SESSION 1663-4. 



ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Friday Evening, November 6, 1863. 

 William Andrews, M. R. I. A., President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the preceding General Meeting, being the last of the pre- 

 vious session, were read and confirmed. 



The ballot then opened for Officers and Council for the coming 



session. 



Mr. Archer, Honorary Secretary, next read the following Report 

 from the Council : — 



"Your retiring Council, in pursuance of established custom, begs to 

 submit the following Report : — 



"During the past year seven new members have been added to the 

 list by ordinary ballot, while the losses have been two, and those by 

 death. 



"In common with the world at large, the members of this Society 

 have to mourn the death of His Grace the Archbishop of Dublin, but 

 they must naturally also peculiarly lament so distinguished a member, 

 for so many years officially connected with the Society ; one of so noble 

 powers and rare attainments, and of so exalted position, who thought it 

 not beneath his dignity to honour the Society for many years by being 

 its President, and, more recently, retiring from that position, by becom- 

 ing its Patron, and who, moreover, had frequently graced the meetings 

 of the Society with his presence, taking a part in its proceedings, and a 

 great amount of interest in its objects. "Where eulogy has been ex- 

 hausted, and yet, in praise of the great Archbishop who is gone, not 

 enough been said, your Council feels that it only remains for it to place 

 on record its deep sense of the loss sustained, as well as its high appre- 

 ciation of the lustre shed upon this Society by the patronage of so noble 

 and so good a man. It will be interesting to the Natural History So- 

 ciety to know that, even in his latter days, the Archbishop still took an 

 interest in natural history subjects; and it was one of his intellectual 

 enjoyments, even while the poor body was prostrate, to have read to him 

 some natural history work. The frame was indeed worn out ; but the 

 capacious mind dwelling in it would still take in more knowledge and 

 more food for thought. 



" The other removal from our ranks by death, during the year, which 

 the Society has had to deplore, is that of Professor John R. Kinahan, 

 M. D., so long its active and esteemed Honoraiy Secretary — a loss which, 

 although now of some months back, will, as the members this night again 

 meet together to commence a new session, be still keenly and freshly 



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