^, > IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^^ va ■tt Bi 12.2 I.I u |^|U|K6 — 6" Fholographic Sdenoes CarporatiQn 4S w? o ^. 23 WBT MAM STIIIIT WIMTII,N.Y. 14510 (716)«7a-4S03 \ CIHM/ICMH Series. CIHM/rCMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Inttituta for Historical Microraproductions / Inatitut Canadian da microraproductiont hiatoriquaa Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquot at bibliagraphiquaa Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. 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Th4 tot Th( poi of filn Ori b«l th« sio otii fin aio or ahi TIP wh Ml dif rig 10X 14X lax 22X 26X 30X 1 12X itx aDx a4x 2SX 32X TiM Gopy fHrnsd hunt Hm bmm raproduoMl thanks to th* aMMTiMltv of: to tho gonorooity of Library of tho Public Arehhroo of Conoda L'oxomploira fiimA f ut raproduit grico A ia g«n4rooit* do: La bibliothAquo das Archivat publiquat du Canada quaiity logibiiity tho Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tlw possibio conaldaring tha condition of tlM original copy and in Icaaping filming contract spacif Icatlona. Original coploa In printad papar covare ara filmad baginning with tha front cover and anding on tha iaat paga with a printad or llluatratad impraa- aion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara flimad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or iliustratad impras- slon, and anding on tho Iaat paga with a printad or iiiustratsd ImprassSon. Tha iaat racordad f rama on aach microficha shaN contain tha symbol -^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), vvhichavar appiiaa. Laa Imagas suivantaa ont 4t4 raproduitas avac ia plua grand soin, compta tanu da ia condition at da hi nattatA da I'axampiaira filmA, at an conformity avac las conditions du central da filmaga. Laa axampiairas originaux dont la couvartura an paplar ast imprimAa sont fiimis sn commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit psr la darnlAra paga qui comporta una ampraints ^d'lmprassion ou d'lllustratlon, soit par la second plat, selon le cas. Tous Im autres exemplaires originaux aont fiimAa en ^^ommen^ant par la pramlAra page qui comporte une empreinte d'Impression ou d'illustration at en terminent par la dernlAra page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un dee symboles suivants apparattra sur la damlAra Image do cheque microfiche, selon le ces: is symbols -^> signlfie "A 8UIVRE", le symbols V signlfie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc.. mey be filmed at differant reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included In one exposura ara filmad beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framae as rsqulred. The foitowing diagrams illustrate the method: Lea cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A dee taux da rAductlon diff Arents. Lorsqus Is document est trop grand pour Atre raproduit en un soul ciichA, 11 est filmA A pertir do I'angle supArleur gauche, de geuche A droite, et de haut en baa, en pranant le nombre d'Images nAcerselre. Las diagrammes suivants lllustrant la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I :l. *<' ADDRESS DII.ITIBRD AT TBI ^p^h% 0f lit ^m\m OP 1862-63, Bt JOHN LANGTON, M. A., Pbbsident. .ui It has Aot, I believe, hitherto been the custom in thii Society for the Annual Session to be opened by an address from the Chair ; but it has been thought advisable to conform in this respect to the practice usually followed in similar Socie- ties elsewhere, and in accordance with this determination I now address you. The same custom, which bo universally prevails, has established a recognized form upon which these opening discourses are moulded. The President generally reviews the progress of science during the past year, chroni- eles the leading discoveries and improvements, and laments over the great names that have departed from the scene df their labours since the Society last met together. Where a Society is exclusively devoted to a particular branch of science, or the speaker himself holds the position of a leading au- thority in some special department, these annual addresses have often a more limited range ; but they all form a very interesting portion of our scientific literature, serving as land- marks in the history of science, and taking stock as it were periodically of our fresh acquisitions. I do not, however, pro- pose upon the present occasion to follow this course. Our country is too young, and Canadians generally too exclusively engaged in the hard battle of life, to afford me much room for a resum& of the contributions of Canada towards the common stock of knowledge, and I am deterred from attempting a more I. ^ ? ^t-^tH^JtVf m ADDBE6S. general review, both from the extensivenesf of the field, and firom the conscioiianeBS that the same thing is being done olse- vhore by men of much superior ability, and having far better opportunities of knowing and appreciating the importance of the leading novelties, which the year has brought forth. I eannot even fall back upon