^ u g-1 Field N aturalists- Club — Proceedings. 61 



said, had not written on personal evidence. Prof. Spencer 

 said that Sir D. Mawson was not alone in his statements ; other 

 naturalists had made similar statements. 



At this stage Mr. Hatch offered to take any accredited repre- 

 sentative scientist to the island free of cost next month, and 

 allow him to investigate and photograph as much as he desired. 



The chairman said that cruelty of quite as serious a type 

 was practised in Victoria every year with regard to the shooting 

 of quail and wild-fowl, when numbers of maimed birds 

 were not collected by the shooters. He thought that, as the 

 Club had always taken a leading part in trying to lessen the 

 slaughter, an effort should be made, in conjunction with the 

 Ornithologists' Union and other societies, to take advantage 

 of Mr. Hatch's offer. 



A hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer was moved by Mr. 

 F. G. A. Barnard, who said that, apart from the question of 

 cruelty, of which he was not competent to judge from the 

 evidence before him, the lecture, combined with the excellent 

 series of views, had been a most interesting one, and had 

 enabled the members to get some idea of the teeming bird-life 

 of the Antarctic. Whether further operations should be 

 stopped was a matter for scientific investigation ; the require- 

 ments of trade and commerce demanded the utilization of 

 surplus material of every kind. 



The motion was seconded by Dr. B. Nicholls, who endorsed 

 the remarks of the mover, and said that the lecturer had been 

 quite frank in his statements, and apparently had held nothing 

 back which might be used to damage his case. 



The motion was supported by Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, who 

 said that Mr. Hatch had shown the meeting one of the wonders 

 of the ornithological world, and they were indebted to him for 

 the lucid manner in which the data had been put before them. 

 Many years ago he had heard of cruelty being practised at 

 the island, and had interviewed one of Mr. Hatch's employes, 

 who had been three years on the island. This man assured 

 him that no cruelty was involved in the industry, and that no 

 diminution was noticeable in the number of birds which arrived 

 at the island each season. He had gone so far as to make 

 arrangements to visit the island and see for himself, but 

 unfortunately this employe, a Mr. Burton, died before arrange- 

 ments could be completed, and, as it would have been most 

 dangerous to attempt a landing on the island without a com-, 

 petent guide, he had been forced to abandon the idea. He had 

 also interviewed members of the Mawson expedition on the 

 subject of unnecessary cruelty, and was assured that none 

 took place. He had recently received a communication from 

 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, England, of 

 which he had been elected an honorary life fellow, asking him 



