12 president's address. 



Societies were packed away in eases, and were literally inaccessi 

 hie. But when they found themselves in possession of the ample 

 space allotted to them in the Garden Palace, they were at once 

 enabled to enter upon the course of usefulness which was the 

 original intention of the founders of the Society. They had 

 collected a large and valuable library of works on scientific sub- 

 jects, and had completed the first series of lectures on natural 

 history, open to the public, when the destruction by fire of the 

 entire building rendered them once more homeless and destitute. 

 Tt was only right to mention that the warmest sympathy for the 

 misfortune which then befell the Society was evinced by kindred 

 Societies. The Royal Society of Sydney had offered them the 

 use of their house for their meetings, and from the learned 

 Societies of all parts of Europe they had received sets of their 

 publications to replace those destroyed by fire. For some months 

 after the fire, they were again accommodated at the Public 

 Library, and then for a few months they occupied a small room 

 in Hunter street, but in both these places the space at their dis- 

 posal was so limited that they were precluded from making any 

 attempt to again get together a collection of books. Subsequently 

 they obtained possession of a convenient and central house in 

 Phillip-street, in which the noise of the tram cars was their only 

 serious disadvantage, and since then, that is to say, during the 

 last two years, they had, though not overburdened with space, 

 been enabled to invite contributions to the library, and the result, 

 lie was glad to inform them, was that they had now a large and 

 excellent reference library, comprising over 5000 publications on 

 scientific subjects. The necessity, however, for more room, and 

 less noise, had induced him to build the edifice they were assem- 

 bled in, which he begged to present, such as it was, to the Society 

 for the period of 89 years, the unexpired term of his original 

 lease of the ground for 99 years. 



And now, having got to this point of their history, when he 

 hoped that all difficulties had terminated, they might look forward 

 to a prosperous future. To return once more to the occasion 

 which had brought them together, he might confidentlv sav that 