another favorite topic with those in a similar position to myself, and set before you the great things you have done for Literature and Science, and congra- tulate yon upon the flourishing condition and increasing use- fulness of your Society. If I look to our history, I see but the signs of a premature decay, interrupted by some praise- worthy attempts at revival, and two calamitous fires whieh have swept away the collections accumulated by the diligence of nearly forty years. If both the present and the past are thus closed to me, I have only the future remaining, which I can make the subject of my address ; and it is the future of the Society, to which I wish to call your attention. My desire is to show you what I conceive to be the true functions of such Societies as ours, the means which they have of improving the intellectual culture, and furthering the progress of our country, Cached facts of any science, which can be stated in accurate measures of quantity. The solitary inquirer, moreover, is al« ways liable to be wasting his kbor in doing over again what has been done perhaps better before, or has been tried and found pot to attain the ol>)ect sought. The mere study of books §lone, even if a man could be acquainted with all books, will not supply the want ; for there is always in every science a mass of oral information current amongst the adepts, which has nowhere been reduced to writing; and this, very often, information of the most valuable kind to an inquirer — ^hinta Und suggestions as to what may be, but has not yet been suffi- ciently investigated ; anomalous facts which raise a doubt whcr ther some received theory be strictly true, and all the loose ma- terials which are preparing for another st^ in the science, but which have not yet been reduced to such order, as to enable them to be laid before the public even in an ephemeral paper read before a learned society. Let any one, who thinks he is fully read up in all the latest literature upon any subject, go to London or Paris and enter into a discussion with those who are conversant with the point in question, and he will find that his knowledge is out of date, and that the minds of men are already turned towards some step in advance, which has liot yet assumed such a definite shape, as to have come before i' 1 A, V- --V ▲DDBE8B. ^J '^ A, A %- -v the publio in print. It is in the free intercourse, and in the oral discassionf, at meetings of soientifio bodies, that such hints are given and reooived — hints which often fructify, and load to the most important results. It is true that no actual work is done, and no discoveries are made, by Societies. The study, and much more the dis- covery, must be that of the individual ; but it is from the society, and from the aid and sympathy of fellow-workers, that the iqquirer derives the greatest assistance. It is thus that he learns how to study, and what to observe and discover. The very explanation of his own views to others, makes him understand them the better himself; he perceives their weak points, and where they require further elucidation. The paying of Themistocles applies with full force to such a man, that thought is like a piece of tapestry in the bale, discourse is the same tapestry unrolled. Or, as one of our own men of science has said, when speaking of the learned societies : ^' We meet to think together, in order that we may afterwards think better alone." It is in this principle of association that the great benefit of a University education exists. It is not so much what he learns in the class-room, whatever be the merits of the professor under whom he studies, as the daily intercourse with the students themselves, that gives the young man at a University an advantage over him who studies the same books in private. The students aid each other, sug- gest explanations of difficulties, which perhr ;, by the pro- fessor, were not recognized as difficulties at all, tnd each sup- plies something of which the other has experienced the want. Above all, they are encouraged by the sympathy and example of those engaged in similar pursuits, and a taste and respect for learning are engendered even in those, who have not the ability or the industry to excel themselves. These are some of the advantages derived from asiioeiation , besides which there are some cases in which a sooiety may « ADOBE88. provide the means of bringing before the publio works of a oharaoter, which no individual would afford to publish on his own responsibilitjr. Such are those most valuable contribu- tions to science published annually by the British Associa- tion, the reports upon the present slate of our knowledge in different departments; and such are the historical documents, the oolleclion and publication of which form one of the main objects of our own Society. When we come to apply these considerations to our own case, I may bo met with the objection, that our position differs materially from that of the learned societies of Europe — that their leading spirits are original