Anniversary Address ofH. R. H. the late President, 55 



soothe the violence of personal or national jealousies, whenever they 

 unfortunately existed, by bringing them together in social or other 

 meetings where the discussion of topics of irritation could be either 

 suppressed or controlled, and Avhere imaginary prejudices would 

 disappear under the softening operation of reciprocal knowledge and 

 experience. But though deprived for a season, by my retirement, of 

 some of the highest privileges I have hitherto exercised and enjoyed, 

 yet I do not abandon the hope of being still able to maintain and 

 cultivate the very valuable and delightful friendships Avhich I have 

 thus fortunately for myself been enabled to form during the period 

 of my connection with you, by seizing every occasion when pre- 

 sented to me, of appearing at the meetings of the Royal Society, 

 and by co-operating with its members, to the utmost extent of my 

 limited means, in furthering those objects that may l)e considered to 

 be most important for the advancement of the interests of science. 



I am afraid however. Gentlemen, that I have already trespassed 

 unreasonably upon your time and attention in endeavouring to ex- 

 plain to you the motives of my conduct, and to express, though most 

 inadequately, my grateful sense of the kindness which I have inva- 

 riably experienced from you. I shall therefore now proceed to the 

 more immediate subject of this Address, which is to notice some of 

 the most important Proceedings of the Society which have taken 

 place during the last year. 



The Address voted to Her Majesty by the President and Council 

 of the Royal Society, on the Queen's accession to the throne, em- 

 bodying likewise ii petition to Her Majesty to become the Patron 

 of the Society, and to continue to it the Grant of the Medals which 

 had been instituted by King George the Fourth and regrantetl 

 by William the Fourth, as well as the gracious reply of the Sove- 

 reign, transmitted through the Secretary of State for the Home 

 Department, have been already communicated to you at one of the 

 weekly meetings of the Society*. On the 20th of June last, the 

 President and Council were summoned to attend at the Palace of 

 St. .James's to Mitness Her Majesty's signature in our Charter-Book 

 as Patron of the Society. I availed myself of the occasion thus 

 presented to me to address the Queen in your name, and to assure 

 Her Majesty that we felt bound by the obligations of our Chartei-, 

 a« well as by the recollection of our foundation, to look up to the 

 Sovereign of these realms as our Patron and protector : that we 

 most gratefully acknowledged the assurances which Her Majesty 

 had conveyed to us tin-ough Her minister the Secretary of State for 

 tlie Home Department, of the continuance of the same support and 

 favour as had be(;ii always accorded to us by the Sovereigns of 

 tliis Kingdom, and likewise the signification of Her Majesty's in- 

 tention of renewing the grant of tlje two Medals which Iiad been in- 

 stituted by one and confirmed by another of Her Majesty's royal 

 uncles and predecessors, accom])anicd by Her gracious permission 

 to propose such modification and amendments in the statutes wliich 



• June 21, 1838. 



