OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 153 



to students. " We are distinctly in need of a series of books to 

 treat of ignorance rather than knowledge." The Chairman was 

 not disposed to hide the fact that the local societies had not 

 followed to any great extent the organised lines of research 

 which had been suggested from time to time at the annual Con- 

 ferences ; but he found a partial explanation of this neglect in the 

 spirit of individualism, so characteristically British, which 

 penetrates even to our scientific societies. " We cannot endure 

 the feeling that we are merely units in the working of an organ- 

 ised machine ; we all wish for freedom to follow our own 

 inclinations." 



Dr. William Martin, of the Temple, introduced a discussion 

 on " The Law of Treasure Trove, especially ia relation to local 

 scientific societies."' He held that in the interest of archaeology 

 the law, so far from being abolished, as some have suggested, 

 should rather be extended. Meanwhile, he suggested that 

 printed notices should be sent to every post office, where they 

 should be publicly displayed, in order that it might be generally 

 known that any finders of valuable antiquities would be reason- 

 ably, or even liberally, rewarded. 



Mr. W. Morris Colles, the Director of the Authors' 

 Syndicate, and Mr. Harold Hardy, of the Temple, explained to 

 the delegates the present Law of Copyright as it affected the 

 proceedings of scientific societies. It appears that if a paper be 

 read at a society, where the audience consists only of its 

 members and a limited number of invited persons, the author is 

 entitled to its copyright, but if read before a meeting to which 

 the general public are admitted the author can only protect his 

 copyright by certain legal methods of a cumbrous character. 

 With regard to lectures orally delivered, in which the lecturer 

 has at present little or no protection, Mr. Hardy suggested that 

 the law relating to lectures should be made analogous to that 

 which rules in the case of plays. In the discussion by the 

 delegates, the general opinion seemed to be that scientific 

 societies had no wish to restrict the re-publication of any of their 

 papers, since this, if duly acknowledged, was rather a compli- 

 ment to the Society, and decidedly assisted in the dissemination 

 of scientific, knowledge. 



At the second meeting Professor G. S. Boulger initiated a 

 most interesting: discussion on the Preservation of our Native 



