TRANSACTIONS 



^«$$itdtuj5iJttsi ||0)!ti(uItuMl ^mtUi. 



BUSINESS MEETING. 



Saturday, January .5, 1878. 



A duly notified stated meeting of the Society was liolden at 11 

 o'clo(;k, and was called to order by Francis Parkman, the retiring 

 President, who reviewed the histor}^ of the Society during the three 

 years of his administration, and introduced the President elect, 

 William Gray, Jr., in the following address : 



Adi^kkss of President Francis Paricman. 



Ladies and Oentlemen : 



My official relations with you, as 1 'resident of our Society, end 

 today, though I am happy to feel that my personal relations with 

 you will remain unaltered. During the term of my office, some 

 changes and developments have taken place, of which it may be 

 well to note the principal points. I spoke at our last annual meet- 

 ing of tlie organic changes in the laws of the Society, so that it is 

 needless to dwell on them now, farther than to observe that they 

 have resulted in increased efficiency, harmony, and. security, and 

 have supplied what was before extremely defective, if not entirely 

 wanting, — a means of redress to those who have grievances to 

 complain of. In this consists one of the chief functions of the 

 Executive Committee, as now constituted. It is its duty to give 

 hearing to every complaint, and see that justice is done ; yet every 



