PRESIDENTS BANQUET IN BIRMINGHAM. 
807 
indebted to our worthy President and the Council for their indefatig¬ 
able exertions in the cause of our profession ; their sacrifice of time 
and money demands our best thanks and gratitude. The Council 
did honour to themselves when they elected Mr. Hunt as their 
President; they must all coincide with him they could not have 
chosen a gentleman better qualified to fulfil the duties ; he not only 
possesses the suaviter in modo , but the for titer in re. He felt cer¬ 
tain that the interests of the profession will progress under his 
judicious management; words are inadequate to express his high 
opinion of his capabilities. The recherche entertainment presented 
by the excellent President to them this evening must be felt by all 
as a most graceful compliment, which he was sure was highly appre¬ 
ciated. The kind and hospitable manner in which he has treated 
his friends this night will make it long remembered. They had 
had proof this evening of the combination of his qualities in a social 
as well as a professional view—his ability to preside over a feast of 
reason or a flow of soul; and he trusted they would join him 
heartily in wishing long life, happiness, and success to our President, 
and the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. 
Mr. Hunt replied that he deeply felt the kind words and earnest 
manner of his friend Mr. Dray, but was sorry to say that he had 
greatly overrated his powers and his merits. In the course of his 
speech he had alluded to the compliment paid to them by the invi¬ 
tation that evening. He (Mr. Hunt) begged them to believe that 
the compliment was on their side, not his. When he looked round 
that table, and saw visitors who travelled hundreds of miles to be 
present on that occasion, he might well feel proud to think that he 
had such a claim upon them as to induce gentlemen, all of whom 
were actively engaged in professional pursuits, to, at great loss of 
time, personal inconvenience, and expense, throw aside all these 
considerations, and honour him with their company. There needed 
no further evidence than this of the value of continuing these social 
gatherings so worthily commenced by Mr. Field, as alluded to at a 
previous period this evening. He (Mr. Hunt) was not egotistical 
enough to look upon this as a personal compliment; it was one paid 
to the office that he had the honour to hold. It needed no blandish¬ 
ments of his (so flatteringly portrayed by Mr. Drav) to make these 
meetings popular, and he was selfish enough to wish that occasions 
of this kind were more frequent in the profession than they are. From 
the kind words expressed, and from the look of his friends around, 
he was induced to believe that no man would leave that room with 
a worse opinion of his neighbour than when he entered it, and that 
acquaintances had been made, and friendships formed, that he 
hoped would be limited only by their lives. Before sitting down, 
lie would again harp upon that string that he always touched when 
an opportunity occurred; and if they really respected the Presiden¬ 
tial chair and the Council as much as the hearty reception of the 
toast implied, pray let them show it in other ways—support the 
Council more numerously at the annual meetings in May, and have 
a voice in sending to that body men who will do their duty in that 