inquirers, men whose lives are devoted to their favorite studies, and with whom learning is a profession; whilst we are mere amateurs, whose time is for the most part fully occupied with other pursuits, and who look upon our connection with the society more as an agreeable means of passing an occasional evening, than with any view to increasing by our efforts the common stock of knowledge of the world. I readily admit our inferiority, and acknowledge to the fullest extent how puny and insignificant anything we can accomplish must appear to those great men, whose example we humbly imitate. But the mouse in the fable was able to give aid to the lion, and the architect of a cathedral is under some obligations to the humblest mason who squared one of its stones. A stray fact may be collected, or a chance thought evolved, which, however imperfectly turned to account by us, may lead to consequences of which we little dream. Neither can I altogether admit, that the various pro- fessional and official duties, which engross so much of our time and attention, should render us hopeless of making much progress in purely intellectual pursuits. Literature and science are daily connecting themselves more closely with the business of life, and merchants, bankers and manufacturers are assuming positions, which were formerly occupied only by 'V' ▲DDKESa. nifmben of the learned profeasiona. If the youth of our oouDtry is adduced as an impediment to our progresa, w» must remember that there are some points in which this even gives us special advantages, and at any rate it renders it tho more incumbent on us to make some preparation for our ap- proaching period of manhood. If we can do but little our- selves, we may at least foster a taste for intellectual pursuits, which may bear fruit in another generation. I never pass tho Jesuits' Barracks in our city without some feeling of shame, in the comparison between the enterprize of our predeces- sors, and our own apathy in this respect. We boast of the superior energy of the Anglo-Saxon race ; but what have we done during our hundred years' occupation of the country towards its intellectual advancement, which can compare with the foundations which they had laid, when for the most part it was an untrodden wilderness ? We can hardly with justice say that the merits of scientific studies are not appreciated in Canada. It is rather the fash- ion to give a general and theoretical assent to their import- ance, but it is but a barren admission after all. Laudatur e* alget — the claims of science are acknowledged, but any active oo-operation is withheld. With the exception of some trifling grants to societies like our own, the withdrawal of which is annually threatened, the only scientific works which our Gov- ernment directly patronizes are the Geological Survey and the Magnetic Observatory at Toronto. I am no advocate for too much reliance upon the central authority for objecis, which may be attained by individual enterprize ; but it is discou- raging to perceive the precarious tenure by which we hold those two great establishments, which are the only ones by which Europe recognizes the existence of science in Canada at all, and which, if not supported by Government, must of ne- cessity be abandoned. The public voice, as expressed in Par- liament, is constantly inquiring what is the practical use of 9 ADDRESS; them, and it desires to see onr profit frOm thtm reduced to tU tangible test of poaadi, shillings «nd pence. It u vain to speak of our increasing knowledge of the laws which regulate those complex phenomena which are included in the single word weather, whicc are deduced, not indeed from the obser- yations made at Toronto, but from the comparison of them with thoso made at observatories which have beert established by almost all other Qovernments ; and to point out the advan- tages, still in their infancy, which will result to the agricul- turist, and to the mariner who conveys our merchandize, from thoir further prosecution. The utility of a harbour of refuge is something tangible, and readily admitted, whilst the expen- diture of a tithe of the money, which the harbour would cost is grudged towards establishing the law of storms, which is as essential for the safety of navigation. It is in vain that you may point out the direct profit which arises from indicating the localities where minerals of economic value exist, or are likely to be found ; and the saving of useless expenditure, by determining the conditions under which wo cannot expect to find them. Tou may appeal to the calculation of Mr. James Hall, who shews that upwards of a million of dollars had been thrown away in the State of Now York alone in fruitless searches for coal, before their geological survey proved that all such searches must be useless. The public still calls for more practical results, and attaches more importance to the accidental discovery of one workable copper mine, than to the researches which point out the large areas, in which the indi- viduals interested may make a profitable search for the ore. The laborious tracing out of the folds and undulations of an apparently unimportant stratum, and the minute examina- tion of fossils, arc still looked upoil as of no practical use. Men cannot perceive, that the one gives the only means of inferring, from what is laid bare to onr sight, in a limited space, the nature of the rock existing in other parts, which we "4 f ADDBIiSD. 