Gentlemen,—In assuming the honourable position to which, by your kindness, I have been elected, I must thank you sincerely for the confidence you have placed in me; at the same time I can assure you honestly that, so far from having sought this distinction, only the feeling that one ought not to shrink from any duty to which one is called by one's professional brethren, has induced me to accept it. Looking back upon the many distinguished names who have preceded me in this office, I may well feel some diffidence in addressing you.