Address of the President. 
33 
It now only remains for me, in resigning the chair to my 
successor, to thank you most gratefully for the kind indulg- 
ence which you have so constantly extended to me ; and to 
express my regret that I have not been able to do more to 
promote the interests of the Society, by myself furnishing 
original communications to its meetings. It is known to 
many of you, that the small amount of time which I can 
spare for original research, has long been devoted to one 
special object, the elucidation of the structure and physiology 
of the Foraminifera ; and the liberal assistance which has 
been afforded me by the Royal Society in the prosecution of 
my researches (whereby I have been enabled to procure the 
unrivalled series of microscopic drawings that I have exhi- 
bited from time to time at our meetings), makes me feel it 
but common gratitude, to place before that Society the 
systematic results of my researches. And further, the 
number and variety of demands upon my time have entirely 
precluded my making any such active exertions to obtain 
communications from others, as may not unreasonably be ex- 
pected from your President. I have the gratification of 
believing that my successor may be much more able than I 
have been, to contribute to your welfare in both these modes ; 
and it is, therefore, with much satisfaction that I look for- 
ward to being replaced by one of the oldest members of the 
Society, who has given evidence of such extensive attainments 
in various departments of Microscopical Science, and who 
will, I feel confident, do the fullest credit to your choice. I 
have only to beg you to believe, that the warmest desire to 
promote the interests of the Society has never been wanting 
on my part, and that nothing but the coercion of circum- 
stances, which I could not control or resist, has prevented me 
from more fully manifesting the sincerity of that desire in 
labour for your benefit. 
