cell Proceedings of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal. [N.S., XVII, 
Section of Medical Research. 
President :—Linut.-Cotonet J. W. D. Macaw, B.A.. M.B, 
é he 
Presidential Address. 
Let me begin by expressing my thanks to those who have 
honoured me by asking me to preside over the Medical Re- 
search Section of the Indian Science Congress. You may also 
expect me to apologize for occupying the presidential chair, 
but it seems to me that whatever apology is required should 
come from those who have selected me rather than from myself. 
It is true that when the invitation to preside reached me 
rst impulse was to refuse. It seemed to me that the 
position should be filled by someone who has spent his life 
in the work of medical research rather than by one like myself 
who has done comparatively little research and that as a side 
issue. 
On further consideration it struck me that possibly my 
selection may have been made with the deliberate intention of 
emphasizing the many-sided nature of medical research and the 
close connection that it ought to have with general medical 
work. It was this second thought that induced me to welcome 
the opportunity of expressing my views on the subject and in 
doing so my aim will be to realise the standpoint not only of 
those who are specially engaged in research but also of the 
medical profession as a whole and most important of all, that 
of the general public of India, for they are the people most 
affected in the 
S. 
ou will doubtless be relieved to hear that it is not my 
intention to subject you to such a discourse. There is no need 
Rogers who have shown what can be done by medical research 
workers under the most adverse conditions. They have not 
only done work of the greatest value but they have also insis- 
tently striven to arouse both the government and the people 
of India to a sense of the tremendous results that would follow 
from an adequate exploitation of the discoveries made b: 
ae and by other workers in the field of medical re- 
seare 
Vv 
The present position of Medical Research in India is very 
much more favourable than could have been hoped for a 
few years ago. Louking at the state of affairs in Bengal alone 