9 i 1» *-- *-V otMinot examine ; and that fossils, totally independently of their interest to the Naturalist as links in the great ehain of creation, are often the only moans we h'.vo of distinguishing between rooks which are lithologioally similar, but belonging to very dilTerent formations. Without a knowledge of fossils we should still bo searching for coal in the Silurian rooks of the Oneida group, and for load in the Niagara limestone. Our people at large have not yet recognized the fact, that there is hardly a walk in life that is not more or less affected by every advance in scicneo ; hardly a trade or manufacture, which does not owe its greatest triumphs to some application of what, in its day, has boon looked upon as learned trifling-— and our politicians are slow to perceive that, looking upon it merely OS a money investment, the providing for tho country a sound scientific culture is the surest way of enabling it to respond to the demands of the Finance Minister. If on the one hand we lament that the people undervalue all scientific investigations, which do not evidently and imme- diately lead to some practical uso, on the other hand I am afraid that in many of our higher educational institutions there is a tendency to underrate the physioiil sciences for an opposite reason. From their praotical value it is thought that they may safely bo left to take care of themselves, whilst as a means of mental training they are considered inferior to the old time-honored subjects of academical education, the moral and mental sciences, and tho study of the ancient lan- guages — Mathematics forming a sort of debateable land, be- tween the two systems, being a purely mental operation on the one hand and of inexhaustible praotical application on the other. As we are not an institution whoso proper business is education, it may appear superfluous in me to interfere upon the present occasion in the vexed question of the relative me- rits of the two systems, but as one of the main objects of our society is the advancement of tho sciences, it will not be alto- B 10 ADDRESS. gether oat of place if I say a few words upon that most oV vions way of promoting them — the making them prominent sabjects of study in onr higher Seminaries of learning. As to the mental soiencos I will say nothing. I do not feel competent to speak of their merits as a means of mental training, and I should lay myself open to the same censure which I haro applied to others, if I nndervalaed what I am myself unable to appreciate. Their advocates, however, will admit that they are not very progressive branches of learning, (which may indeed arise from their having, unlike all other human things, already arrived at perftntion) ; but whilst the physical sciences have been advandng with such giant strides that it is almost impossible to keep pace with their progress, the mental sciences, after engaging the, acntest intellects for centuries, remain substantially where they were two thoU' sand years ago. I hope I shall not very much shook any metaphysician present, if I say that, as in tiie case of the celebrated combat between Gymnast and Oaptain Tripet, I am very much of Corporal Trim's opinion, that one good home-thrust of a bayonet is worth the whoie of it. Far be it from me to disparage in the slightest degree the cultivation of the languages of Qreece and Rome. I cannot imagine a more interestii^, or more appropriate study for man, than that of the laws of language, which principally distinguishes him from the brute creation, and the laws of thought as evidenced and tangiUy embodied in its structure ; and totally apart from the merits of the literature, an ancient languid is the best, and indeed the only basis, upon which the study can be properly founded. Greek and Latin contain moreover a literature of such value and beauty, and the lan- guages themselves ire capaUe (^ such a felicity of expression, that they ever have been, and ever will be, considered an essential portion of a liberal education. So many of their words also are embodied, either by direct adoption or by the y. ADDBESS. 