The granting of armorial bearings to the Scottish Genealogy Society sets the seal on twenty-five years of endeavour in the field of family history studies, and on our Anniversary Conference. It is, in effect, formal recognition by the Crown, through an Officer of State, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and I am sure that every member of the Society and every participant in this conference, would wish me to express sincere thanks to Sir James Montieth Grant, and Lyon Clerk Malcolm Innes of Edingight, for their courtesy and consideration. We have also to thank Herald Painter Miss Jenny Mitchell, for her art work.

Our Conference Sub-Committee, which has been chaired by Mr. Bruce A. Stenhouse, are grateful to Mr. Malcolm Innes for formally presenting the Letters Patent, and lecturing at our anniversary event. It is appropriate that he should make the presentation to Miss Joan P. S. Ferguson, our Honorary Secretary, and myself, as your Chairman of Council, both of us having signed the petition on behalf of the members. The design is a splendid example of Scots Heraldry: simple, yet meaningful. The saltire and the lion's head indicate we are the national body in our chosen subject; the septfoils - seven leaves conjoined - symbolize the unity of the family and of the nation; the fructed oak tree represents the fruitfulness of such a union; and the cross with which the saltire is charged shows we live in a patriarchal society. I hope the members will be proud of our motto: FOR FAMILY AND NATION, and continue to value the concept of the family within the structure of a patriarchal society.

We must all strive to encourage genealogical studies, because in recent years numerous forces have been undermining the unity of the family, upon which the solidarity of the State depends. Political attempts at so-called social justice - probably in most cases well intentioned - have had adverse effects on the family structure, with the State taking over what used to be the collective responsibility of the three-generation family: taking over almost from conception to cremation. What form should studies in family history take over the next twenty-five years? Well, I do not possess a crystal ball, but I can draw upon the experiences of the last quarter century, take note of current events, and express my personal views.

When this Society was founded the original members discussed various suggested projects, most of which were on fairly traditional lines: genealogical studies of particular families; recording monumental inscriptions; discovering new sources of information; heraldry; patterns of emigration; and fostering good relations with librarians and archivists. In fact the kind of subject matter which has been reflected in the pages of The Scottish Genealogist and other publications of the Society. One or two members thought we should venture into the wider aspects of family history, and our first elected secretary, Mr. Bolland J. B. Munro, wrote an article in the first issue of our magazine titled 'Genealogy and the Principles of Mutation', which was criticised. Yet who can deny the relationship between genealogical studies and genetics? Indeed, if we adopted the definition of genealogy by the late Professor James Drever, in his 'Dictionary of Psychology' (1952), we might almost concede the two subjects were synonymous. He describes genealogy as: 'the investigation in genetics of the ancestral descent of an individual.'

Mutations have in fact occurred in the past, and they are happening today. Any gene present in a child that was not present in the parents must have arisen by mutation. Haemophilia can arise in a family that has been free of the disease. Queen Victoria, as most of you know, has been the great genetic trouble-maker of British Royalty, but none of her antedecendants had been plagued by this defect. The mutation must have arisen in herself , her father or her mother. Many other hereditary factors have been subject of close study¹.

While much progress has been made since William Bateson (1861-1926) coined the word genetics, rarely anything in that field can be called straightforward. We can trace the origin, or at least the descent through Maximillian I, and Marie of Burgundy, of the 'Hapsburg Jaw' and the 'Burgundian lip' and other inherited characteristics of well-documented families, yet men rarely profit from the lessons of history. They seldom select their marriage partners for their potentialities as if they were, in a manner of speaking, brood mares of impeccable stock². Politics, money, land, the need for an heir, war or peace, connivance, lust, convenience, and occasionally love, have been the motives. How the geneticist must despair of ever improving the species! Those of you who think only of marriage as the result of romantic courtship, should read some of the mercenary contracts recorded in the Register of Deeds.

Brand new problems requiring new solutions are being constantly brought home to all of us. Who could lack Interest in the birth about a month ago at Fordham, of the world's first test-tube baby³? Clones and genetic engineering are already on the laboratory bench. The simplicity of old standards has gone forever, and the medical profession is being forced into new decisions on our behalf, although reluctant to give up its role as moral arbiter. The legal profession is being cautious in altering old laws to cope with current change. How remarkable that an A.I.D. child should be classed as illegitimate, and have fewer rights than an adopted baby.

