Captain COOPER GARDINER then moved the following resolution :-"That the report of the Council be adopted, printed, and circulated."

Professor MACDONALD.-I have much pleasure in being able to second the motion that has been made for the adoption of the report; and I trust that the warmest anticipations of our excellent Chairman on behalf of the Council will be fully realized, and that we may have an increased flow of members to the Institute. (Hear, hear.)

The resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.

The CHAIRMAN. The Objects, Constitution, and Bye-laws of the Institute having been carefully considered by the Council, and printed copies having been sent to every member and associate, I think it will not be necessary to read them over now; so, with your kind permission, I shall take them as read; and I may explain, that if now approved and adopted, they will be printed in the appendix to the first volume of our Journal of Transactions, which will shortly be completed.

JOHN COLEBROOK, Esq.-I have much pleasure in moving-"That the Objects, Constitution, and Bye-laws of the Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, as drawn up by the Council and printed, be now adopted."

G. CRAWFURD HARRISON, Esq., seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.

[The Objects, Constitution, and Bye-laws, as now adopted, will be found printed in Vol. I. of the Journal of Transactions, pp. 476-486.]

WILLIAM STEWART, Esq.-I have much pleasure in moving-That the thanks of the members and associates be given to the Officers and Council of the Institute for the past year.

Professor OLIVER BYRNE said he had great pleasure in seconding the resolution, which was carried unanimously.

PETER ROBERTSON, Esq.-I beg leave to move that the following gentlemen be appointed as the Officers and Council of the Victoria Institute for the ensuing year :

OFFICERS AND COUNCIL FOR 1867-68.

President.

The Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G.

Vice-Presidents.

Philip Henry Gosse, Esq., F.R.S.

Rev. Walter Mitchell, M.A.

Honorary Treasurer.

Captain E. Gardiner Fishbourne, R.N., C.B.

Honorary Secretary.

James Reddie, Esq., Hon. Mem. Dial. Soc., Edin. Univer.

Honorary Foreign Secretary.

Edward J. Morshead, Esq., H.M.C.S.

Dr. EDWARD HAUGHTON.-I have much pleasure in seconding the resolution. The work already done by this Society, as shown in the numbers of the Journal already printed, is such, I am sure, as to commend it to everybody; and we cannot but have confidence in the recommendation of the Council as regards the new names proposed to be joined to theirs, for the future management of the Institute.

The CHAIRMAN.-As the Society is still in its infancy, we have not thought it necessary to remove any old members of the Council, and we have simply retained the previous members of Council, excepting those whose names, unfortunately, are removed by death. I am sorry to say that, within the last few days we have lost a very valuable member of the Council, Mr. Evan Hopkins, a great loss not only to this Society, but to the scientific world in general. All we have done for next year, is to add the names of a few other gentlemen to those already on the Council.

The resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.

Professor MACDONALD.-I have great pleasure, Mr. Vice-President, in hearing that there is to be a little new blood introduced into the Council; and I hope that the system is not far from being introduced, that there shall be a removal of some names from the Council every year, to be replaced by new members. Circulation, you know, in our profession is the soul of vitality, and unless you introduce that, you are apt to stagnate an Institution. The CHAIRMAN.—That is quite the intention of the Council, and it is only our state of infancy that has prevented it being at once adopted.

Mr. REDDIE.—I am glad that Professor Macdonald has made these remarks, and I may further explain that our intention as regards the "circulation" necessary to our healthy action, is to drop first the names of those members of the Council who have attended fewest or none of the meetings. It is difficult, of course, to get a new Council into working order; but when we have full numbers, that is what we propose to do. There will be a certain number of members to go out by rotation every year; and we may have a formal resolution at our next annual meeting to that effect. But it is obvious that it might weaken the Society, if at present we were to lose any of those members of Council who have done their work well, as they have done it, during the past year.

Dr. HAUGHTON.-I would make one other suggestion. As, according to the constitution of the Institute, the members have but one occasion in the

twelve months upon which they have an opportunity of making suggestions, I would suggest that they should receive longer previous notice when the meeting is to take place. No doubt we all know that it takes place at a fixed time; but people may forget that, and be occupied with other things, which may drive the General Meeting of the Victoria Institute out of their heads. It so happens that through some oversight I did not receive notice till Saturday last that this meeting was about to take place. I do not say this, however, to find fault, but I think it desirable that members should in future receive a clear week or ten days' notice of what is the most important meeting of the Victoria Institute during the year.

Mr. REDDIE. Allow me to explain that we have certainly given more than a week's notice of this meeting to the members generally. Dr. Haughton, residing at Malvern, and having changed his residence there, has unfortunately not received his notice so early, probably on that account, or the post-office may have been at fault; but at any rate I am glad at the unexpected pleasure of seeing him here. In addition to the individual notices, we have also advertised the meeting; but in future I shall take care that notices are sent out as early as possible. But I cannot quite account for his circular being so long undelivered.

Dr. HAUGHTON.-I received this only on Saturday; and I hope you won't think that because members reside in the country, they take less interest in the Institute than members residing in town. In fact, it is mainly to be present at this meeting that I have come 120 miles.