11 •W interveotion of other languages in one element of our own mother tongue, and they are so closely related collaterally to the other element, that no man can be said to be thoroughly master of his English who has not a competent knowledge of Greek and Latin ; and the structure of our whole scientific nomenclature having the same origin, is another reason for becoming familiar with them." But these are the useful results of the knowledge when acquired, whereas the argument in their favor is on account of the intellectual training from the manner in which they are studied. It is impossible entirely to dissociate the two views, although, as in most controversies, the ablest advocates of one course are apt to ignore the possible ▼alue of the other. As the Volunteer movement is becoming popular amongst us, I may be allowed to take an illustration from military matters. One of the objects of -drill is to teach habits of punctuality , order, quickness, and precision of move- ment, and the abstraction of the mind from everything ex- cept attention to the commands which may bo received, so that the officer may be able to depeqd upon handling his men with as much accuracy and certainty, as if they formed a ma- chine; but this might be attained by a system of drill having no relation to the soldiers' future duties. This, however, is not all the object It is required at the same time, so to habituate them to the actual operations they have to perform, that in moments of emergency, they may go through them with pre- cision, as by an artificially induced instinct. So it is in edu- cation : we wish to teach habits of thought which will be of useful application in after life ; but we also wish to practice the students in the application of those habits to the purpoees for which they are to be exercised. The Utilitarians and the Disciplinarians are both right, but both are mistaken if they think they can stand alone, and both in practice really act «pon the doctrine of the other. Mr. Marsh, who in his late work on the English language takes the purely Utilitanaa -.-^■■'■W.|..»1 M" 12 ADDBE6S. view, says that " the stndent of language, who ends with the linguistics of Bopp and Grimm, had better never have begun ; for grammar has but a value, not a worth ; it is a means not an end ; it teaches but half-truths, and except as an introduc- tion to literature and that which literature embodies, it is a melancholy heap of leached ashes, marrowless bones, and empty oyster-shells." fiut Mr. Marsh shews infinite diligence in collecting and illustrating the bones and oyster-shells which he affects to despise ; and the Disciplinarian, who considers the literature as a secondary consideration to the mental training, is yet influenced by the literature in selecting the language to form the basis of the study. Had it been otherwise, there is no doubt, that it would not have been Latin and Greek, but Sanscrit, which would have formed the text of academical lectures. It is their literary merits, and their intimate asso- ciation with the daily business of our lives, with our habits of thought and forms of expression, and the constant allusions to, and illustrations from them, occurring in our own literature, which causes the former t^ maintain their position. So far then the classical languages and the physical seiences are upon a par, and both are brought to the test of the practical utility of the substance which we acquire. If we look simply to the beneficial effects of the me- thod of acquisition, I am unable to see any marked superiority in either. The mental processes appear to be much the same. It must be highly instructive, under able guidance, to follow the gradual development of lan- guage, and to trace back the later words and terminations to their rudimentary forms ; to watch the transformations of the same element as it appears in cognate languages, and to deter- mine the laws which guide all these changes. But there are closely anal(^us points to which the scientific botanist and the comparative physiologist calls the attention of his pupils. Thtre too we trace a gradual development, a constant transform- ' »* • J ADDRESS. 1^ 1 -*■ *-(• at! ttii. modifioatlon of parta as they appear in species more or lass allied, till by successive steps you can follow an organ through all its metamorphisms, and detect its identity after it has entirely changed its outward appearance, and the cha- racter of tho functions which it performs ; just as in two lan- guages, you recognize the same word, though there may not be a single letter in common, and the meaning of it may have greatly changed. Nay, if you investigate one class of facts to the exclusion of the other, you miss the full force of the crowning lesson — that not only in the material universe, but in even in the realms of thought and in the modes of express- ing it, one system pervades the whole creation— everywhere constant change and development with the preservation of the same typical analogies; everywhere infinite variety and complexity in the detail, with uniformity and simplicity in the plan ; everywhere endless differences, but one law, and one lawgiver. The habits of mind which are engendered in either case are the same, whether the study be that of a language or of a physical science — patient analysis of tho facts as tbey pre- sent themselves ; an aptitude to detect resemblances and to distinguish differences ; caution in forming a judgment, not taking a thing for granted from the first plausible su^estion to your mind, but tracing it through all its