Annual Meeting. 9 



to the treasurer a small balance of £1$ 16s. which, he might 

 say, would be quite cleared off by the increased subscriptions 

 next year, while, if their other sources of income continued to 

 be as favourable, they would again have a balance to credit. 



The President said before the motion for the adoption of 

 the reports was made he might be permitted a few brief 

 remarks. Their past session had, it seemed to him, been a 

 very successful one, while their financial position was, he 

 thought, extremely good. It was a striking fact that their 

 income had increased by something like one-half in the course 

 of three years — a fact which showed that the Society was 

 increasing in numbers, as it was in utility and importance. 

 He had himself been especially struck by the very much larger 

 attendances they had had during the past session at their 

 meetings, and with the excellence and interest of the papers 

 brought before the Society on these occasions no less than by 

 the admirable manner in which those papers had been criticised 

 and discussed. Most successful, too, had been their popular 

 lectures, a complete course of which had been arranged for at 

 considerable trouble by the Council. Every lecture was well 

 attended, and all were interesting and instructive, some being 

 of great practical utility, like that given by Mr. Wigham, and 

 others of deep scientific interest, like that delivered by Sir 

 Robert Ball. Looking back over the course, they had every 

 reason to be satisfied with their success in this department of 

 the Society's efforts. In connection with their lectures he 

 might add that he hoped some day they would possess a 

 suitable lecture-room of their own, by which means they would 

 avoid not only the additional expense, but the loss of proper 

 prestige which the Society sustained by having to hire a hall 

 for the purpose. It was impossible that a lecture given in the 

 Ulster Hall or a similar building could be identified so closely 

 with the Society itself as it would be if delivered in their own 

 premises. He hoped also some day to hear that their honorary 

 secretary had been successful in getting the Gilchrist trustees 

 to organise a course of popular lectures for the working classes. 

 Such a course would be useful to the Society, and of great 



