derive additional distinction and lustre, and 'twill be far easier for any 

 successor to succeed me than I now feel it to take the place of those 

 that are past. Still, I must not be wanting in gratitude — if in gratula- 

 tion — and must remember that the most important duty which 

 devolves upon me, as President of your Union, is the delivery of an 

 address at this, the annual meeting. In considering my incapacity 

 to fulfil such a task properly — certainly to my own satisfaction — I am 

 reminded of, though I cannot emulate, the poet Campbell's ready wit 

 when in a seeming dilemma. A young lady presented her album to 

 him with the request that he " would write something original in it," 

 on which he at once penned these lines : 



"An 'original something,' 

 Fair maid, you would woo me 



To write ; 

 But how shall I begin ? 

 For I fear I have nothing original in me 

 Excepting original sin ! " 



However, it only remains for me to execute my task to the best of 

 my ability, and, if I do not further dispraise myself, it is because to do 

 so would be to find fault with those who have placed ine here. 



I have thought my best course to take would be a brief notice of the 

 special naturalistic peculiarities of this district, and on such I shall 

 mainly address you. 



INTKODUCTION. 



The Union started with 17 Societies (January, 1878) ; the present 

 number in the Union is 25. The Subscription for the first two years, 

 was Id. per member, but this has since been raised (May, 1879) to 3d. 

 per member. The present number of members in the Union is nearly 

 3,000. 



Among the advantages of the Union may be named the manner in 

 which it has brought the various Midland Societies more closely 

 together. In the first list issued by the projectors of the Union (January, 

 1877) only 13 Societies ai"e named, and several of these are wrongly 