analo^es and re- lationships ; and the power of generalizing the facts thus care- fully ascertained, of separating them into groups, and binding them together by general laws. I will even go a step farther, and without assigning any superiority to the one study over the other, I will maintain, that in these important qualities the sciences had the precedence in point of time. The study of language has followed in the footsteps of that of the ma- terial world. It is only because, within the last 50 years, language has been subjected to the process of analysis and induction, a method devised and perfected for, and illustrated u ADDBES8. by the parauit of physieal investigations, that its studyhas been raised from a mere aoqaipition of wordo and arbitrary rules, to the dignity of a soienoe, and that it is entitled to the high rank which it undoubtedly ocoupies as an instrument of men- tal training. The truth appears to me to be, that language, mathema- tics, and physieal science, and mental soienoe, probably, also, may, in skilful hands, be equally well employed as the basis for disciplining the mind. There will be some di£ferenoe in the special tendencies of each, and in their adaptation fordiffe- rent degrees of maturity in the intellect to be dealt with, and to some extent in the peculiar qualities of individual intellects most likely to be benefited by them. Ea'ch of these studies has at the same time a practical use from the knowledge ao- quired, irrespective of the process of acquisition. Here too, there b mueh diversity in the universality of the application of the knowledge, and different men will attach varying d^ees of importanee to each, according to their several tastes and professional pursuits. There can be little doubt that the most perfect education would result from the union of them all ; but the great danger lies in the extent of the field, and in the fear, least by attempting too much, we should give a mere superficial knowledge, without a thorough training in any one branch. In schools, where a uniformity of system is essen- tial, I believe that the languages and the natural sciences will be found better adapted to the immature intellect of the boy, than either mathematical or metaphysieal studies. But in the higher educational institutions, where a certain lati- tude of selection may be left to the students themselves, accord- ing to their several tastes and their ultimate destinations, there ought to be provision for the proper study of them all. The embryo lawyer, whose after life is to be engaged in logo- machies of another kind, may find profit from being versed in the subtleties of the metaphysician, the future engineer will « I ; f •V \ ADDBE89. 15 . i .. i > *V \ probably prefer mathematios, and the medical student some of the sciences, whilst all will do well to complete their training in the study of language. I should perhaps apologize for having wandered so far from my main subject, but the importance of the question justifies the digression. To return to our own special field — if in the pursuit of most of the sciences we labour under disadvantages from want of opportunities, there are some branches where we have peculiar facilities. The Otology and Natural History of our country must be studied on the spot, and the world of science may fairly expect that we, who have the opportunity, shonld supply some of the facts. These are exactly the kind of subjects in which such societies as ours are found to be most efficient, as they afford the means of bringing under notice, and pladng on record, detached facts which could be made public in no other way. To these subjects our Museum also ought to be mainly if not entirely devoted, and it would be quite within our means to make it complete in these departments. The time has indeed gone by when a Museum was a mere collection of curiosities, or as it was defined by Horace Wal- pole, a " hospital for everything that is singular — whether the thing has acquired singularity from having escaped the rage of time, or from any natural oddness — or from being so insig- nificant that nobod, ^ thought it worth while U .iroduoe any more of the same." But the legitimate field of a museum, as illustrative of useful studies, is so extensive, that a general ool- lection with our limited means would from its incompleteness be of compuratively little value. We ought therefore to limit ourselves to some special object, and the most appropriate one would be the illustration of the natural productions and of the history of Canada. There is also another branch of inquiry, in which it is quite within our power to assist in supplying Canada's contribution " 10 ADDRESS. towards the general stock of knowledge. The social sciences are daily becoming more important, and they, like all sciences, must be founded upon a wide basis of well established and carefully digested facts. To this foundation Canada has as yet hardly contributed anything, and yet there arc some points in which the very youth of the country might make a