WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 



First Meeting : 8rd June, 1903. 

 Professor Easterfield, President, in the chair. 



New Members. — G. M. Mason, J. Lewis, A. H. Gore, 

 •C. Freyberg, and W. F. Eobinson. 



Before proceeding with liis address, Professor Easterfield 

 thanked the members for electing him to the position of 

 President for the ensuing year. He would endeavour to 

 justify their selection. 



The President then read a notice (prepared by Sir James 

 Hector) of the late W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S., which referred 

 to his long connection with the Society, and concluded by 

 moving as follows, members standing during the reading of 

 the motion : — 



That a formal entry of the foregoing notice ba made on the records of 

 the Society, which sets forth a recognition of the great services which 

 have been rendered to science by the late W. T. L. Travels, F.L.S., 

 and that copies be forwarded, with an expression of sympathy, to his 

 relatives. 



Eeference was also made to the loss sustained by the 

 death of two prominent members of the Society — viz., Major- 

 General Schaw and the Hon. Dr. Grace. 



Professor Easterfield then delivered his presidential ad- 

 dress, " A Hundred Years in the History of a Theory," which 

 was listened to with great attention. 



On the motion of Mr. Hogben, a hearty vote of thanks 

 was given to Professor Easterfield for his address. 



Second Meeting : 1st July, 1903. 



Professor Easterfield, President, in the chair. 



Mr. H. N. McLeod read a paper, illustrated by photo- 

 graphs, on " Caves and Water-passages in the Greymouth 

 District." 



He had made an exploration, necessarily hasty, of some of these caves, 

 and described the result of his investigation. Originally, he thought, 

 these caves were formed by percolation of water from above — a view con- 

 firmed by the discovery of the seeds of Phormium teiiax clinging to the 

 sides. This process still went on. Their general trend was downwards, 

 and they served as overflow-channels carrying the flood-waters by sub- 

 terranean passages to the Grey River. 



