Wellington PJulosophical Society. 611 



showed that in ancient days much labour had been expended by 

 some persons on stone-work, but did not by any means bear out 

 a theory as to the common race. He (Mr. Tregear) was fortu- 

 nately able to show to the meeting photographs of the different 

 scenes alluded to by ^Ir. Rutland. The great temple of Boroboro, 

 in Java, was indeed one of the wonders of the world, and was, a3 

 Alfred Wallace had said, far more wonderful than the Pyramids. It was 

 the most gigantic effort in the realm of human labour and human skill. 

 If we turned from this picture to those showing the walls of Ponape 

 we were at the other extremity of the land of art. In Ponape we found 

 walls built of huge basaltic stones, stacked in layers exactly like stacks 

 of firewood. Only foresters used to dealing with fallen logs would ever 

 dream of mural erections like these. Then, at the other boundary of the 

 South Seas, on solitary Easter Island, they again came upon statuary, 

 but statuary of a unique and archaic description. Figures whose fea- 

 tures resembled those of no living race ; figures made for no apparent 

 purpose except that of being ranged in a long seaward line as "gods of 

 boundaries," watching the ocean from that small barren island. That 

 Easter Island was the last remnant of the mythical sunken continent 

 sometimes alluded to as "Lemuria" is improbable. If a continent had 

 sunk, only the tops of snow-clad peaks would have remained above the 

 water, and these would have been for a long time uninhabitable by men. 

 There was little doubt but that there was extensive navigation among 

 the South Sea Islands before Europeans came, for the double canoe or 

 ou trigged canoe was not only one of the fastest but the safest of vessels 

 That no trace of palteolithic man had been found yet in Central America 

 was too small a point on which to hang the theory that the high civili- 

 sation necessary to produce the architecture of Palengone and other 

 places had been introduced full-grown. Egypt was for a long time 

 thought to be also without evidence of palaeolithic occupation, but later 

 researches had resulted in the discovery of chipped-stone implements, 

 &c. So also Central America, when explored as Egypt had been ex- 

 plored, might yield up the tools and weapons of her earliest men. He 

 believed that these papers of Mr. Rutland's would set several persons 

 ■writing on portions of the subject next year, and he hoped to be able 

 himself to give some information and to receive much information in 

 papers originated by Mr. Rutland's able series of articles. 



2. "On the Plants grown at ' The Gums,' Taita," by 

 T. Mason. {Transactions, p. 393.) 



Mr. Travers said the lists of plants accompanying this paper would 

 prove most useful to those persons who were engaged in planting in this 

 country. 



The President, on behalf of the members, congratulated 

 Mr. Tregear on his lately receiving from the French Minister 

 for Education the Order of the Palm-leaf, in recognition of his 

 scientific work in New Zealand. 



Mr. Tregear thanked the members for their kind wishes. 



