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SAINT JOHN: PUINTBD BTf HENRY CHUBB & COMPANY, PHINCE WIM.IAM STREET. 1850 X'fO ADDEEISS, &(;, GENTLEMEN,— In giving you u summary of the proceedings of this Society during the past year, 1 would premise that I do not bring to the work the inclinations of a severe critic, or the powers of an experienced reviewer. I take it, the object of the Address which it is the (hity of your President to deliver at the close of his reign, is to refresh your memories as to the proceedings of the past year, to see what progress has been made in the objects of the Society, and, as much as he can, to keep alive and active tiiat feeling of interest in those objects, without which little progress can be expected. There is one thing in which I most truly rejoice, as regards our proceedings from the first. In all that has been written, and in all that has been said on different subjects, no diiference of opinion has, I believe, given rise to offence : all has been conducted in the .spirit of free and fair and friendly discussion. We have, I think, one and all been actuated by a desire of mutual benefit, — by a feeling of self-respect, and respect for each other. Every man may teach another something ; and, to bring out that something, is one great object of a Society of this kind. ' The first paper read before the Society in the past yea'-, was one by our valuable Secretary on the Art of Pottery. 1' aas admitted that the subject so chosen was one of interest to all, though, perhaps, from the ordinary and unobserved man- ner in which we constantly avail ourselves of the productions of this art, we might have thougnt but little of the means — the complicated and ingenious contrivances by which such common couiforts are produced. For myself, I must confess 1 knew little more than this, that the cup from which I take my tea, the plate from which I eat my dinner, and various other articles which contribute to my daily comfort and convenience, were made from certain kinds of earth ; but the precise mode in which the discoveries of mechanics and geology and chemistry have been brought to bear in simplify- ingand aduniing, in contrihuting to tlio cointort of all, to the bumble necessities of the poor, to tlio hjxiuies and tastes of the wealthy, was probably new to many of us ; and I think I may speak for others, as well as myself, in terms of grateful acknowledgment for instruction so pleasantly afforded. Indeed, our acknowledgments to our Si;(;ui'.t\ky must not be confined to this. We must all feel how materially, from our commen'-ement, his management has contributed to whatever success has attended us, not oidy as regards the main objects of the Society, but by precision and accuracy in the smaller matters of detail, which are most essential, and form a very important ingredient in the constitution of a good Secretary. Ready, on a desperate emergency, to take the labour of an original paper, and, on all occasions, bringing to the discus- sion of all subjects, varied information, unostentatiously put forth and clearly and intclligil)ly expressed, I feel I am quite clear of the bounds of flattery — which would be equally distasteful to him as to me — when I say we have good reason to be grateful for his services, and proud to number him among our members. The next paper in order was by the Master of thr Rolls, on the law of Primogeniture. As a very able history of that law, and the leading effects of it, especially in England, the opinion of its merit seemed unanimous: in which opinion 1 most heartily concur. It had, moreover, the merit of admitting of a difTerence of opinion on some of the doctrines contained in it, which led to a discussion as to the advantages which might arise from the existence of such a law in this Province. The question presents itself to me in this way : Would it have been desirable for a colony like this, at its first establishment, to have adopted this law as that by which real estate, not disposed of by will, should descend? My own opinion certaiidy is, that it would not; though I fully admit the result of such law in England has been beneficial. The eflect there has been the vesting of large properties in individuals, who, by their position and rank, are precluded from accumulating wealth by many of those pursuits by which others, unburdened by rank, are enabled to attain that object. The peerage of England could hardly exist, or, at all events, their existence would have but little weight, without this law ; and the nicely-adjusted equilibrium of the British constitution would be destroyed. I 1 to the m of ihe I may rate fill list not om onr J a lever ol)jects smaller a very retary, r of an tliscus- sly put ni quite equally reason ler him Rolls, of that m\, the inion 1 mitting iitained 3 which oviiice. it have nent, to isposed is, that law in ien the -' their allh by y rank, iigiand Id have Jjusted troyed. Hut (he circninstancp« of tlio time when this law began to operate in FiM^land, and tlie m de in wliich it his operated there, seem to me entirely dinV-reiu from the circumsianres uinler which it would have been introduced here, and the eflect which would have been the natural result of such circum- stances. J 11 the early ages of I-iuglish history, land was the principal, if not the only certain and permanent iuvesiuient of wealth. There were then