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Kuring-Gai Chase Trust, spoke of the magnificent possibilities of the Chase, 

 as a national park and preserve , though these were not being fully realised 

 quite so rapidly as the members of the Trust wished to see, partly because 

 of the natural obstacles in the way of affording adequate protection to the 

 fauna and flora with the resources at their disposal; and partly because ma- 

 rauders were apt to take advantage of this deficiency. They had a large area, 

 about 35,300 acres to deal with; at present only 3,500 acres were enclosed; 

 much of it was very difficult to patrol adequately on account of the physical 

 configuration of the area; and so much of it was at present unfenced. Still 

 the Trustees were sanguine as to the future of the Chase ; because they were 

 hopeful of improving the existing conditions by degrees, as well as of seeing 

 a steadily growing intelligent appreciation of the right way to treat a People's 

 Park on the part of those who had access to it. — Mr. F. Montague Ro- 

 thery, Secretary of the Animals' Protection Society of New South Wales, 

 spoke of the interest of the Society which he represented, in the subject before 

 the Meeting; and of the steps which it had already taken, or proposed to take, 

 to advance matters, among others by arranging for a deputation to wait upon 

 the Colonial Secretary. Personally he advocated the repeal of the Birds 1 Pro- 

 tection Act of 1901, because it was cumbersome and misleading, in favour of 

 a simple Act which should provide for the protection of all birds and their 

 eggs, with the exception of those birds regarded as pests, to be specified in 

 a separate schedule. — Mr. J. H. Maiden, representing the Royal Society 

 of New South Wales, communicated a letter which had been received from 

 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in London, upon the subject of 

 the treatment which is now being meted out to Birds of Paradise in New 

 Guinea since the recission of the Proclamation made in 1904 for the pro- 

 tection of these birds; and asking for the support of the Society in obtaining 

 a renewal of the Proclamation. The Royal Society of New South Wales had 

 accordingly approached the Commonwealth Government through the kind 

 offices of the Premier of New South Wales. Copies of the correspondence 

 were communicated to the Meeting. The speaker then addressed himself 

 more particularly to the difficult question of the best means of securing the 

 protection of native plants. As the representative of the Zoological Society 

 of New South Wales also, Mr. Maiden communicated a message from the 

 Hon. Secretary to the effect that the Society was arranging for a deputation 

 to the Premier. — Mr. R. Ethe ridge, junr. , Curator of the Australian 

 Museum, spoke in favour of the retention of most of the clauses of the Act 

 of 1901, provided the Act was properly put into operation. For example, 

 the present Act provided that mere possession of a scheduled bird was 'suffi- 

 cient to constitute liability; this was a wise provision and should be retained. 

 The existing schedules, however, were defective and confusing. The sug- 

 gestion that the birds that might be shot should be specified, and all others 

 protected, was an excellent one. The urgent need for reform in the admini- 

 stration of the Act was evidenced by the enormous amount of trapping of 

 native birds, including scheduled birds such as the lyre-bird, for commercial 

 purposes, and by the openly conducted sale of scheduled birds, such as sea- 

 gulls, in Sydney. — Mr. Dea ne specially referred to the very serious com- 

 plications which the rabbit-destruction question created, so long as the laying 

 of open poisoned baits and the poisoning of waterholes were resorted to on 

 a large scale. — Mr. R. T. Baker entered a plea for provision for the 



