26 



SOCIOLOGY. 



arrested."* And the talented author, further illustrating the relation 

 between cause and effect, mentions that " In the normal order, pleasures 

 great and small are stimulants to the processes by which life is main- 

 tained. Among the sensations may be instanced those produced by 

 bright light. Sunshine is enlivening in comparison with gloom — even 

 a gleam excites a wave of pleasure ; and experiments have shown that 

 sunshine raises the rate of respiration : raised respiration being an 

 index of raised vital activities in general." t 



I feel sure you will all agree witli me that if instances of the kind 

 adduced — and their number might be increased to an almost illimitable 

 extent- -have weight from a Biological point of view, the factors of 

 progress I have previously alluded to must have weight from a 

 Psychological and Sociological point of view in the question under 

 consideration. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel that I have exhausted too much of 

 your time and trespassed too much on the ground of my colleagues 

 in this evening's work. Permit me to express the hope that the 

 interest and kindly feeling which has characterised the establishment 

 of our new Section may continue and develop, and that the Section 

 itself may do good work, bearing in mind Mr. Herbert Spencer's precept 

 " that the growth and prosperity of any organization is bound up with 

 the doing of work of some kind or other. Mere i-eceptivity will not 

 suffice, there must be independent activity ;" and that it may benefit 

 the parent Society by an increase of new members who may be 

 attracted by the opportunity thus afforded of discussing any object that 

 may arise in connection with the Doctrine of Evolution as illustrated 

 in Mr. Herbert Spencer's writings. I am sure the Society is to be 

 congratulated on having secured the co-operation of our talented and 

 devoted hon. sec, Mr. Alfred Hayes, B.A., and of the friends whom 

 he has introduced. We shall endeavour to make our meetings 

 interesting, and where practicable there will be illustrations. The 

 excursions " to local spots rendered famous by great minds " will be a 

 relief to harder work, as well as a means of bringing together those of 

 us who think alike. In his famous address to the Americans on the 

 occasion of the farewell banquet, Mr. Herbert Spencer wisely says: — 

 " In brief I may say that we have had somewhat too much of the 

 gospel of work. It is time to preach the gospel of relaxation." 



I have to express our warmest thanks to those who have taken 

 an interest in the new Section, and especially I would mention the 

 support we have received from distant localities, notably Wolver- 

 hampton, a most important town, possessing many of the charac- 

 teristics belonging to Birmingham, and yet differing from it in some 

 respects. 



A few words of caution may be necessary for us in our progress, and 

 here again I must quote from Mr. Herbert Spencer. " It is (he says) 



* " The Data of Ethics," by Herbert Spencer, 1879, p. 89. 

 t " The Data of Ethics, ' by Herbert Spencer, 1879, p. 89. 