no opportunities of making fortunes by professional talent or commercial industry, nor were there safe government securities or trading companies, which, in later limes, have oll'ered the means of gaining wealth, and of making it secure and profitable when gained. Moreover, in Kuglaud the original tenure oC laud under the fi-udal system, by gradual changes and modihcaiions, terminated in that, which seems to me the only mode in which a large landholder can become a man of great wealth and influence, viz., the system of landlord and tenant. At the first settlement of England — if I may be allowed so to call the result of the Norman Conquest — land was more valuable and available than any other property. The law of primogeniture and the law of entail retained that property in individual po^ssessors from generation to generation, and, as by advancement in science and art and education and knowledge, other sources of wealth were opened to mankind, the value of land was often materially increased, or, at all events, preserved its compara- tive value, and hence a race of wealthy and influential land- holders, founded in olden times, are spread over all parts of the country, partaking in their character of the stability of that which has made them what they arc, and forming the ballast of the state. Now, that the colonial vessel might sail more steadily, were she provided with some such secure ballast, may be admitted ; but, in my opinion, it must be looked for from some other source than in land entailed on eldest sons. The circumstances existing at the firstestablishment of this Province seem to me to be the very reverse of those of England, when this arragement became her law. At the first settlement of a colony, land is the least valuable description of property ; all but worthless, at the first ; and, except in particular and very limited situations, not likely to increase in value very rapidly; whereas, trade, commerce, professional and mechanical skill, hold out at once a ready path to comparative wealth and 6 iiii]ii(.p his family in respectability and comlbrt ; but the latter, without any laboui' of his own, receives probably a rental of as many pounds, and may, in another sphere, euiploy his talents for his ow n benefit or tile benefit of others. In liiii^land, the race between the landholders and holders of other descriptions of pro])crty, lias been substantially in favor of the former: in a recently-settled colony, like this, it must be ai^ainst tlu in. I have treated this subjcMt in a political point of view ; but, were it the proper occasion, I should Ije |)repare(l to contend that in other views, social and moral, such an arrangement is not adapted to the circumstances of a colony like this. I mak'^ but one more o!)servation : I doubt if such a system would bo palatable to the i)eople of this country. Theie is nothing in our law to prevent any one from leaving the whole of his land to his eldest son, in exclusion of his other children ; and yet bow rarely, if ever, do we find an instance of such a disposition by will. In perhaps the majority of cases, we find landowners dying intestate, and leaving tlie disjiosition of their land to the Provincial law of inheritance, from which the inference is fairly deducible, that such disposition is to them, at least, satisfactory. The law of primogeniture is, in itself, a departure from natural and parental justice, warranted only where public benefit is likely to be produced; but not warranted in a country like this, where, in my opinion, no good, public or private, would be the result. I now come to the paper read by Mr. Taylor, entitled, " On the eflect of credulity in retarding the i)rogress of know- ledge." This paper opened a new field of thought and dis- cussion. It was the first subject which led us into the region of metaphysical science — one which, though, perhaps, not to be esteemed so all-important as it was years ago, when practi- cal physical science was cultivated with comparatively little energy — must ever be considered of much value though its I .if i ;ulv:uit;ii(on in«v not lie so ImiiKMli.iio <»i* ri|>|»;>ri'iit as iIi(»«j<^ ai'isim; iVoin the nipjamir oHspriiiu; of stomii ;\iul riprtiicity. I fiMi iiicliiit'd to v'n'W this |i;i|n'r ms an ingenious uiwl aMc tioatisc! on the sriciico of irt.'(liility — otic in which it is as itii- poit.uit as (iillicnit to arrivo at rcsiihs which will all'ord safe satisfactoiv practical rules for our /jfiiidancc. Thi! lunnati!)!! of an opinion (ni any sulijtuf, hy any nsan, is an exorcise of credulity — is a judi-uient oC the unnd founded on testimony. A hasty opinion is one formed from testiuiony, not taken tVoui the best sources, not entitled to the highest degree of credit, or not sulliciiMilly exann'ned or weighed as to its natural and probable result. Such aii opinion, when put forward to induence the nnnds of others, should have but litdc force. But an ojiinion formed by a man of cool and deliberate Judg- ment, who is known to have had good op[)ortunities of care- fully and honestly investigiiting the facts and premises on which the sui)ject depends — whose character is such that we feel satisfied his object is truth, that lie has no motive or wish to mislead, and that the opinion he pronounces is the honest conviction of his own mind — such an opinion would generally be a tolerably safe guide, or