This annual meeting of the Society, the 94th in our esteemed history, is the first to be held under the Presidency of a Canadian. By coincidence, our meeting is being held in my own town, so I would like to extend to you a warm welcome to Montreal. (Bienvenu a Montreal. J'espere et reste d'ailleurs persuade que votre sejour a Montreal vous sera benefique tant de point de vue scientifique que sociale). Our Chamber of Commerce proclaims Montreal to be the largest French-speaking city in the world, next to Paris, It is also 1,000 miles from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, making us the world's most inland seaport.

What the Chamber of Commerce does not tell prospective visitors from the South is that when the British fought to claim the territory, King Louis of France shrugged off his loss by saying it was not worth his while to fight over a few million acres of snow and ice. We Canadians are still trying to live down the image of a glacial domain, which generates the Arctic blasts that from time to time invade the temperate climate normally enjoyed by the citizens of the United States. I hope that your presence here in the month of May will help dispel the still lingering notion that we are permanently ice and snow bound and that prompts the occasional visitor to arrive here on a hot summer day with skis atop his four-wheel drive recreational vehicle. And, may I add my wish that the warmth of our welcome with which you have been received will further cement the bonds that exist between our countries.