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  THE 
  PRESIDENT'S 
  ADDRESS. 
  

  

  Gentlemen, 
  

  

  In 
  retaining 
  into 
  your 
  hands 
  the 
  important 
  office 
  with 
  which 
  

   you 
  have 
  intrusted 
  me, 
  I 
  should 
  neither 
  be 
  performing 
  my 
  duty, 
  nor 
  

   obeying 
  the 
  dictates 
  of 
  my 
  own 
  inclination, 
  were 
  I 
  not 
  to 
  express 
  to 
  

   you 
  my 
  sincere 
  gratitude 
  for 
  the 
  kindness 
  with 
  which 
  you 
  have 
  inva- 
  

   riably 
  received 
  me. 
  I 
  came 
  amongst 
  you 
  a 
  comparative 
  stranger 
  to 
  

   all, 
  an 
  entire 
  stranger 
  to 
  the 
  majority 
  : 
  not 
  only, 
  as 
  I 
  conceived, 
  by 
  no 
  

   claim 
  or 
  merit 
  of 
  m}^ 
  own, 
  but 
  quite 
  in 
  opposition 
  lo 
  my 
  own 
  often- 
  

   expressed, 
  and 
  still 
  unaltered 
  judgment, 
  that 
  the 
  office-bearers 
  of 
  every 
  

   Society 
  should 
  be 
  selected 
  from 
  among 
  its 
  most 
  active 
  and 
  useful 
  

   members. 
  Notwithstanding 
  these 
  sentiments 
  I 
  came 
  forward 
  at 
  your 
  

   call, 
  have 
  been 
  received 
  by 
  you 
  with 
  the 
  utmost 
  Idndness 
  and 
  in- 
  

   dulgence, 
  and 
  shall 
  ever 
  remember 
  with 
  pleasure 
  the 
  period 
  during 
  

   which 
  I 
  have 
  enjoyed 
  the 
  honour 
  of 
  presiding 
  over 
  you. 
  

  

  The 
  duties 
  of 
  President, 
  and 
  indeed 
  the 
  general 
  business 
  of 
  the 
  

   Society, 
  are 
  so 
  new 
  to 
  me, 
  that 
  I 
  cannot 
  help 
  fearing 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  my 
  

   observations 
  thereon 
  may 
  appear 
  unimportant, 
  or 
  out 
  of 
  place 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  

   still 
  trust 
  to 
  your 
  indulgence, 
  and, 
  as 
  every 
  fresh 
  actor 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  give 
  

   some 
  new 
  reading 
  to 
  a 
  part, 
  however 
  variously 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  played 
  be- 
  

   fore, 
  so 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  each 
  successive 
  President 
  may 
  be 
  struck 
  

   by 
  some 
  point 
  or 
  other 
  which 
  his 
  predecessors 
  had 
  either 
  designedly 
  

   or 
  unintentionally 
  overlooked. 
  You 
  will, 
  I 
  am 
  sure, 
  bear 
  with 
  me 
  

   while 
  I 
  briefly 
  allude 
  to 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  subjects 
  which 
  have 
  particularly 
  

   attracted 
  my 
  attention. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  of 
  these 
  is 
  the 
  peculiarly, 
  although 
  not 
  exclusively, 
  British 
  

   character 
  of 
  our 
  proceedings. 
  Our 
  science 
  is 
  truly 
  cosmopolitan 
  : 
  

   but 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  honour 
  and 
  glory 
  of 
  a 
  naturalist 
  to 
  make 
  himself 
  tho- 
  

   roughly 
  acquainted 
  with 
  the 
  productions 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  country. 
  How 
  

   immutably 
  true, 
  and 
  how 
  profoundly 
  patriotic, 
  is 
  the 
  Linnean 
  axiom, 
  

   " 
  Turpe 
  est 
  in 
  patria 
  vivere 
  et 
  patriam 
  ignorare." 
  Let 
  us 
  begin 
  at 
  

   home 
  : 
  let 
  us 
  make 
  ourselves 
  thoroughly 
  acquainted 
  with 
  the 
  Natural 
  

   History 
  of 
  Great 
  Britain 
  : 
  and, 
  that 
  end 
  achieved, 
  we 
  may 
  enlarge 
  the 
  

   circle 
  of 
  inquiry 
  by 
  degrees. 
  Let 
  us 
  not 
  grasp 
  too 
  much 
  at 
  the 
  outset. 
  

   The 
  same 
  observation 
  applies 
  generally 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  geographically; 
  

   by 
  restricting 
  our 
  research 
  to 
  a 
  class, 
  an 
  order, 
  or 
  a 
  family, 
  we 
  are 
  

  

  