4- .^^.v 



PROCEEDINGS V> *»,.as. (^ 



OF THE ^*^ '^ '^ 



LINNEAN SOCIETY 



OF 



NEW SOUTH ^Sr ^T.J^S. 



WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25th, 1914. 

 The Thirty-ninth Annual General Meeting, and the Ordinary 

 Monthly Meeting, were held in the Linnean Hall, Ithaca Road, 

 Elizabeth Bay, on Wednesday evening, March 25tli, 1914. 



ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 



Mr. W. S. Dim, President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the preceding Annual General Meeting (March 

 26th, 1913) were read and confirmed. 



The President lelivered the Annual Address. 



PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



In one respect— the improved status of the Linnean Macleay 

 Fellowships Endowment on 31st December, 1913, and the 

 favourable correlated reaction on the Society's finances— the 

 past year has been rather a notable one in the Society's 

 history. The sum of £33,250 (being a bequest of £35,000 

 from the late Sir William Macleay for the endowment of four 

 Fellowships, less £1,750 deducted for probate duty) was paid 

 over to the Society in October, 1903; and invested at 4 per cent., 

 the best investment offering at the time. As the income there- 

 from was insufficient to enable the Council to carry out the 

 terms of the bequest — and would have been so, even if the 

 Executors had not been called upon to deduct the amount of the 

 probate duty— the question of the administration of the trust, 

 under unexpected conditions, was referred to the Equity Court 

 for guidance. In reply to the Society's petition for advice, His 