Mr. REDDIE. I am informed by the clerk, that all the notices were duly despatched to all members in the United Kingdom more than a week ago, but those in town were posted first. I beg leave to observe, that this is just the time when any member who has any suggestion to make as regards the affairs of the Society should do so. It is usual to discuss such matters before the Address is delivered.

Professor MACDONALD.-I may say that I have been more fortunate in getting my notice of this meeting, and I have come 450 miles in order to attend it.

The CHAIRMAN.--I should be happy to hear any suggestions or observations that any member may please to make, before calling upon the Hon. Secretary to read the Annual Address.

Professor MACDONALD.-Would you allow me to suggest to the Council to take into consideration, as you are unable to fulfil at present both the 6th and 7th Objects of the Society, whether at least the 6th Object might not be immediately put in force. I believe nothing would encourage the increase of new members more effectively than the publication of some valuable scientific work bearing upon our objects, by our continental neighbours. I think this would be a far better investment for the funds of the Society than any Joint Stock Company, however limited. (Laughter.)

Mr. REDDIE.—I may explain, as regards the learned Professor's suggestion, that we are most anxious to be able to start with the translation of a book; but, in the first place, it is difficult to get a volunteer to give us a translation,

and we must as yet also look carefully to the finances of the Society. But if Professor Macdonald will only favour us with a translation of some valuable continental work, we shall give him plenty of time, and I think before he is likely to be ready with it, we shall have funds to carry it through the press, without inconvenience. I may add that I have no doubt that these publications will be remunerative,-and, indeed, I should be sorry if any gentleman engaged in supplying translations should not be well paid for his trouble. And I am also sure of this, that a book ought to have an unlimited, not a limited, circulation, in order to do good; and our intention is, although we shall require funds to start the undertaking, that the authors shall be well remunerated, and in the same way they would be by a publisher for any good book. I trust that bye and bye the "Imprimatur" of this Society will be as great a recommendation for the books we publish, as the Imprimatur of some other societies might perhaps tend to deter people from purchasing their books. I will not mention names. (Laughter.)

The CHAIRMAN then called upon the Honorary Secretary, who read the following Address to the meeting

ANNUAL ADDRESS.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

Two years ago, on the 24th May, 1865, the proposal to found the VICTORIA INSTITUTE was first put forth, and its foundation laid. Within a year from that date it had gathered such strength, that its first founders saw that their hopes would be realized; and the proceedings of the Institute were publicly and formally inaugurated at the First General Meeting of its Members and Associates, held on 24th May, 1866. Upon that occasion the Inaugural Address was delivered by our Vice-President, the Rev. Walter Mitchell; and I doubt not it has been the general expectation that at the present Anniversary Meeting the First Annual Address would also be delivered by him. I feel, therefore, you may be assured, the great disadvantages attendant upon occupying my present position-the disadvantage of coming after one so highly qualified in every respect to address you upon some of those highest matters of philosophy and science, the consideration of which is the primary object of our association; the dis

advantage of disappointing you at the outset in thus, I must say, unfortunately being obliged to occupy his place; and the disadvantage besides of knowing that I can only further disappoint you, in the event, from not being able to speak with his knowledge and his wisdom and his words. I can only plead, in extenuation of undertaking such a task, that I do so not from choice but as a duty. I therefore crave your most kind indulgence; and I think I may count upon it when I explain, that I address you this evening solely that you may not be disappointed of hearing Mr. Mitchell at our next ordinary meeting on the 3rd of June;-for he found that to undertake to deliver the Annual Address would so materially interfere with the completion of his Memoir on the Isomorphism of Crystalline Bodies, that he could not hope to be able to read it this session, unless he were relieved from the preparation of the Address. Under these circumstances, I venture to trust that you will not only pardon my throwing myself into the breach to fill the place, however unworthily, of our Vice-President, but that you will therefore also accord to me your most favourable consideration. And let me add further, that there is this compensating advantage in our Vice-President being silent on the present occasion: he could not have spoken of himself as I have done, nor told you how much our success last year has been specially due to his many-sided qualifications for presiding over our deliberations, and to his constant and hearty assiduity as our Chairman. Besides you must not suppose that the preparation of the present Address can compare in difficulty with the Inaugural Address last year. We had then no past existence as a society; our future, though full of hope, was then uncertain; our work had to be well begun in order to succeed, and you know how well begun it was in that admirable Address. But now we have the work of last year to look back upon and review; and our existence is not only a fact, but our success has been most signal.

I purpose, therefore, chiefly to occupy your attention with a retrospective summary of the principal subjects we have already discussed in the Victoria Institute. Our first brief session, consisting of four evening meetings in June and July last year, was commenced by a paper, giving A Sketch of the Existing Relations between Scripture and Science, by Mr. Warington, who, in the most impartial manner, detailed the various objections which had been urged in our day, in the name of Science, against the credibility of the Scriptures. I frankly confess that what I may call the severe impartiality