6 FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 
society co-extensive with the county, or only one for West 
Somerset, of which Taunton is properly the centre. The 
former, as by far the most desirable object, if attainable, 
it was determined to aim at in the first place; failing this, 
it was easy to fall back upon the more limited plan. 
“ Another point to be decided was, whether we should 
proceed at once to frame the society’s rules and appoint its 
officers, or wait till we could obtain the presence of a larger 
body of gentlemen from all parts of the county. The 
diffieulty of securing anything like a general county meeting 
while everything was undecided, and the very existence of 
the society in abeyance—this diffieulty on the one hand, 
and on the other the advantage of going forth to the public 
with the objeet of the society’s operations defined, and the 
society itself in existence,—determined our course: we 
declared the existence of the society, and framed its rules. 
We then invited our personal friends and acquaintances to 
join us, and meeting with tolerable success with these, as 
soon as we thought it likely that our society might really 
become what we wished to make it,—a society for the 
whole of Somersetshire,—we issued a circular to every 
clergyman and magistrate resident in the county. 
“The result has been that we now have a list of 250 
subseribing members, and amongst them a very good pro- 
portion of our principal landed proprietors and literary 
men. 
“We have purposely abstained from naming any place 
for the soeiety’s permanent head quarters, because there is 
no single town in Somersetshire which, from its position 
and importance, can be regarded as the capital. 
“The city of Bath is in an extreme corner of the 
county. Wells, from having no railway communication, 
is practically still more remote. Bridgwater and Taunton 
