PRESIDENT S ADDRESS O 



The last paper that I will mention is the translation Mr, 

 Pickering has given us of the Chinese legendary account of 

 the origin of their Secret Societies. This is to be followed 

 I hope by some further information concerning the condi- 

 tion of these Societies, their manner of working, and their 

 influence for good or evil in Singapore from the same high 

 authority. It is probable that an exposure of their practices 

 will relieve Europeans from some ill-grounded fears as to 

 the objects and action of these associations, and that, by 

 having them deprived of their character of secrecy, the 

 Chinese themselves may be induced to use them, as they 

 well may, for mutual benefit only, giving up what ideas of 

 aggression on the rights of others may still be involved in 

 them. 



The General meetings, at which these and the other pa- 

 pers have been read, have not perhaps been so well attended 

 as we might have wished ; but I think those who have been 

 generally or frequently present at them have found them a 

 a most agreeable break in the monotony of Colonial life. 

 The truth of the old saying, magna eivilas magna solitudo, 

 is very keenly felt in Singapore ; for our city, though it is 

 not great in numbers, is great in area, and men who may 

 have much to communicate to, or to learn from one another, 

 are likely to meet very rarely, unless there are fixed times 

 and places of meeting. 



But I doubt whether our meetings will be as frequent in 

 the future as they have been in the past year. 1 mention 

 this now because I think, if it turns out to be the case, we 

 must look upon it, not as a sign of retrogression, but as a 

 thing that must in the nature of things happen. No doubt 

 one thing that encouraged some of the original promoters 

 of the Society to endeavour to get it established was the 

 consciousness that they had a certain accumulation of in- 

 formation and even of M.S. which was sufficient to give the 

 Society a start. But Ave have drawn very largely upon that 

 stock during the year, and may expect to find that papers 

 for meetings are not quite so abundant as they were. New 

 matter will of course be coming in ; but all the members 

 without exception who are at all likely to be contributors 

 are busy men, who have but few hours of leisure to devote 

 to science and literature outside their own particular calling. 

 And though I hope we may be able to keep up our two 

 numbers of the Journal in the year, I do very much doubt 

 whether we shall be able to get a meeting more than once 

 in two months instead of once a month as hitherto. 