collection of its statistics peculiarly valuable. It is not very certain that all deductions, founded upon the state of society in Europe are strictly applicable to a country, whore the condi> tions are so different as they are here, and for our own sakes it would be well if we could investigate these questions from our own point of view, instead of accepting without exami- nation the European versions of them. Moreover, for the sake of establishing the principles of the sciences themselves, a social condition, just arranging itself into order, may bring to light tendencies, which are altogether concealed in the compli- cated and stereotyped relations of long established communi- ties ; just as the chemist may seize a substance in its nascent state, which in its permanent compounds is too stubborn to yield itself to his analysis. Towards all this, or to whatever of it may be practicable, we have done nothing. There is hardly a civilized community anywhere which has furnished so little statistiral information as Canada, and what we have done has been i nperfect, and what is worse, it has often been incorrect. Nov individuals may do much in this line, and Societies ma^ press upon Government the importance of the subject, and point out the particular branches in which the collection of facts is most required. It is to the zeal of Socie- ties in Europe that we are principally indebted for the recog- nition by their Governments of the utility of statistical information, and I point this out as «ne of the ways in which wc also may do something towards furthering the objects for which we were established. The chief object which our founders evidently had in view, u ADDBS88. vt A wai the collection of materials for the early history of the country, or as it is expressed in the original prospecttu put forth in 1824, " To discover and rescue fV-om the unsparing hand of time, the records which yet remain of the eariiest His- tory of Canada, to preserve whilst in our power such documents as may bo found amid the dust of yet unexplored depositories, and which may prove important to general history, and to the particular history of this Province, — documents valuable as regards the present and the future, and perhaps still more interesting to our inhabitants, as respects the decaying Indian tribes, than any other object of inquiry." Towards carrying cat this original intention we have already done something, and it is to be hoped that we shall accomplish more. I am not in a position to offer an opinion as to the probabifity of our obtaining many documents illustrative of our early ' his- tory, which have not already been published^ or which are not in the archives of Government ; but we should never lose sight of the object, and we should endeavour to make that depart- ment of our library, relating, not only to the early history of our own Province, but also to those of the adjoining Provinces and States, as complete as circumstances permit. In the department of general literature we have also a mis- sion open to us, which I hope there is a good prospect of our successftilly accomplishing. Every thinking man must have lamented the low condition of literary taste prevailing in Canada. Oo into any bookseller's shop in our provindal towns, and the principal part of his small stock consists Of trashy novels and of popular compilations of the lowest liter- ary merit, whilst he will tell you that the few good works he has on his shelves are hardly ever called for. The field for improvement is an ample one, but our attempts to lead the public taste to books of a superior class must be conducted with much judgment. Our existence depends mainly upon our subscribers, and we have few inducements to offer them, except the use of our library. We must fill it therefor* M >iF \ r^ O.- i i )iWP.W.4 i IIP iswrflWfc.'n ■*^,; 18 ADDRRgS. with books that they will read now, if we hope year by year to induce them to call for others of a loss popular and ephe- meral character. We must keep aliead of the present stan- dard, of taste, but not so far ahead that the general public will lose sight of us altogether. It is very well for a captain to lead his men, but if he is to do much good with them, ho must lead them where they have no great disinclination to follow. I look, however, upon this as about the most hopeful portion of our undertaking. During the past year about one third of our members habitually resorted to the library for books and took out on the average about 8 volumes per member ; and the whole number of volumes taken out in the two months preceding the fire ezoeedod those so called for in the three years 1857, 58 and 59. When we have again filled these empty shelves with books, which if not of the most learned and abstruse character, will be all works of acknowledged merit, useful and improving, I hope to see the contents of our library even uiorc in demand. We had had it in contemplation, and the requisite autho" rity had already been given to the Council, to commence the publication of a