president's address. 279 



Your secretaries were of opinion a large balance was due to 

 your Club from the Natural History Society, and this was on 

 several occasions named to them, but no satisfactory adjust- 

 ment was ever made. I can attach no blame to either the 

 Natural History Society or the Field Club ; their arrangement 

 was not intended to be a purely business transaction ; but at 

 the same time I regret a better record was not kept. The 

 cost of printing the Transactions became a serious matter, 

 and it appeared to your Committee that unless some change 

 was made difficulties might arise. The question was brought 

 before your Committee, and the majority of the members were 

 in favour of the recession of the joint arrangement. I was 

 opposed to this, and I was supported by Mr. Walker. After 

 a lengthened discussion, it was agreed to recommend to your 

 members that the Field Club should transfer the whole of its 

 assets and liabilities to the Natural History Society, and that 

 they should in future publish the joint transactions, the status 

 of the Field Club in other respects remaining very much the 

 same as before the joint arrangement; and it was resolved 

 that a scheme should be sketched for the incorporation of the 

 Club and the Society. A scheme was prepared and sub- 

 mitted. A meeting was held between the secretaries of the 

 Society and the Club. Your propositions were not accepted 

 by the secretaries of the Society as suitable to be submitted 

 for confirmation, and they proposed another scheme which 

 was brought before your last annual meeting. This you 

 decided meant a most serious alteration in the constitution of 

 your Club, and possibly its extinction, and it was determined 

 that no course was open to you but to terminate the joint 

 arrangement, which was done. Since then modified proposals 

 have been approved by the committees of both societies, and 

 these will later be submitted to you for your consideration. 



The Natural History Transactions of Northumberland and 

 Durham, the six volumes of the Transactions of your Club, 

 and the joint Transactions in complete sets are becoming 

 difficult to procure. I think therefore that now we are on the 

 eve of a great change, for the benefit of those who have not 



