ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 151 



powers of the principle of the division of labour are as conspicuous 

 in science as they are in manufactures. I am tempted to enume- 

 rate some more of our innovations, because the wisdom of them 

 has been proved, not only in our own body, but by their having 

 been adopted by other societies : the change of presidency from a 

 virtually perpetual to a biennial office — the removal of all forma- 

 lity more than is necessary for the conduct of business at our ordi- 

 nary meetings, by discussions and conversations on the papers read 

 — the social assembling afterwards ; neither the least agreeable nor 

 the least useful part of our evenings. Our Proceedings were first 

 published in November 1826 ; the first part of the Proceedings of 

 the Royal Society is dated November 1830; and the first part of 

 the Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires of the Academy of Sciences of 

 Paris bears the date of August 1835. 



The Society's Transactions. 



An idea has been entertained that the publication of our Transac- 

 tions was to cease on the institution of the Journal. Such a proposal 

 was never under the consideration of the Council, and it was always 

 intended, that when a paper could only be advantageously given in 

 quarto, that form should be adopted. As the best contradiction of 

 the statement that had gone forth, your Council of the last year 

 commenced the publication of the Seventh Volume of the Trans- 

 actions with three valuable papers by Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Bain and 

 Professor Owen. 



But I must not allow you to suppose that all is prosperous with 

 us ; that nothing is wrong ; or that all the Fellows of the Society may 

 be perfectly satisfied with the efi'orts they have made to carry out 

 our common object. It is my duty as your President to point out 

 defects, as well as to put before you the favourable side of your af- 

 fairs ; and I am willing to hope, that it is only necessary to state what 

 is wrong to secure an immediate remedy ; especially when I know 

 that a complete remedy is in the power of those who have made it 

 necessary for me to say that all is not as it should be. I ascribe 

 their faults of omission to a want of thought, and to nothing else. 



From the number of copies of our Transactions and Journal still 

 on hand, it is manifest that a very considerable number of the Fel- 

 lows do not provide themselves with our publications. Now if our 

 own Members do not patronize our works, to whom can we look 

 with more confidence? We are strong only by united efforts; and 

 when, in the case of the Journal especially, it is merely a question 

 of a very small annual sum, for which, be it observed, full value 

 is given in exchange, the many important memoirs we have pub- 

 lished ought not to be suffered to lie dormant in our stores, when 

 they might all be put in circulation if our own Members only were 

 the purchasers. 



