February, 1912,] Annual Address. XXXV 
is not for me to say, but I ask you to believe me when I tell 
you that no one appreciates the honour of being chosen Presi- 
dent of the Asiatic Society of Bengal more than I do, seeing 
that I lock upon our Society as the premier scientific Society in 
the premier city of India. I[ regard the honour not as personal 
to me, but as bestowed on the profession and service of which 
Tam but aunit. To-night it is my privilege to address you, 
and, as far as lies in my power, to interest you. I find that 
since the Society was founded in 1784, there have been in: all 
40 separate occupants of this chair. Although two years is now 
the usual time of occupancy, the records show that many 
Presidents filled the post for a much longer time, some even 
as long as ten years. Although I have not yet had time to as- 
certain the precise status and position in life which each of my 
predecessors occupied, I find that members of the medical 
cal man of the I.M.S., who also occupied the same post of Secre- 
tary to our Society was Dr. (afterwards Sir William) O’Shangh- 
n , the originator of the Telegraph system in India. There 
are also names of other well-known medical men who occupied 
such positions as Vice-Presidents and Secretaries of branches, but 

time of his election one of the Surgeons of the Medical College 
in India in 1875, and subsequently was made a K.C.S.1. Sir 
Joseph Fayrer was not only a distinguished Surgeon, but had 
also a considerable knowledge of Biology as is evidenced by, his 
well-known monograph on the ‘‘ Thanatophidia of India.’’ I 