at all events, such an opinion so formed would become a uiaterial fact in the forma- tion, by others, of an opinion on the same subject. To confide in the opinions of others, if not an instinct in man, is a ne- cessity imposed on him by his imj)crfection. What single mind can fully grasp the bare results of the labours of many minds, each concentrating its entire vigour on some particular point. How much less can any one mind traverse the long and fr I', some paths w hich have led to tliosc results. In a variety o ' oie ordinary aO'airs of life, we unhesitatingly act on the opitjions of others, the only exercise of our own Judgment being in the selection of the guide we shall follow. To think for oneself is an undoubted right possessed by us all, and to act on our own honest convictions is a duty no less than a right; but with those who take the trouble so to think, it is, in most cases, nothing but a comparison of the opinions of others, and an adherence to that which, to theirown mind, appears supported by the best reasons, and therefore to possess the highest autho- rity. It 'las often happened, and may often happen again, that some indiNidual may, on some j)articular subject, form opin- ions differing from those generally entertained by those most s conversant tlirrewlth ; aiul (Vodi such ncvly loniuMl opinioiij^ many IinprovoiiKMitrs and aih antogc-s li;ive arisen. ]>iit fiucli conclusions slionld not be lia/.ardcd vviihont rarefnlly consi- dering all pre-existing opinions on tlio same sabjoct, and build- ing uji a structure of reasoning, which, at all e\cnts, to the mind of the individual satisfactorily proves the conclusion to be correct. — Such ano[)inion so tested by the former of it will at first bo opposed by credulity, which h;)S, before, given its trust to opjiosite doctrines ; but tlic new doctrine, when tested by other minds, will, in (iiric, if it be worthy of trust, itself be- come the suliject of credulity, and taki.' its [)laco among tlie generally accredited oi)inions, by which iho bulk of mankind are necessarily and properly guided. Such has beoi the his- tory of opinion in matters of science, morals, legislation, go- vernment, and religion, and huch will it probably contimie to be. To lay down positive rules to guide in the formation of opinions may be easy, but to carry them out may require the powers of minds which would probably go right without such rules to guide them. Tlic matter has been well summed up by a writer of great antiquity, and I doubt if modern philoso- phy can go much further. '-That man," says Tfesiod, "is the most excellent who can always think for himself. He, too, is a good man who will take sonnd advice from others. But he who can neither think for himself, nor will listen to the sound advice of others, is a worthless man." In the month of June, Mr. Roiunson gave us his views on the policy of the law of arrest for debt — which law he most unhesi- tatingly condemned as impolitic as well as unjust ; — and in this view of the subject I am quite inclined to agree — at all events as regards the present system. The object to be attain- ed by all laws in relation to debtor and creditor, is the payment of the debi. If the debtor has property, that property should undoubtedly be made available for that object, and affords the most obvious and ready means by which it may be attained. If there is no property, the creditor is allowed to take the body of his debtor and confine him in prison till the debt is paid. Under some of the older modifications of this law, in some countries, the creditor was, I believe, allowed to take the debt- or as his servant or slave. Now, revolting as such a system of forced servitude may appear in these days, I cannot but think, if the period of such servitude were limited to such time of tin 9 I»iit .'^uch V consi- 1(1 build- s, to the Itisioii to of it will given its t-'ii tested itself be- lonc: tlip iiankijid 1 the liis- tioii, i^o- itiiiue to lation of luire the out such imed up philoso- «iod, "is He, too, 'rs. I?nt n to the v's on the t unhesi- — and in 2— at all le attain- payment y should :brds the attained. ;he body is paid, in some he debt- i system mot but ich time as wonlfl render the services performed, according to their ivind and value, at moderate wages, equivalent to the amount of the debt, it would be more reasonable than the system now in use. Hy the present system, the imprisonment of the debtor has anything but a tendency to enable him to pay his debt. It can only be considered as a punishment for not doing that which he has no means of doing before he is confined, and less probability of having after his confinement. If the non-pay- ment of a just debt be a crime, it ought to be punished as other misdemeanors are, by the deprivation of liberty; but surely, like other crimes, the guilt should be proved before the punish- ment is inflicted ; and it is hardly consonant with the well re- cognised principles on which public justice is administered, that the party who is injured, or may think an injury has been inflicted on him, should be at once the complainant, the judge* and the executioner; — yet this is really the case in the law of arrest for debt. The animus of guilt forms no criterion in this anomalous crime. If a man commits an injury on my person, I cannot punish him by fine or imprisonment without proving his