114 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



T. S. Hall, M.A., G. A. Keartland, and the secretary, Mr. J. A. 

 Kershaw, F.E.S., to act as a deputation to wait upon the Com- 

 missioner to protest against any alteration in the present 

 Game Act. He had communicated with the Minister, who 

 had fixed the i6th inst. as the day on which he would receive 

 the deputation. He further explained that the Club's delegates 

 would be supported by the representatives of the Australasian 

 Ornithologists' Union and the Zoological and Acclimatization 

 Society, while representatives of the sportsmen would be present 

 to oppose the action of the Club. 



Mr. A. Mattingley drew attention to the proposal of the 

 Government to lease the creek and river frontages throughout the 

 State, and to give the right to the lessees to cultivate these areas. 

 He thought some action should be taken by the Club to prevent 

 the destruction of the timber on these water frontages, as, in 

 addition to the loss of the timber, the native mammals and birds, 

 through being deprived of their cover, were driven from the dis- 

 trict. He also stated that there was a proposal to throw open for 

 selection portions of Wilson's Promontory. 



Mr. G. Coghill thought the Minister was only endeavouring to 

 obtain revenue from those areas which are already used by 

 farmers and others. 



Mr. F. Wisewould thought that the adoption of such a 

 proposal would mean the total destruction of all the timber on 

 the river frontages, as the land would be cultivated, and it would 

 therefore affect not only the fauna and flora but even the fish. 



Mr. F, Pitcher said that the Minister found that squatters and 

 others had been using these water frontages for years without 

 payment, and his object was to obtain some revenue in return 

 for the concession. All river frontages, with very few excep- 

 tions, are permanently reserved for a chain or so. Regarding 

 Wilson's Promontory, he thought that if it were definitely known 

 that the Government proposed to throw any of it open for 

 selection, some action should certainly be taken by the Club to 

 prevent it. 



Mr. A. Coles spoke in support of Mr. Mattingley's remarks. 



It was decided that the Committee should consider the matter, 

 with a view to taking some definite action. 



PAPERS. 



I. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, entitled "Ornithological Notes — 

 The Grass-Wrens." 



The author stated Uiat the genus Amytis, Grass-Wrens, was a 

 difficult one to investigate owing to the inaccessibility of their 

 habitats, and their peculiar methods of rendering themselves in- 

 visible to the observer. He related his experiences with Amytis 

 textilis, A. $triat7iH, and A. modesia, and ventured the opinion 



