TO THE ClltCUJLAlt. 
345 
Having so done, 1 now, for a minute or two, advert — although I 
fear 1 am occupying your space to the exclusion of more valuable 
matter — to my having kept the records of the Society, &c. Why, 
whose duty was it but the Secretary’s? Was it not his duty 
also to write whatever he was directed by the Committee of 
Management, and to whomsoever, and to sign it with his own 
name ? Whether the Committee were my “ tools” or not, I 
leave them to consider : I can only say I acted under their sanc- 
tion at all times ; and my reports were publicly read by me at 
the meetings of the Society, and thus received the confirmation 
of the body. 1 thought I was doing right : such being, as far as 
I was acquainted with the matter, the usage of secretaries of 
other societies ; and no fault was found with me, nor any objec- 
tions raised against me. If, however, votes of censure require 
another course to be adopted, I confess my ignorance of it, aris- 
ing, perhaps, from the fact that I never received one. 
One word more, and 1 have done. The Society, we are told, 
“ is left perfectly insolvent; a thing which could never have hap- 
pened if the funds of the Society had not been diverted from their 
original object, namely, the purchase of books for the Society, 
not presents to its officers.” I beg to state that the Society was 
not left insolvent by me. Its finances were as favourable as they 
were wont to be, and its prospects as bright, nay, brighter; nor 
do I for a moment doubt that at the close of the session I should 
have had as favourable a report to offer as heretofore. I freely 
confess, however, that I am guilty of having received presents 
from the Society : some were paid for out of its funds, and 
some were the purchase of voluntary subscriptions among its 
members. In their possession I pride myself, and I trust they 
will always be highly esteemed by me. I look on them while I 
am now writing : they tell me that my labours in the cause of 
the Society were approved of by its constituents; and they con- 
vey the kindly feeling of those with whom I had the pleasure of 
co-operating *‘to promote the well-being of the Society.” 
But the plural is made use of — “ officers.” If by this an im- 
pression is intended to be conveyed that some portion of the So- 
ciety’s funds was abstracted for the purpose of aiding in the pur- 
chase of the handsome and well-merited present lately made to 
their then President, Mr. Sewell, I, as the Honorary Secretary of 
the Testimonial Committee, declare that not one farthing was 
taken from the Society’s funds. Further, that our subscriptions 
were ample; and the promptitude with which they were trans- 
mitted is highly creditable to those who contributed to the ser- 
vice of plate. This, however, surely cannot be. It may, per- 
haps, refer to some who have preceded me in office, and, if 
