48 Proceedings. 



slides showing the grotesque varieties of form and the lures with which these fish 

 attract their prey, and the modifications of the mouth and stomach to deal with it 

 when caught, were displayed on the screen. 



Papers. — 1. " A Redescription of Aegaeonichthys appeal." By Edgar 

 R. Waite. 



2. " Miscellaneous Notes on some New Zealand Crustacea." By 

 Dr. Charles Chilton. 



Exhibit. — A specimen of Veronica lycopodwides w~as exhibited and 

 described by Mr. R. Nairn, who said that the specimen under consider- 

 ation had been grown in a greenhouse from cuttings, and had put forth 

 not only larger leaves than it usually showed when growing wild, but 

 also the leaves of the ordinary form. This he attributed to the influence 

 of the warm, still, and damp atmosphere of the greenhouse. 



Sixth Meeting : Jfih October, 1911. 



Present : Mr. A. M. Wright, President, in the chair, and seventy-five 



others. 



New Members. — Misses Sanders and Izard, and Mr. Henry Suter. 



Address. — " Profit-sharing." By Mr. A. W. Beaven. 



The lecturer in his introductory remarks said that neither employer nor em- 

 ployee was satisfied with the present wages system, but he was not in a position to 

 formulate a remedy for the defects of that system. The lecturer dealt with the 

 nature of capital and with the evolution of the modern industrial system. He said 

 that socialism, co-operation, and profit-sharing had been suggested as remedies for 

 the present defects. His personal opinion was that though compulsory socialism 

 might be successful in equalizing the division of products, it is certain that there 

 would be less products to divide than at present. Co-operation had failed generally 

 because of the rarity of organizing and directing ability. Profit-sharing was a modi- 

 fication of the wages system which made the worker a partner to a specific extent 

 in the profits realized. 



The speaker gave instances of cases in which profit-sharing had been tried in 

 industries. He gave full details of the following cases— the French house of Le 

 Clair, of the Pillsbury Flour-mills in Minnesota, of the South Metropolitan Gas 

 Company in London — and brief reference to numerous other cases where the scheme 

 had been successful, as well as to others where it had been unsuccessful. In con- 

 clusion, the lecturer said that the examples he has quoted led him to consider that 

 profit-sharing was practicable and advisable. It was necessary that any arrange- 

 ment made should have an element of permanency, and should not be dependent 

 upon the arbitrary action of the employer. Every system should be suited to the 

 business to which it was applied. The ideal trade-union would be that in which 

 employer and employed were united to advance the interests of the industry by 

 which they earned their livelihood. 



At the conclusion of the address Dr. Hight pointed out that in estimating the 

 effects of profit-sharing they must inquire whether the conditions prevalent in any 

 two businesses were quite the same. In some cases success was partly due to the 

 business having a partial monopoly, as in gas companies, and in other cases to special 

 organizing ability. He also pointed out that there had been a steady decline in 

 profit-sharing in England, and that the method was only a palliative and gave no 

 ultimate solution of the labour problem 



The lecturer was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. 



Papers.— 1. " New Plant-habitats," Part VII. By Dr. L. Cockayne. 

 2. "Descriptions of New Species of Plants." By Dr. L. Cockayne. 

 (See page 50.) 