Probably among the more obvious medical advances is pre-natal scanning, which can help diagnose diseases of the foetus from an early stage of pregnancy. Of course, to derive the maximum benefit from this development the question must arise: ''Is life the criterion, or is quality of life?" This is a moral issue, and at present, even in a society which accepts birth control in one form or another, and has legalized abortion, some women will hesitate to expel what is, for example, a mongol child. In time we may have genetic counselling, when questions of inherited characteristics, ethics, eugenics and evolution, can be considered. I should note in passing that colour photographs have actually been taken within the womb: the most amazing baby pictures ever. These have earned for Sweden's Lennart Nilson an honorary Doctorate in Medicine (University of Stockholm), and can be seen in the book 'A Child is Born' (Faber).

As an academic body we must take an increasing interest in such matters, but as in the past, progress in medical science will rightly be reported in the journals of that profession. If the scientist and the family historian can be mutually helpful, I think the physicians will have to be a lamp to our feet. My view is that the average member of any family history or genealogical society will Continue researching on traditional lines. That is not to say we should reject verbal or written contributions which might draw the family historian closer to the wondrous related world of medical science.

What we can do is strive with all our energy for the survival of family life. There is a school of thought to which some wooly-headed psychiatrists subscribe, which says that all sorts of dangers to mental health arise from family environment, and that we would benefit from ''open marriage'' or living in groups with no sexual restrictions. This feeble philosophy is doubtless attractive to purveyors of pornographic literature, and to those who make the very young their prey for the purposes of prostitution; but it ought to be very firmly rejected by all who live above the level of the beasts of the field. The family - not in my view the Christian church of western culture - is the rock upon which civilization is founded, and the study of its history promotes love, understanding, and attachment to family and race. Take away respect for family and race and you create a human order without a soul, the excesses of which are concrete frontier barriers, labour and extermination camps.

We cannot revert to monogamous tribal life, whatever its attractions. We must work for the acceptance of responsibility within the family. The important roles of both father and mother must be clearly recognised. Effective communication between the generations must be encouraged, and I hope the new family history groups at Glasgow ( 1977) and Aberdeen (1978) will play their part. Extra-mural classes on family history should be encouraged. The taboos on publicity for birth control should be removed. We may even be forced to re-examine the very ethics of marriage, which should be founded on an understanding of the truth, not vice-versa. The family is conjugal in domestic composition, and we must recognise that sex should not be a dirty word. lf there was anything unpleasant about the sex act, the world would be but sparsely populated. Frankness in our expression of sexuality would show that it is more likely to reach perfection in the marriage bed than in clandestine affairs in garden sheds or hotel bedrooms.

While the family must remain within the structure of a patriarchal society, there is room for liberality rather than male power⁴. If we are to lower the alarming divorce rate and uphold family life the bonds must be affection between spouses and attachments to children. Some instant legislation of recent years has done little to help. The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975, must surely rank as the most psychiatric piece ever steamrolled into the statute book. The Equal Opportunities Commission - apart from supporting the commendable Equal Pay Act, 1970 - is absolutely farcical, costing the taxpayers vast sums of money⁵, all because a handful of bureaucrats seek to make people of all ages, sexes, descriptions and intelligence, into identical and easily manipulated units. In spite of all this, prompted in part by the 'Women's Movement', we must stand squarely by our motto: FOR FAMILY AND NATION.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. See Stern, C., Principles of Human Genetics. 2nd edition, San Francisco and London, 1960 .

2. Some experiments in human breeding have in fact been carried out but these in world terms have been rather isolated. See Smith, A., The Human Pedigree: Inheritance and the Genetics of Mankind. pp. 70-81 ( London 1975).

3. Female child named Louise, born 25th July, 1978, to Mrs. Wesley Brown as a result of the 'Steptoe technique', which circumvents a blockage of fallopian tube by removing an egg from the woman; fertilizing it in the laboratory with the husband's sperm, and implanting it in the womb.

4. For a vital study of English society see Professor Lawrence Stone's recent work : The Family, Sex and Marriage (Weidenfeld & Nicolson). There are, of course, historical, cultural and legal differences in Scotland, the study of which would be rewarding.

5. To date, only 17 cases of sex discrimination in Scotland have been heard by the Commission, and only 6 of these were upheld.