1878.] 



President's Address. 



4o 



Fellows elected since 



John Gilbert Baker, F.L.S. 

 Francis Maitland Balfonr, M.A. 

 Rev. Thomas George Bonney, M.A. 

 Prof. James Henry Cotterill, M.A. 

 Sir Walter Elliot, K. C.S.I. 

 Rev. Canon W. Greenwell, M.A. 

 Right Hon. Sir William Henry 



Gregory, K.C.M.G. 

 Thomas Hawksley, C.E. 



the last Anniversary. 



John Hopkinson, M.A., D.Sc. 

 John Hughlings Jackson, M.I). 

 Lord Lindsay, P.R.A.S. 

 Samnel Roberts, M.A. 

 Edward A. Sehafer, M.R.C.S. 

 Right Hon. William Henry Smith. 

 Hermann Sprengel, Ph.D. 

 George James Symons. 

 Charles S. Tomes, M.A. 



On the Foreign List. 



Marcellin Berthelot. Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe. 



Joseph Decaisne. Rudolph Leuckart. 



Emil Du Bois Reymond. Simon Newcomb. 



Pafnutij Tchebitchef. 



The President then addressed the Society as follows : — 

 Gentlemen, 



At the conclusion of this, the fifth and last year during which I shall 

 have held the most honorable office of your President, I have the 

 gratifying assurance that the communications made to the Society and 

 its publications have in no respect fallen off in scientific interest and 

 value. We have not, indeed, been called upon to undertake during the 

 past year such responsible and time- absorbing duties in behalf of the 

 Government as the Polar, Circumnavigation, Transit of Yenus, and 

 other Committees demanded of us during the previous four years ; but 

 some of the results already achieved by those expeditions have been 

 contributed to our publications, and we are in expectation of more. It 

 is also with satisfaction that I can refer to the good attendance at our 

 evening meetings, soirees, and reunions as evidence of the interest 

 taken in our proceedings by the Fellows generally and their friends. 



Before proceeding to touch upon some of the advances made in 

 Science during the last few years, I have, as heretofore, to inform you 

 of the Society's condition and prospects, and of those duties under- 

 taken by its Council, for information as to which non-resident Fellows 

 look to the annual address. 



The loss by death of Fellows, twenty-one in number, is but little 

 short of last year's rate, while that of Foreign Fellows (six) is twice as 

 great as last year. On the home list is Sir George Back, the last, with 