guilty intent to the satisHiction of a judge and jury ; and if he can show the alleged crime to have been the result of un- avoidable accident, he meets with no punishment — indeed de- serves none. But if that man owes me twenty pounds, and cannot pay me, I can at once imprison him, whether the non- payment arises from unforeseen misfortune, or from a deliberate design to cheat. The same punishment is thus awarded to unfortunate honesty as to reckless speculation or deliberate fraud. It was urged in defence of this system, that it operates as a protection to the creditor ; and that in this Province, by various legislative enactments, the really honest debtor, who baa done all in his power to pay his debts, and is only pre- vented by real misfortunes, may be speedily relieved from im- prisonment; and, to a certain extent, this is undoubtedly the case. But why, if there is good reason for such investigations to release a debtor from prison, should they not be made pi'e- liminary to the imprisonment. It is rather placing the cart in advance of the horse, to let a man out of gaol because be shows that it was wrong to put him in. It surely would not be asking too much, before n creditor is allowed to visit his debtor with the punishment of felony, without its luxuries, that he should make out, by his own affidavit at least, some facts which show B 10 sonietbiug like a ciime deserving of such punislimcnt. All cases might be perhaps reduced to three classes.— 1st, where the debtor has property to the anjount of the debt, in whicli case an arrest is unnecessary ; 2d, where he has no suflicient pro- perty, but has been reduced by unforseen and unavoidable accident or misfortune, in which case the iniprisonuient is un- deserved by the debtor and useless to the creditor ; and, 'idly, where he has no sufficient property, but has been guilty of fraud, in which case he deserves some punishment, but not of the indefinite kind which, by the present system, depends in a great measure, if not altogether, on the tender mercy of his creditor. If it be said that to ascertain these matters would be attended with difficulty — would require new legal machinery, and would involve premature investigations of much intricacy — my answer would be, if this cannot be done, let the whole system be done away with, though at the risk of inconvenience, and even injustice in perhaps one case out of a great number. If I pass by, with slight notice, the two next papers, viz., that by Professor Jack, on the Telescope, and by Mr. Roberts, on the first principles of Motion, I trust neither of those gentle- men will consider that I do not fully appreciate the merits of their respective papers, but attribute my silence to its real cause — my own incompetency to offer suggestions on matters so entirely beside my course of thought and study. On such subjects I am content to take the place of a disciple rather than a commentator, as in the former character I may in some de- gree correct that which I should only expose in the latter. I would, however, venture one suggestion — whether both these subjects do not present materials for further investigation — whether, after the principles of motion are shown as they exist, by laws which we may discover but cannot alter, the adapta- tion and combination of these principles, as effected by human ingenuity, would not offer a subject of interest to the writer and his hearers. On the Telescope, I believe we have a pledge for something more from Professor Jack, which I am sure he will redeem. At the meeting in December, Captain Webster gave us a very full account of the origin, history, and exploits of the Royal Regiment, of which he is a member. The history of any por- tion of that arm of British power, which has for centuries main- tained our mother country iu the foremost rank among the \ . } : fi^ 11 ! nations of the world, must, I think, he grateful to those who feel they are part and parcel of that great country, whose soil has borne, whose honours have rewarded the strong heads and stout hearts, by 'vhose skill and bravery her glory has been achieved. From its great art,,iuity, the Royal Regiment can trace its valiant deeds over a nnich wider field than can fall to the lot of more recent regiments in the British army ; and lean well un- derstand the pride and satisfaction of serving under colours which bear so many trophies of the past. I believe, too, that the records of most of the regiments in the British service would, in proportion to the time of their existence, and their opportunities of distinction, tell pretty much the same tale; — for what is the general history of the British soldier but steady advance in the path of duty, stern defiance of difficulty and danger, patience under hardship and privation, blind obedi- ence to command, moderation in frequent victory, renewed determination in rare defeat. None will admit the truth of this general statement more readily than the members of the military profession themselves, who, while they feel a proper and natural satisfaction in the achievements of their own particular corps, will feel at the same time a more general and extended pride in the character of the whole body, of which they form a part. I observe that, with the modesty which is the characteristic of true valour, the gallant writer of this paper abstained from noticing the later triumphs