THE president's ADDRESS. lO^ 



their subjects be more less extended, make themselves parts of our 

 Society, contributing for each member the lowest admissible price for 

 the journal which all should receive, and disposing of their remaining 

 funds according to their own plans ; holding their own meetings, and 

 sending such contributions, as they judge proper, to the editing com- 

 mittee of the Canadian Journal. There would then be no assumption 

 of superiority in the central and older body. All would pursue the 

 common object according to their own views of what is most useful or 

 agreeable, and yet we should all be one body, and the journal would be 

 a centre of interest to us all, as a common property which we should 

 all desire to enrich. Ottawa, Kingston, Hamilton and London, either 

 have already, or might at once have, societies which would be better 

 in connection with ours, and other places are nearly if not quite ready 

 to do something. Meantime our principle is that members out of 

 Toronto only pay for the journal, which we think deserves the patron- 

 age of all our intelligent citizens; yet they enjoy all other privileges 

 of membership whenever they can avail themselves of them, so that 

 it is discrediting both their understandings and their patriotism, to say 

 that they have no interest in joining us. 



Allow me, in conclusion, to say a word or two on our own wants, 

 and on possible improvements in our plans, in the immediate sphere of 

 our action, independently of what I must always regard as one of our 

 most important objects, the Society's Journal. We can benefit and 

 gratify our members through our library, our reading room, our museum 

 and our meetings. For our eflScient working in all these ways, we 

 require a convenient and suitable building in a very accessible situation. 

 This has long been an object of desire to us, and attempts have been 

 made more than once, but the difficulties have been found too great — ■ 

 nevertheless if we wish to keep up our influence and fulfil our proper 

 mission, we must I am persuaded determine to succeed, and by energy 

 and spirit carry through the work. 



Our library which contains much that is valuable — several articles of 

 great and remarkable value — is not to be considered safe, lying as it 

 does in an ordinary frame building. Our museum such as it is, cannot 

 be displayed, and of course cannot be increased. Our meeting-room 

 is small for our ordinary meetings, which have not recently been very 

 numerously attended, and if we did as we ought to do, would be utterly 

 useless. We now possess a good site, central and large enough for any 

 reasonable purpose, but we want premises which will enable us to 



