21 



honour of addressing you. I hope I have not overlooked 

 mentioning anyone ; and, assuming my enumeration is correct, 

 it makes fifteen presidents in the sixty years of the society's 

 existence. 



I omitted mentioning in its proper place that very many years 

 ago, I think it was in 1840, the society changed its name from 

 its original appellation of the Belfast Natural History Society 

 to the more comprehensive title which it still bears, and at the 

 same time enlarged the scope of its operations in the direction 

 indicated by this change. During the past five or six-and-twenty 

 years the society has experienced some vicissitudes of fortune. 

 About the time of the erection of the Thompson room, the funds 

 for which were easily obtained, a debt of about^oo due by the 

 society began to be increased by additional expenses being 

 incurred without any concurrent increase of income, so that by 

 June, 1855, the debts of the society had increased to ^"500 of 

 borrowed money and ^"168 due for accounts, a total indebted- 

 ness of ^668. ^he counc il then became thoroughly alive to the 

 necessity of grappling vigorously with the evil of this increasing 

 debt. In November and December, 1855, Mr. Patterson de- 

 livered a course of lectures, an example followed in subsequent 

 years by Mr. Richard Davison, M.P., and Mr. Hyndman, by 

 Dr. Andrews, Mr. James MacAdam, and Dr. Wyville Thomson, 

 all of which resulted in substantial benefit to the society. Con- 

 tinued efforts of this kind, and obtaining new shareholders and 

 subscribers, ultimately had the desired result, and the annual 

 report presented to the shareholders of the Museum in May, 

 1866, contained the satisfactory announcement that the institu- 

 tution was at that time perfectly free of debt. So it has almost 

 ever since remained ; but I regret to add that increased expen- 

 diture, without any additional income, begins again, the last year 

 or two, to put our balances on the wrong side ; and without 

 additional income it will not be possible for the council to con- 

 tinue certain new arrangements entered into during last session, 

 with the intention of increasing the usefulness and attractiveness 

 of the Museum, and its varied and valuable collections, which 

 are being constantly added to, the last addition of much impor- 