in which he himself had shared. Since the arrival of the Regiment in this Province, happily there have been no opportunities of gaining such laurels as were won by their predecessors on the fields of Blenhiem and Culloden, — still they have been bent on conquest, and, .is usual, their efibrts have been crowned with success. Fortresses sometimes hard to win, have speedily surrendered on honor- able terms of capitulation — victories have succeeded one ano- ther in quick succession — and vanquished captives have been converted into firm allies. I trust I may be allowed to express my sincere hope, that these latter victories and their consequent alliances, though they may add no emblems to the crowded colours of the Regiment, may add many a peaceful hour of hap piness to the lives of those by whom they have been gained. ['2 I now conie to the last paper delivered by Mr. Urooke, oh Lan- guage. In the commencement of his paper, the Rev. gentle- man expressed his regret that the subject he had chosen was one which did not admit of any auxiliary interest by appeal to the senses, in the way of experiment and illustration. To this I must withhold my assent, for the whole of his most interesting paper seemed to me a most happy and pleasing illustration of the capabilities and powers of that gift, of whose origin and progress he was treating, which made us feel, that if we could not, like the Abyssinian traveller to whom he alluded, reach the small beginning of the mighty current, we could be well pleased to enjoy the beauties of the broader stream under so agreeable and able a pilot. The subject of this paper is one which has often engaged the attention of clever and ingenious writers, who have, from time to time, indulged in speculations on the origin of language very interesting and instructive in the detail of facts and coincidences which they have brought in support of their theories, but many of them not perhaps based on any very safe or satisfactory foundation. If we seek to account for the origin of language by the process of hu- man reasoning, we must look for the data on which to found that reasoning in the ages before the flood. Now, the only re- cord we have of those days is contained in the first six chap- ters of the book of Genesis ; and they, I fear, will ofler but scanty materials for forming a human theory on this subject, which can stand the test of human logic. It may be easy to conjecture how men first began to express their sensations and ideas in articulate sounds; but when we are asked for a satis- factory reason for such conjecture, we must conjecture a rea- son as much as a theory. The only fact we find on this sub- ject in the Mosaic account is the very fact which is sought to be established, viz., the origin of language. We find in that account a being created by the will of the Almighty, who, without passing through the stages of childhood and youth, comes into existence— a man— endowed with the matured pow- ers, bodily and mental, of complete manhood. We find this being, so created, using language. This was inferred by Mr. Brooke, from the circumstance, that God brought every beast of the field and every fowl of the air unto Adara to see what he would call them, and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. There is much in 13 y ihis argument, tliougli it' it .stood alouc, it might be consistent with scii'ilural phraseology to suppose the meaning ot" giving names to the animals was, that he took them under his domi- nion. Ilut the argument is much strengthened if we go a step further in the sacred history, and find when the use of lan- guage becan)e more necessary than wl lmi the man was without an helpmate — its use is most unequivocally mentioned. We find Adam, when the woman was brought to him, expressing Ills grateful feelings in language. We have records of lan- guage used by both Adam and Eve, before, and by their innne- diate descendants, after they had yielded to the tempter. We are, moreover, distinctly told, that for more than -2900 years, till the building of L?abel, the same one language was used by all the inhabitants of the earth, and tiiat at that lime the Divine power specially interfered to destroy the unity which had pre- viously existed, and to cause a separation of mankind into different tribes and nations, using a diversity of language, of which act of an overruling Providence, even our limited reas(ui can, I think, see the wisdom and benevolence. If there is (as must be allowed by all who give credence to the book of Ge- nesis as an inspired record) direct evidence that the diver- sity of language was caused by the immediate operation of the Deity, it is not more diliicult to believe, that its original use was caused by the same means. The evidence in the latter case may not be so direct, but it is deduced from facts easily explained on that supposition, and, as it appears to nie, wholly inexplicable on any other. It is not necessary to suppose that the earliest inhabitants of the earth had as extensive a vocabu- lary as we use, or were sunernaturally gifted with those powers of language which, in later days, gave birth to the lofty strains of poetry and oratory. All that is necessary to this view is, to suppose that the gift of language for which his physical struc- ture was adapted, was, by his all-wise Creator, conferred on man as well as the power