and Christian Commissions to send agents to learn the exact facts, and, if need be, to take prompt and efficient measures to prevent or mitigate such a distressing result. On motion of Dr. HIBBERD, of Indiana, a special Committee on Insanity was appointed to report at the next annual meeting of this Association. Committee, Drs. ALFRED HITCHCOCK, of Massachusetts; ISAAC RAY, of Rhode Island; S. HI. TEWKSBURY, of Maine; B. FORDYCE BARKER, of New York; and J. S. BUTLER, of Connecticut. The following resolution offered by Dr. GEO. BURR, of New York, was unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the thanks of this Association are eminently due and are hereby cordially tendered to the honorable the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the ample accommodations furnished in the free and unrestricted use of the State House during the several sessions of the Association, also to the city of Boston, for the honorable attention and courteous civilities extended to us through its municipal authorities, the Mayor and Common Council, to the medical profession of the city of Boston. for the splendid musical treat provided for us at the Music Hall, to the various public institutions that have generously opened their doors to us, and to the several gentlemen who in a less formal though none the less gratifying manner, have extended their civilities to us, and have added so materially to our enjoyment while sojourning in the city of Boston. A communication from Dr. ROBERT THOMPSON, of Ohio, Chairman of Committee on Milk-Sickness, explanatory of his failure to report, was read. On motion the Committee was continued for another year. Dr. HENRY BRONSON, of Connecticut, offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted. Resolved, That the thanks of this Association be and they are hereby tendered to Major John Morrisey, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Massachusetts Legislature, and his assistants, for the very able and efficient manner in which they have performed the functions of their offices during the sessions of the Association. On motion, the name of Dr. S. O. ALMY, of Ohio, was withdrawn from the Committee on the Effects of Civilization on the Duration of Life, as presented by the Section on Hygiene, and that of Dr. Z. PITCHER, of Michigan, substituted. The amendments to the Constitution offered last year, and not yet acted upon, were called up by Dr. G. FURMAN, of New York, and were severally indefinitely postponed. Dr. H. H. CHILDS, Ex-Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, made the following remarks: "I feel extremely gratified that I am permitted in behalf of the State Medical Society to be present on this occasion. I have been extremely gratified with the proceedings of the Association, and, permit me to say, very much so as respects the presiding officer, and I would unite in expressing the thanks of the Association for the worthy manner in which he has performed his duties, and hope a reply will be heard from him on this parting occasion." The President, in reply, addressed the Association as follows:"GENTLEMEN: I thought when I was down upon the Island, under that cottage roof, posted upon a chair, that the emotions within me were such as almost to forbid utterance; but I confess, notwithstanding the warm congratulations and cordial feelings which surrounded us there, they have fallen below what you have put upon me to do at the close of this meeting, in the manifestations of your approval of the manner in which I have been permitted to discharge the duties of my office. Compelled by the amendment of the Constitution last year to serve two years in this capacity, I find so warm a manifestation of your approval as surely will never be forgotten by me; and it affords an enjoyment that will leave its impress upon the deepest recesses of my heart, while I am permitted to live, no matter what may be the vicissitudes that await me in the future or changes which may take place in this our national organization. The feelings which have been impressed upon me here will remain unobliterated while time lasts, and I fondly hope will not be wasted while eternity itself shall endure. But, gentlemen, I must, in turn, offer my most cordial thanks to every one of you, for if we have had excellent meetings, it is because you, every one of you, have kindly sustained me in the discharge of my duties, and, therefore, I say, I am as much indebted, and far more than you are to me; therefore I give you my thanks. And I tender my thanks cordially to the city of Boston, and to all those in the vicinity, for the manner in which I, as an humble individual, have been treated. Before I close, let me make one more observation. I have been very strongly impressed for twelve months past with the feeling that this Association had arrived at a crisis of its existence; and that the results of this meeting, here in the old cradle of liberty, almost in sight of the waves of the Atlantic, would determine whether this Association was to be perpetuated to the latest generations, gathering the profession from the four quarters of the continent, not merely from East or West, North or South, but from the whole continent, and uniting it in a common brotherhood for defending the interests of humanity as long as civilization itself shall endure, or whether we should culminate, and, like the transient meteor in the heavens, make our mark and fade away. And I felt strongly impressed at the time, because I saw many aged among us, and many young who looked to the aged as their leaders, evidently faltering in their zeal. And it seemed we had arrived exactly at the period when the Association was about to be transferred from our generation to the next, and as I commenced very young I felt that I stood as a connecting link, that my right hand was on the shoulder of the aged and my left upon the shoulder of the younger members of the profession, and if I could hold them together and put the burden of the Association over from the shoulders of the one fairly upon the other, I was sure it would stand firm through all coming time. My brethren of the profession, I feel that the crisis has passed. The Association is established upon the firm shoulders of the next generation. I am sure they will pass it to the next, and along to others as long as civilization shall exist; therefore I cordially sympathize with you in all the enjoyments of this occasion; and I hope while I am permitted to live and be able to go by steamship or rail-car that I will find time to enjoy a green oasis every year, in meeting you as long as age shall let me linger with you." At the close of the address the members arose and gave three cheers for Dr. Davis. On motion, the Association adjourned to meet on the first Tuesday in May, 1866, in the city of Baltimore. |