84 Proceedings. 



Adams; Librarian — Miss J. A. Wilson; Auditor — Mr. E. R. Dymock. 

 As no other nominations were made, Mr. A. Hamilton proposed that 

 the officers as suggested by the Council be elected; seconded by Mr. P. G. 

 Morgan, and carried. 



Astronomical Section. — The annual report of the Astronomical Sec- 

 tion was read by the Secretary, Mr. A. C. Gifford, and reference was 

 made to the generous gift by Mrs. W. F. Parsons of a 6 in. reflecting 

 telescope made by the late Mr. W. F. Parsons in 1873. 



Report. 



The Council has pleasure in reporting that substantial progress has been made 

 during the year. 



A fine equatorial mounting and pillar have been procured from Messrs. Cooke 

 and Sons for the 5 in. refracting telescope. 



Mrs. Parsons, of the Lower Hutt, has presented to the Society the 6 in. reflecting 

 telescope which was made by the late Mr. W. F. Parsons in 1873. 



Throughout the year strenuous efforts have been made by the Council to secure 

 permission to build on the site at Kelburne. A succession of technical difficulties 

 barred the way, but on the 9th October formal permission was received for the 

 Society to occupy and build upon a quarter of an acre of the Observatory Reserve. 



The Council endeavoured to organize a party to co-operate with the Australian 

 expedition sent to observe the total eclipse of the sun in April last. Unfortunately, 

 the difficulties in the way proved insuperable. 



At the meetings of the section a number of important papers have been read 

 and delivered. 



On the 15th November, 1910, Professor T. H. Laby gave a lecture on " The 

 Pressure of Light," illustrating his remarks with numerous experiments. 



On the 21st February, 1911, Mr. W. S. La Trobe read a paper on "The 

 Mechanism of Astronomical Instruments." The paper was illustrated by a fine 

 collection of lantern-slides. 



On the 11th April Professor D. K. Picken lectured on " Spherical Geometry and 

 Trigonometry." 



On the 13th June Mr. E. D. Bell read a paper on the " Magellan Clouds." 



On the 18th July Mr. C. W. Adams lectured on the " Almucantar System ot 

 Observation and Kindred Methods." 



On the 2nd September the Section and their friends, on the invitation of Mr. 

 C. E. Adams, Astronomical Observer, met at the Hector Observatory, and the 

 method of obtaining true time for the Dominion was fully explained. 



On the 10th October the annual meeting of the Section was held. The Council 

 was elected as follows : President — Mr. C. P. Powles ; Vice-Presidents — Dr. C. M. 

 Hector, the Rev. Dr. Kennedy, Professor D. K. Picken, and Mr. Martin Chapman ; 

 Council— Messrs. G. Hogben, C. E. Adams, W. S. La Trobe, H. Sladden, C. G. G. 

 Berry, E. Parry, and Captain G. S. Hooper ; Secretary — Mr. A. C. Gifford. 



After the business of the annual meeting Dr. C. M. Hector read a paper on 

 "The Milky Way." 



Papers. — 1. " Earthquake Origins in the South-west Pacific," with 

 lantern illustrations of the San Francisco Earthquake," by G. Hogben, 

 M.A., F.G.S. 



2. " The Prevention of Cancer and other Diseases," by C. W. Adams. 



3. " Harmonic Analysis of Tidal Observations," by C. E. Adams. 



4. Annual report of Astronomical Section. 



."). " Typical Sections showing the Junction of the Amuri Limestone 



and Weka Pass Stone at Weka Pass," illustrated by photographs, by 



C. A. Cotton. . 



Abstract. 



The photographs exhibited would serve to render intelligible the controversy 

 concerning the nature of the junction between the Weka Pass stone and Amuri 

 limestone. The sections photographed were those relied on by Hutton in proof of 

 his theory of unconformity ; the junction was exposed on each side of a narrow 

 gorge cut by a small stream through the outcrop of the Weka Pass stone a few 

 chains north of the railway viaduct in Weka Pass. The controversy which for many 

 years engaged the attention of New Zealand geologists was to be found in a number 



