"The toast which I now have the honour of proposing to you is that of 'Success to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.' Gentlemen, this excellent and charitable institution has been only in existence for the space of fifteen years, and its object is the relief of farmers who have been reduced by failure of crops, loss of stock, bad seasons, and other reasons. It has been founded, as I say, for that purpose, but there is one thing which is absolutely necessary to entitle to relief, and that is that the recipient of the pension must have, as his exclusive means of support, cultivated at least fifty acres, or rented land at £100 a year at least for twenty years. And those farmers who receive pensions must prove to the society that they do not possess an income from other sources of more than £20 a year. Among those, also, who are benefited by the society are the widows and children or orphans of farmers and their unmarried daughters. "One main object of the managers of the institution is to maintain in their own districts those who have not the means of providing for themselves, so that, instead of their going to the workhouse, or having to remove to distant parts of the kingdom, they may be kept as much as possible in the counties where they were born and bred. Pensions varying from £20 to £40 a year are granted, and since the foundation of this society as many as 432 pensioners have been elected, and 53 children have been educated and maintained at a cost of not far from £40,000. At present there are 302 pensioners and 41 children on the books of the charity, and these numbers will, I understand, be augmented during the present month by the election of 51 pensioners. The total cost of the year will be nearly £8500, and I am sorry to say the donations and annual sums received amount to little over £6800. Therefore, you see that although this institution is in a highly prosperous state, at the same time the funds are not as great as we could wish. It is for that reason that we assemble here--to augment those funds. "When I look around and see so large a number of gentlemen, who have come great distances to support me on this occasion, I feel I shall not ask them in vain to extend their support to so excellent an institution. You were kind enough just now to drink in a cordial manner my health, but I think if I had put myself before you as a surgeon whose health you were going to drink you might not have received me so cordially. On this occasion I hope you will look upon me as a surgeon. The few words I have to say to you are my lancet, with which I have to bleed you--and you will all feel much the better for it.