Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London - University Library

LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 1
PEESIDENTIAL ADDEESS, 1904.
I BEGIN my Address to-day, as has been my custom on previous
Anniversaries, with a brief account of the events of the past year
and of the position and prospects of the Society. The longer I
have occupied the Presidential Chair, the more impressed have I
become with the desirability of placing the fullest information of
this kind at the disposal of the Fellows, not only for the purposes
of this Meeting, hut also for subsequent reference in the Proceed-
ings. It is not necessary for me to insist how important it is
that every Fellow should have brought to his notice at frequent
intervals what have been the successes and the disappointments of
the Society, and what are its aims, its aspirations, its hopes, and
its fears : in a word, that every Fellow should be kept as closely
as possible in touch with the oi'ganic life of this our body. But
so strong is my conviction of the importance of this matter, that
I ventiu'e on this occasion—the last Anniversary Meeting at which
I shall have the privilege of addressing you—to make a practical
suggestion to ensure its permanent realisation. My suggestion is
this—that we should adopt the practice of the Eoyal Society, and
of, I believe, some other learned Societies, in desiring the Council
to present an annual report upon the state of the Society's affairs.
In this way information that can now only be obtained, if at all, by
the searching of minute-books, would be made readily accessible ;
and, moreover, the series of annual reports would, in the course of
time, form an important contribution to the history of the Society.
In my present position I can see one weighty objection to the
proposal, namely this, that were it carried out it would deprive
the President in future of a good deal of material that might be
useful for the purposes of his Anniversary Address. But it may
be urged, as a compensating advantage, that it would leave the
President free to devote the whole of his Address to purely
scientific matters.
I began my Address last year with an allusion to the probability
that that Anniversary would be the last meeting of the kind " for
men only " ; and I ventured to anticipate that it would fall to my
lot to admit the first Lady-Fellow. At the same time I was
cautious enough to hint that the process of obtaining a Supplemental
Charter would require time and patience. Owing to the
realisation of the last of these three anticipations, the two others
remain unfulfilled ; so the Fellows are meeting to-day as of
yore, and my term of office is not to be rendered memorable by
the gracious event to which I have alluded. However I am to-day
in a position to announce that the Supplemental Charter has at
last been granted. I cannot make this gratifying announcement
without adding that the Society is deeply indebted for the successful
conduct of this business to the Treasurer, who has borne singlehanded
the not inconsiderable labour and, with characteristic
LINN. SOC. PEOCEEDINGS,—SESSION 1903-1904. C
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