32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
This mark of their esteem is peculiarly appropriate, since its 
founder, Sir Roderick Murchison, was for many years one of the 
most active of the Trustees of the British Museum, under whom I 
have now had the honour to serve for the past twenty-six years. 
Since my election to the Geological Society, twenty years ago, I can- 
not but recall that the Council has upon two former occasions (in 1866 
and 1879) encouraged and assisted me in my scientific work by an 
award. I feel, however, that the Medal now bestowed by you, Sir, 
is a far higher recognition of my scientific labours, and one which 
gives them the stamp of the approval of the Geological Society. 
I thank you for alluding to the ‘ Geological Magazine,’ now in its 
twentieth year, and which (saving the first year, when 1t was edited 
in conjunction with Prof. 'T. Rupert Jones) I have personally carried 
on since its commencement. I believe it has had its uses, serving 
not only as a sluice-gate in times of emergency to let off the over- 
flowing productions of pent-up Fellows thirsting for publication, 
but also as a convenient and ready method of printing short papers, 
which might be deemed too ephemeral for admission into the Society’s 
Journal. 
Although, for the past four years, my time has been so very largely 
taken up with the removal of the Geological Collections from Blooms- 
bury, and their rearrangement in the New Museum in Cromwell 
Road, as to preclude almost entirely the possibility of doing original 
scientific work, I trust it wiil not always be so, but that shortly I 
may give some evidence of being worthy of the honour I have 
received this day; and those paleontologists who have visited and 
consulted the collections since their removal can best appreciate how 
those four years have been spent, and with what result, in the better 
display of the great collections now under my charge. 
AWARD oF THE Murcuison GroLtogtcaL Funp. 
The PresrpEnt then handed the balance of the proceeds of the 
Murchison Geological Fund to Mr. R. Erurrinvesr, F.R.S., for trans- 
mission to Mr. Marry Simpson, of Whitby, and addressed him as 
follows :— 
Mr. ErHErimpér,— 
The balance of the proceeds of the Murchison Donation Fund has 
been awarded by the Council to Mr. M. Srupson, Curator of the 
Whitby Museum. He has devoted much attention to the fossils of 
that district, and he is the author of two books descriptive of them. 
The Council hopes that this cheque may be of assistance to him in 
continuing the useful extra-official work he has long been carrying 
on in that locality. 
Mr. Erueriper, haying expressed the pleasure that it gave him 
to receive, on behalf of Mr. Simpson, this testimony of the Society’s 
appreciation of the life-long labours of one who had pursued paleeon- 
tological studies with so much devotion, read the following extract 
from a letter which he had received from Mr. Simpson :— 
