58 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



sea over two tliOTisand miles. From Brisbane in Queensland, it 

 is somewhat farther. Although certain concessions are made to 

 the members of the Association, the fares by rail and by steam- 

 ship are high, so that a journey from any one of the seats of 

 learning in Australia proper to New Zealand is formidable on 

 account of its cost. It is remarkable that so large a number of 

 members should have met together under such circumstances, and 

 it speaks well for the great strength and vigor of the Association. 

 The Australasian Association is modeled rather more closely 

 after the British Association than is our own. The president 

 delivers his address upon his inauguration. There are no general 

 business meetings, but all the details are attended to- by an exec- 

 utive committee answering to our council ; none except the mem- 

 bers and associates are invited to attend even the sectional meet- 

 ings, and there are some other differences between the three 

 associations. The secretaries stated to me their conviction that 

 their organization and methods are better adapted to their sur- 

 roundings than ours would be, and all their arguments seemed 

 cogent. Although the Association has been in existence but three 

 years, it has accomplished great good. It has brought together 

 workers in different fields for conference and mutual benefit ; it 

 has diminished misunderstandings, and has strengthened friend- 

 ships. In short, it is doing the same kind of good work that we 

 believe ours is now doing, and in much the same way. 



Your message was delivered at the general evening session 

 immediately before the induction of the new officers. The retir- 

 ing president. Baron von Mueller, and the incoming president. 

 Sir James Hector, in welcoming your representative, expressed 

 their pleasure that you should have seen fit to send personal 

 greetings. 



In replying to their welcome, I endeavored to convey your 

 felicitations upon the pronounced success of the Association, and 

 your best wishes for a prosperous future. In your name I ex- 

 tended a cordial invitation to the members to gratify us by their 

 presence at some of our annual meetings, and I have good reason 

 to believe that this invitation will be accepted. I know it will be 

 most thoroughly and hospitably honored by us. 



On the morning of the session to which I refer, we received in 

 the daily papers a cable telegram relative to the Bering Sea 

 difficulties (which were then in an acute stage). In your stead, I 

 ventured to say, " In these days of disquieting dispatches, when 

 there are rumors of trouble between Great Britain and the United 

 States, it is pleasant to think that 'blood is thicker than water.' " 

 This utterance was taken to mean that we are all English-speak- 

 ing kinsmen, and, even before I had finished, the old proverb was 

 received with prolonged applause. 



