Report of the Forty-Seventh Annual General Meeting. 3#5 



Mr. EiDWARD WAKEFiEJiB referioed t© tJie paiagrapla m Ae ilepoa-t anjiiouneaiHg ibhat 

 Sk J". Bevan Edwards, among others, was i-etiriag, pursua-nt to i^ie 7, and was aot 

 elligifole for ije-eleetion as a Coiuiicil'Ior. In his view, ilii.e sadd, itlus was a most unfortunate 

 time ifco make a KJihaiag-e in tk^ sGkaiirmamsiiiip of tiie Iinstitu;te, wiiicii tad .entered 

 upon peiiiaps the anost monaientous year in the whole of its history. He yielded 

 to none in his i;espect for the name of Sir Charles Lucas, hut ihe would point 

 Oiut that (Six J. Bevan Edwards had had great expsrience and tihat they would shontly 

 have before them problems which not even the ablest man in the Empire would be able 

 to help them to solve so well as Sir J. Bevau Edwards. There was no man in the Emoire 

 who had more to ;do witii a federation of Australia. It was Sir J. Bevan Edwards who 

 gave that immense advance in Imperial affairs its practical shape. For ten years, Mr. 

 Wakefie^ld said, he himself took an active part m the preliminary proceedings leading up 

 to federation, but none of them eoidd see their way to give the idea practica'l effect. 

 Sir J. Bevan Edwards, without putting ^himself forward at a^Ll, showed them how to do 

 it. Moi?eover he had had more to do with the q<uestion of Imperial defence than any 

 otJher n%an. If they allowed him to leave the -chair at this moment, they would be 

 m-a^king a great mdsta^ke. The Instibute ought to be prepared to extend the field of its 

 operations to an almost illimitajble extent and to face duties they had never been called 

 up^n to tface before. Amaag the problems with which they would have to deal were the 

 laipger federation of the Empire, the extraordinary extension o-f the Empire ^v<hich muist 

 inevitably follow the war, and the question of the hundreds of thousands of young men, 

 soldiers and sailors, who would have to be placed on the land in the Colonies under some 

 kind of ongainisation. There were 'ipaany similar duties and responsibilities arising out 

 (A t;he waa- whia|i wouild afford a anew field for their exertions, and fee shou'ld be grieved 

 if the Institute were to abnegate its proper functions in regard to them. In fhe .cir- 

 cumstances he felt that a change in Chairmanship would be a grave calamity, and he 

 moved as an amendment : " This meeting desires to convey to the Council its high 

 appreciation of the valuable services rendered to the institute by Sir J. Bevan Edwards 

 and expresses its gi-eat regret at his retirement .and its 'hope thiat the €ouncii will request 

 him to retain office at least until th-e end o^ the war.'" 



■Sir J. Bevan Edwards : 'First let me take the opportunity of thanking Mr. Wake- 

 field fox all the kind things iie has said about me. The a,mendment he has moved is, of 

 course, a surprise to me, but let me explain why I am leaving .the Oouneil. 'It does not 

 follow I am going to leave the Institute, or to cease to help forward its work. You 

 kaow the ruil<^ pro\ade that a certain number of members of the Council shall retire 

 ev^y year. It is my turn, Avith two others, to xetire this year. Quite independently 

 of that, consider what the 'Chairman has said. I joined the service two or three years 

 before the iCrimean War. It was xny bad luck, by the way, not to be there all the time. 

 B.ut that explains the reason why, even if I ihad wished, I could not 'have gone on with 

 this work. I have had six years of very severe work indeed. It has occupied my 

 tlioughts, more or less, both night and day. Moreover, as you know, I have had a 

 serious illness and I a-m only just recovering. There is a time for all things, and 

 perhaps I can serve the Institute quite as well in some other way, I will ask Mr. 

 Waikefield not to press his amendment, while Ithankhim^xceedingly for his kindness. 



Mr. Wakefield : It would, of course, be grossly improper for me to proceed with 

 tihe a»mendm6nt after what Sir J. Bevan Edwards has said, but I do not tbink the meet- 

 ing will regret that I made the xemarks I did. 