of thought (which latter, indeed, would have been all but useless unaided by the former,) that both were bestowed on him in such degree as was necessary for the circumstances in which he was placed, and that im- provement in both these gifts was left to those general laws by which human affairs are regulated, by which the human mind is always striving for something better. New objects, new emotions, new ideas, would force the production of new 14 I '': i • I -■ ■I means of expression, oiilicr by u new adaptiUioii of I'onner words, or by tlie arbitrary or even accidental fornialion of new ones. Nor is this process yet finislied. In modern times, I ani inclined to think instances might be found of new meanings attached to old words, or even of the coinat^e of new words to describe naw oi)jects and ideas. If it be said, that to adopt an explanation so simple is iinpliilosophical — " Ncc JJeiis infcrsif. nisi dignns vindicc nodus inciflr.rif^ — may we not say the problem is worthy of such a solution. We cannot doubt that the Al- mighty created man as the highest of earthly beings, and gave him power over the other inliabitanis of the earth, not by su- perior physical strength, in which he is far inferior to many of them, but by superior reason, which, unlike the stationary instinct of animals, has been susceptible of ])rogress and im- provement. Without language— the handmaid of reason — the vehicle by which that progress has been carried on — man's reason would not have given him that complete superiority which he has ever had, and the wise and benevolent intentions of his creation might not huve been effected. To suppose, therefore, that language was the immediate gift of Ood to man is only to suppose what was a necessary part of the scheme of an all-wise Creator, and a theory to which we may safely give our grateful and humble assent. I have thus endeavoured to bring to your recollection the different subjects which liave occupied our attention during the past year, and on some of them to state my own opinions, and the reasons on which I found them. In these opinions I do not look for agreement among all who hear me ; but, in another opinion which I propound, that the sul)jects of discussion have been happily chosen and ably treated, I do look for assent from all who hear me. Every one who h:is prepared a paper for the Society, will admit, I think, that the labour has been improving to himself. The research which is necessary will have given him more knowledge of the subject than he had before, and the exercise of thought in forming and arranging his ideas, he will have found useful and wholesome ; and those who have listened will also allow that they have sometimes gained infor- mation altogether new, at other times found knowledge previ- ously possessed, placed in a different light, or, if fading from their memories, brightened and refreshed. One object of our Association— mutual amusement and instruction— has been, I 1.0 tliinl\, fully attained. If wc are eliargod wlti^ liaving done notliin^ for the public, we might fairly ask, How are we hound ti) the public service J would the public appreciate our services if rendered ? and have we not done as uuich towards imparting useful information, as could reasonably be expected, up to this time ? It is a problem, yet to be solved, whether the vehicle of that information, prepared at no moderate expenditure of time and labour by some of the uu;mbers of this Society, will be so appreciated and encouraged by those for whose good it is in- tended, as to render it a safe speculation for its public-spirited and liberal publishers. I am sure we should all of us rejoice in the ability and op- portunity of imparting to others any useful knowledge we may have among us. But we may fairly aijsumc to ourselves the privilege of determining when and how it is to ba done. We have made one step on this hitherto untried path; and I think it will be only the part of prudent travellers to ascertain if we have a firm footing before we advance another. There is but one thing to which, as regards the past year, I can allude with regret, — I mean the small attendance of members which I have occasionally observed at our meetings. Some who at our beginning were constant in their attendance, and appeared to take much interest in our proceedings, have all but deserted us. Their vacant places only greet us. Such a course must be prejudicial to the Society ; it is one very likely to become infectious, and in the end prove fatal. None, I presume, would join us who did not feel an interest in the maintenance and success of the Society ; and nothing is so likely to secure that as a constant attendance of all the members. Good listeners are as necessary as good writers ; and we should not be deter- red from attending because the proposed subject may seem not likely to interest our particular fancy. I can safely say that I have never been here on any occasion without hearing some- thing I did not know before, or something which started a new train of thought in my mind. This might happen to others as well as to me ; and as my parting observation, ex cathedra, I would earnestly urge a constant attendance on all my fellow members — undeterred by the atmosphere outside or the sub- ject inside, and even though such attendance may occasionally be at the risk of some slight personal inconvenience.