PRESIDENTS ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen, 



It being customary for your President, at the 

 expiration of his term of office, to briefly review the present 

 position and future prospects of the Society, I have very 

 great pleasure in performing this, the final duty devolving 

 upon me. 



Our Society, like other Societies of a kindred nature, has 

 been subjected to a somewhat chequered career since its 

 foundation in 1872. It is not, however, my intention to 

 unveil its past history further than will enable us to glance at 

 our position in December, 1884. We were then just beginning 

 to settle down in our quarters in the Borough, and my 

 friend and predecessor in the chair, Mr. West, in his farewell 

 address congratulated us on the possession of a larger and 

 at the same time less expensive room than that we had 

 previously occupied. We little anticipated at that moment 

 the awkward predicament from which we were shortly to be 

 called on to extricate ourselves. 



You may remember that in March last (1885) I had to 

 announce to the Society that the landlord, from whom we 

 rented the room in which we were then assembled, was about 

 to close his premises, and he requested us to remove all that 

 belonged to us as soon as we possibly could. 



Fortunately for us we had among the Members of our 

 Council, gentlemen who were able to cope with the difficulty 

 which thus unexpectedly turned up. For a time the Society 

 was without a local habitation, but through the kindness of 

 Mr. Billups, the Members of our Council were enabled to 

 meet and transact the extraordinary business connected with 

 our enforced change of residence. It only remains for me to 

 say in this connection, that the Society is fortunate in the 

 change of domicile which has been effected, and that our best 

 thanks are due to Messrs. Adkin, Billups, Ficklin, Pearce and 



