58 ATKINSON: HISTORY AND OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY. 
Of the Presidents a few words may be interesting. Amongst 
the earliest to preside over us was Dr. Hook, the late Vicar 
of Leeds, whose scientific knowledge was as profound as his 
theology, and who will ever be remembered with gratitude 
by the Leeds people; another was Dr. Scoresby, the intrepid 
Arctic traveller, who was for seventeen years Yicar of 
Bradford; Mr. Hope Shaw, of Leeds, an eminent man of my 
own profession; Lord Houghton, whose services to England, 
whether as a statesman or a man of letters, are so well 
known; Mr. Thomas Wilson, who long served the Society in 
another capacity; the Rev. Josiah Bateman, an eminent 
minister. Of the Secretaries, I have already mentioned Mr. 
Wilson; then came the Rev. Mr. Thorp, who served the 
Society well; Mr. W. S. Ward, who also did the Society good 
service; and Professor Miall, whose services to biological 
science are so familiar to you ; and lastly, our present Secre- 
tary, whose indefatigable exertions on our bshalf are so well 
known. 
Of the original founders of the Society, most have 
gone to their rest ; but we have happily left to us Dr. 
Alexander, Messrs. T. W. Embleton, W. Sykes Ward, and 
R. Carter, all veterans who have done much good to the 
Society when it sorely needed help. To these Nestors of our 
Society our warmest thanks are due. Respecting the state 
of geology at this time, it may interest you if I say a few 
words. In 1838, Dr. Whewell was President of the 
Geological Society, and amongst the foremost members were 
Sir Charles Lyell, Buckland, Horner, Charles Darwin, Sir P. 
Egerton, Dr. Fitton, Ehrenburg, Sir R. Murchison, R. Owen, 
Henslow, Scrope, Dr. Babbington, Sir Abraham Hume, and 
Elie de Beaumont. Most of these are dead, but we have Sir P. 
Egerton, Darwin, and R. Owen. It was then that Professors 
Sedgwick and Murchison were engaged on their great work, 
the classification of the Cambrian and Silurian Rocks, which 
