74 
president's address. 
Apr., 1889. 
suitable manner commemorating an event which does equal 
honour to Mr. Hughes and to the Society. We all remember 
how, some time ago, John Bright celebrated the Silver 
Wedding of his union with Birmingham, and surely it is not 
less fitting that we should mark with equal emphasis, so far 
as our power permits, a similar occurrence in the life-history 
of our first and four-times President. 
It needs not that I should pass in particular review the 
names of the Presidents who have succeeded him; in Mr. 
Allport, Mr. Marshall, Dr. Hinds, Mr. Wills, Dr. Crosskey, 
Dr. Deane, and Mr. Lawson Tait, not to mention others 
more recent and better known to the present generation, we 
have a list of which any society like ours might well be proud. 
About the Society itself, it is a great pleasure to be assured, 
by the concurrent testimony of all whom I have spoken with, 
that, on the whole and taking into account the position in 
which we are placed, there is little to be desired except an 
increase in the membership. It should always be kept in 
mind that one of the objects of such a Society as ours, is the 
mutual pleasure as well as the profit of the members. Of 
course, we also keep before our eyes the advancement of 
Natural Science in the abstract, and are ready to do all we 
can to contribute to that end ; moreover there can be no 
question that our Society does afford needful help in that 
direction, if only by providing opportunities for that study of 
books and mutual discussion in which the solitary student 
finds himself most at a loss. But contemporaneously, and 
in no less degree in my opinion, ought we to take care to 
provide for that other object, the pleasure, the rational and 
intellectual pleasure of our members—and one of the con¬ 
ditions precedent required for the attainment of that end is 
the suppression or. removal from our midst of all unworthy 
jealousies, all factious disagreements, all strivings for the 
mastery. It is for this reason that we taboo all references to 
religious or political subjects, and we can at least take this 
credit to ourselves, that it is but very rarely that anyone 
violates this prohibition. I claim, then, that such a Society as 
ours should not be conducted on such rigid and stern financial 
lines as would be necessary if it were a purely business 
concern ; we should not indeed run into debt, but with that 
exception we should cultivate such a spirit of tolerance and 
mutual forbearance with one another’s weaknesses and 
hobbies as will enable us to live together, a peaceable and 
happy family. 
It is now my intention to ask you to listen for a short 
time to some account of the progress in recent years of the 
