entered the lists with man's insatiate enemy, death, and have fallen in the unequal contest : Mr. J. Frampton, late of Swindon Mr. J. A. Godwin, late of Birmingham Mr. W. S. Harris, late of Bermuda We, too, shall soon be called on to resign May we, then "This earthly load of death, Called life, which us from life doth sever." -But I will let serious thought and meditation fill up the aspiration. It has been said that " our life is a continual combat, in which we are successively conquerors and conquered, executioners and victims, frequently unjust, but more commonly oppressed; and all our intelligence, all our acts, and all our activity, have no other object but to dispute with that which surrounds us, and guard this frail existence, which is threatened at every step. Sometimes this war is with the elements; at others with the temperature, which is too hot or too cold; with the tempest, which crushes us beneath its force, or consumes us as a piece of chaff; with the monsters of the deep, which surprise us on the waters; with the beasts of the forest, which prowl about our dwellings; or with the insect, so small that it might be crushed beneath the nail, but so powerful in its invisible labour, that it works our blood into a state of fever, and consumes us with an intolerable itching: lastly, with our irregularities, our excesses, and our own suicidal acts. "Like bubbles on the sea of matter borne, They rise, they break, and to that sea return." And is this all? Can reason do no more? Is this the whole of being? Is there no hereafter? Then is man most miserable. But "Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, This longing after immortality? Or whence this secret dread and inward horror And who can estimate the value of a soul immortal? "Behold this midnight glory; worlds on worlds; Amazing pomp! Redouble this amaze : Ten thousand add, and twice ten thousand more; Of unintelligent creation poor." The Treasurer's accounts, which are appended, present a far more favourable appearance than they did at the close of the last session. Every outstanding liability has been disbursed, and a small balance remains on the year, besides many subscriptions being still due for the TRANSACTIONS. In conclusion, it only remains for me to express my fervent hope, in which I feel assured I shall be joined by all present, that, with each returning Anniversary of the Veterinary Medical Association, reports of its continued and increasing progress towards the attainment of that for which it was established may be laid before you. Science should always be progressive; and, at the present day, each and every division is making most rapid advancement; and, surely, our's must not be permitted to stand still. All required to perfect what has been so nobly commenced is, a cordial co-operation amongst us. Let us, then, not slacken in well doing, but continue to emulate each other; being convinced that that which has truth for its end and object cannot ultimately fail of accomplishment. The diffusion of knowledge, like mercy, is twice blessed; "It blesses him that gives and him that takes;" and who would not participate in so beneficent and so ennobling an act? I have only to add, that the subjects chosen by the Council for the prize theses for the present session are, for Practitioners, "The Minute Anatomy of the several Tissues which form the connecting Medium between the Coffin-bone and the Crust; their ELASTICITY or NON-ELASTICITY to be especially considered; together with the varied MOVEMENTS resulting from that bond of union in the Foot of an adult Horse, BOTH AT HIS WORK AND DURING REST IN THE STABLE, under all circumstances of sustaining the superincumbent weight, and otherwise." For Students, The Anatomy, general and minute, of the Stomachs of the Ruminants; with the Physiology of Digestion. The President having presented the silver medal, and certificates of merit, to the successful competitors or their representatives, J. B. SIMONDS, Esq., delivered the following ORATION. Gentlemen,―The founders, and those who shielded the Veterinary Medical Association during its infancy, wisely determined that, at the commencement of each returning year of its existence, an address, to celebrate its natal day, should be delivered by one of its members, and that task has now devolved on me. When it was announced at the last annual meeting that I was to give the next oration, I will confess to you that I felt much gratification from the high honour which was thus conferred upon me, and I hesitated not to comply with the request. If, however, feelings of, I hope not, unjustifiable pride did then occupy my mind, how have they been subdued by the recollection, that those who preceded me did so much delight us by the eloquence with which their lucid addresses teemed! Anxious as I am, I still feel unable to imitate these bright examples, at least, with sufficient effect, even to cause their lustre to be made more apparent by the little light reflected from this feeble attempt; for, as in the natural system of the universe, amid the galaxy of luminous bodies above us, how insignificant appears the twinkling of a distant solitary star! And let it not be forgotten by those who may succeed me in the performance of this duty, that their difficulty, like my own, is rendered not the less by being surrounded by men eminent as members of our own profession, and also by those whose talents and attainments do honour to the science of human medicine. At a meeting like the present, when the members of a scientific institution are met to commemorate its formation, and to congratulate each other upon the success which has attended its proceedings, it is customary for a retrospective account of its acts for the past year to be given: such details, however, do not belong to an address of this kind; therefore I shall not attempt to introduce them, nor intrude further on your time with this subject, but refer you to the particulars contained in the able Report of our zealous and indefatigable Secretary. I may, however, congratulate you as members of a society established for the advancement of science, that the time has again arrived when, like giants refreshed with new wine, each is found ready to buckle on his armour, and again prepare himself to battle with the empiricism, ignorance, and superstition, which still clog the wheels and prevent the onward progress of the veterinary art. Let us then inquire, without more especially alluding to the benefits which we all hope to see derived from the weekly meetings and discussions that are about to commence, whether, on looking back upon the workings of the Association, we do not there observe assurances that the coming year will, like those that have preceded it, contribute towards the attainment of our objects, and, at its close, be crowned by the honour of having, by the diffusion of knowledge, been the means of assisting Science in her neverceasing efforts to advance. We have now entered upon the ninth year of the Society's existence, and we find that it has been gradually growing in strength as it has advanced in years: who therefore can apprehend danger now its childhood has passed and its manhood arrived? Or who, I would ask, will be bold enough to gainsay the assertion, that no similar society in this or any other country has contributed more to assist Veterinary Science in her efforts to alleviate the diseases of our domesticated animals? The ninth year, did I say? Ay, eight years have passed away, and now the ominous number nine is come. Why, here's the curse of Scotland!-be it so !-We have, however, no gloomy reflections; or, did we need the power of the talisman to remove the curse and give us pleasing hopes, like him we would call doggrel poetry to our aid, and say— The year which is come, will, as those gone before, But to return : - Firmly established as is this Society, rapid as have been the advances of the veterinary art, elevated as it now is to a legalized profession, and extended as are the opportunities for its votaries to obtain a knowledge of the maladies of our different animals, those only can hope to occupy an exalted |