PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 159 



in presenting the cordial and unanimous thanks of the Society to tho 

 President and Council, and in offering his best wishes to them for 

 the future. 



The President said he had great pleasure in expressing on behalf 

 of the Officers and Council, as well as for himself, their thanks to the 

 Fellows for the kind way in which this vote of thanks had been 

 received. He could only say that they were always happy to do all 

 they could for the Society, and only wished that they could do more. 



Mr. Suffolk and Mr. Palmer having been appointed scrutineers, 

 proceeded to the ballot of Officers and Council for the ensuing year, 

 and having handed in the result, the following gentlemen were declared 

 by the President to be duly elected : 



As President.— H. C. Sorby, Esq., F.E.S. 



As Vice-Presidents. — Chas. Brooke, M.A., F.R.S. ; W. B. Carpenter, 

 M.D., F.R.S. ; Eev. W. H. Dallinger ; Hugh Powell, Esq. 



As Treasurer. — J. W. Stephenson, F.R.A.S. 



As Secretaries.—}!. J. Slack, F.G.S. ; Chas. Stewart, M.R.C.S., 

 F.L.S. 



As Council.' — *Robert Braithwaite, M.D., F.L.S. ; Frank Crisp, 

 LL.B., B.A. ; John E. Ingpen, Esq. ; *Emanuel Wilkins Jones, 

 F.R.A.S.; William T. Loy, Esq.; Henry Lawson, M.D. ; *John 

 Millar, L.R.C.P.E., F.L.S. ; *John Rigden Mummery, F.L.S. ; John 

 Matthews, M.D. ; Frederic H. Ward, M.R.C.S. ; Francis H. Wenham, 

 C.E. ; Charles F. White, Esq. 



The President then delivered the Annual Address to the Society, 

 the subject of which was the probable limit of the powers of the 

 microscope consequent upon the properties of light, considered with 

 reference to the ultimate constitution of matter. The Address, which 

 was of considerable length and deep interest, was listened to with 

 close attention, the speaker being loudly applauded at its conclusion. 

 (The Address is printed at p. 105.) 



Mr. Charles Brooke felt sure that all present must have listened 

 with great interest to the very extraordinary speculations which the 

 President had brought under their notice. Many of them were 

 speculations upon speculations, so that it was absolutely impossible in 

 the present state of knowledge to arrive at any definite conclusion. It 

 was only to be hoped that many persons might be induced to bring 

 their attention to this subject. He begged to move a vote of thanks to 

 the President for his Address, and to ask that it might be printed and 

 circulated in the usual way. 



Dr. Matthews said he had listened with the greatest interest to the 

 address, in the course of which it appeared that they had been taken 

 upon ground hitherto absolutely untrodden, and he did not suppose it 

 possible that any living man could have gone much further. He had 

 great pleasure in seconding the vote of thanks. 



Mr. H. J. Slack believed that no Society had been favoured with 

 an address of greater importance, from the interest of the facts and 

 the wide range of the suggestions, than the one to which they had 

 * Those with au asterisk bufore their names are new members. 



