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ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS, 1879. 



By Wm. Gossip, F. B. M. S., Presidsnt 



Two years have elapsed since I had the honor of addressing 

 the Institute on our anniversary, with reference to its proceedings 

 and prospects. Then, in the absence of the worthy President, 

 being next in office, I thought it right that one of our rules bear- 

 ing upon this duty should be observed, lest it might be lost sight 

 of altogether. Since that time you have done me the honor to 

 choose me your President, and now it is more than ever a duty 

 imposed upon me not to allow a rule deemed essential to the well- 

 being of the Institute to remain inoperative, although what has 

 to bo said may not, on every occasion, be specially interesting, or 

 largely instructive. 



Science is ever progressive. True science is never lost. What 

 the mind of man has once conceived and practically realizad is 

 almost alwa} 7 s retained, and is never entirely forgotten. Indeed, 

 the empire of science is so widely extended, and its influence so 

 general, as to be beyond the possibility of decay or extinction. 

 All nations interest themselves in its advancement, and by gener- 

 ous impulses contribute to its resources. Knowledge has won- 

 derfully increased, and we may well be proud that our own 

 mother land leads the van in the cause, and, more than all others, 

 has largely aided and encouraged the almost universal enlight- 

 enment. 



When the world is prepared for great discoveries they are 

 usually vouchsafed. The art of Printing, which is now so ex- 

 pansive, perpetuates invention ; and steamships and railways, 

 electricity and magnetism, annihilate space, and bring to a focus 

 of general utility the scientific conceptions of every clime. 

 Human intellect has so far mastered the arcana of nature as to 

 be able to control, to a certain extent, some of her most subtle 

 agencies, and make them obedient to its own guidance. With 

 apparent facility, an electric current is conducted thousands of 

 miles, through air and water, and causes a message to be deliver- 



