158 ANNUAL MEETING — GENERAL BUSINESS. 



which it appeared that the current year's income amounts to about 

 £32 4s. 7d., of which £27 2s. lOd. has already been received; that the 

 total receipts since the formation of the Union amount to £50 6s. 2d. ; 

 the payments to £28 17s. Id. ; and accounts outstanding about £17 ; 

 leaving an available balance of cash in hand £4 9s. Id. ; and to 

 be received £5 Is. 9d. ; total, £9 10s. lOd. 



The adoption of the Treasurer's account was moved by Mr. Lawson 

 Tait, seconded by Mr. C. E. Crick, and unanimously agreed to. 



Some discussion then followed on Mr. Harrison's suggestion for the 

 Union to offer a gold medal annually, (details of which are contained in 

 the Council's report given above,) and on the proposition of Mr. E. D. 

 Hamel, seconded by Mr. C. Pomphrey, it was resolved : — " That Mr. 

 Harrison's proposal of an annual gold medal be referred to the Committee 

 of Management, with power to carry it into effect if they think fit." 



On the motion of Mr. W. J. Harrison, seconded by Mr. R. G. 

 Scriven, it was unanimously resolved : — " That the annual meeting of the 

 Union in 1881 be held at Cheltenham." 



Proposed by Rev. G. Nicholson, seconded by Dr. A. Stephenson, and 

 resolved: — " That the thanks of the Union be presented to the Editors of 

 the 'Midland Naturalist,' the Officers of the Onion, (the Hon. Treasurer, 

 the Hon. Secretaries, and the Assist. Hon. Secretary,) for their services 

 during the past year." 



Mr. Egbert D. Hamel was then re-elected Treasurer; Mr. Edward 

 W. Badger (Birmingham) and Colonel Basevi (Cheltenham) were elected 

 Hon. Secretaries, and Mr. H. E. Forrest Assist. Hon. Secretary for the 

 ensuing year. 



Lord Lilford then delivered the following address : — 



LORD LILFORD'S ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, 

 You will, I feel sure, pardon me for commencing the few words I 

 have to say with a sort of preface concerning the position in which I now 

 stand before you. On the two previous occasions on which I had the 

 honour of occupying the chair as President of the Northampton Natural 

 History Society, though I am fully conscious of the small claim I possess 

 to that distinction, the Society had placed me there, and I therefore felt 

 that I was the right man in the right place. I hope that I am not the 

 wrong man to-day, but it is on account of the extreme courtesy and cor- 

 diality which I then experienced at the hands of our society that I now 

 feel emboldened to make a sort of personal statement. When I received 

 the first notice of this meeting, and the invitation to preside on this 

 occasion, I was in very bad health, and felt afraid either that I should 

 be physically incapable of accepting the said invitation, or that the state 

 of my health might compel my absence from this country. I am now 

 most thankful to say that those causes for my absence, as you see, no longer 

 exist ; but besides these, I had other reasons, with one only of which I 

 will venture now to detain you. I most cordially hoped that this meeting 



