190 [Proc. B.N.F.C., 



I considered that as our efforts are — or, at least, should 

 be — mainly directed to looking earnestly forward and advanc- 

 ing, and that as the vital energy of the Club is based on that 

 sound principle, and as it has weathered us through many 

 storms safely for forty years, we may with confidence rely 

 upon it as our guiding star for forty more. 



The present position of the Club is one of much power for 

 good, and it has made itself felt in many great movements 

 and could, if it be desired, boast of great accomplishments; 

 and its position and standing are so well established that its 

 representations on matters of importance and moment are not 

 to be lightly considered or thrown aside. This is a position 

 that we may justly regard with pride, but let us not forget 

 that, like all things of a similar nature, and especially in 

 matters scientific, the position is not one of sudden growth, 

 the hasty work of a night, like Aladdin's Fairy Palace, but 

 the result of the labour of earnest men through many years, 

 through many adverse circumstances, through great diffi- 

 culties and often in the face of determined opposition; 

 but the Club's Builders were men of great ability, strong in 

 the conviction that their ends and aims had the light of the 

 lamp of truth to guide them, and such men are not easily put 

 down. I have met such men and I know the self-confident 

 smile that comes over their features when they suddenly meet 

 the Hill Difficulty. They will not let it turn them aside, and 

 if they cannot get over it they will tunnel through it, for 

 get to the other side they will, and do. 



It occurred to me that we should not forget men like these, 

 that the retrospective glance, the looking back, has its duties 

 as well as the looking forward, and that in looking back we 

 feel a happy satisfaction regarding the past. 



An hour to-night may be well spent in recalling the 

 efforts of the Club's Builders, commencing at the initial 

 movement and the laying of the foundations forty years ago. 



No one likes to be forgotten, and I dare say these men of 

 forty years ago hoped to be remembered even as we may 