quarterly Journal of Literature and Science,^ in which, besides more general matter, such papers read be- fore the society, as are now printed from time to time in oar transactions, might have appeared. This would have been filling up a void which has long been felt amongst us, but, though I hope the idea is not altogether abandoned, the oo^i ourrence of the fire, which has called for all our funds for other purposes, has caused it to be for the present postponed. Before I close this address I must say a few words upon the two great events cf the year — the late unfortunate fire, and the arrangement with the Governors of Morrin College, in consequence of which we hold our meetings in this room. The fire was the more annoying because I had already made ar- rangements for commencing to move into ou ' present quarters on the very next day. The result has been ti.e entire loss of X •* -v* ■Ml IP i^iiaii *f oiir Mnsoum and a very serious dotttruetion in the Library. Some of our best books have fortunately been «aved, and are not irremediably injured ; but it has been a melancholy task to glean orer the heaps of ruined books in the hopes of recovering some odd volume to perfect sets, and to find the charred remains of valuable works, which we may never replace, and of some of those manuscript documents which it was oar special object to preserve from destruction. Still the case is not hopeless ; we commence life anew with about 800 volumes, almost all of them works of value, aud the Council has already been engaged i" v eparing lists of works to be purchased with the sum which we have received on our insurance. We hope before many weeks therefore to sec our shelves again filled with some two or three thousand volumes, and that the rapid increase in the number of our members, (46 having been en- rolled since we last met) will enable us to make large annual additions to the stock. With the Governors of Morrin College we have concluded an agreement to the following effect. We are to have accom- modation in their building for our Library, Museum, and Assistant Secretary, rent free ; in return for which we are to expend annually on books of their selection, and to belong to them in the event of separation, to the amount of ^30, which is about half of what we paid for rent and taxes in our former rooms ; and we are to allow the Professors and Students of the College the use of our Library, under sucb restrictions for the safe preservation of the books as may be agreed upon by n joint Committee. A similar free use of such books as may be obtained by them by purchase or bequest is to be accorded to us. The same regulations will apply to the Museum, whenever we may be able to replace the one we have lost I think that this arrange^ "tut will be found mutually advanta- geous to both parties. The College will be saved any large expenditure for a Library and will be able to devote all its funds to the maintenance of a staff of Professors ; and we ^_ -t* so AnDRFSS. ihall save the anioant we paid for rent, for the books we pur- chase for them will be as accessible to us as our own, and we shall have besides the prospect of seeing additions to the Library made by them irrespective of our funds. There will arise moreover to us this further advantage, that without losing in any way our own identity, or our control over our own affuirs, wc shall have interested in our favor a largo and influential body, and there is little doubt that the students who during their course have used our Jiibrary as racinbors of the College, will, on leaving, continue their connection with us as our own members. I cannot leave this subject without congratulating the Governors of the College and the public of Quebec wjnm the successful establishment of the Institution so liberally endowed by the late Dr. Monin, and upon the highly encouraging number of students with which it has opened, under the abl« guidance of Professor Hatch. It supplies a want which must long have been felt by the English speaking portion of the inhabitants of Quebec, and I trust that they will be suffi- ciently alive to their own interests to give it effective support and that, as its utility becomes annually more manifest, others may be found to emulate the munificence of Dr. Morrin. To us also it is a subject of congratulation. Every step which is taken to cultivate the intellect of the rising generation is a gtep in advance for us; every Professor of this, or any other College, who becomes resident in Quebec, may be looked for- ward to as an active co-labourer, with more opportunities of usefulness than most of us enjoy ; and every student who completes his Academical course will bo ready to fill one of the places, which we shall ere long leave vacant. iMay they prove Inore efficient promoters of Literature and Science than their predecessors, who, for the most part, have only been able to bring good will to the task, and may their labors enable our country to take a place in the world of letters befitting its lumerous natural advantages. •.» y