JULY, 1897. 



The monthly evening meeting of the Royal Society of Tasmania wa» 

 held in the Art gallery on Monday, July 12th. Mr. T. Stephens, M. A., 

 F.G.S., Vice-President, presided, and there was a good attendanoe. 



VISITOR. 

 W. G. Dauncsy, C.E., of Sydney, N.S.VV. 



NEW MEMBERS. 

 Messrs. VVm. Cockburn Sharland and Edward Mulcahy, M.H.A., 

 and George Elliott were elected Fellows of the Society. 



A NEW VICE-PRESIDENT. 

 The Chairman announced that the vacancy which had occurred in 

 the list of vice-presidents of the Society through the lamented death 

 of Mr. James Barnard, the oldest member of the Society, had been 

 filled by the election by the Council of Mr. R. M. Johnston. It was 

 not necessary to say much in regard to Mr. Johnston, who was one of 

 those men whose works spoke for them. The records of the Society 

 bore ample testimony to the unremitting and excellent services Mr. 

 Johnston had rendered the Society. He (the Chairman) thought the 

 Fellows would fully endorse the election. 



Mr. Johnston briefly thanked the Council and Fellows for their 

 appreciation of him. 



APOLOGIES. 

 The Secretary (Mr. Alex. Morton) apologised for the unavoidable 

 absence from the meeting of the senior vice-president (Sir James 

 Wilson Agnew, K.C.M.G., M.D., M.E.C.), the Hon. N. J. Brown* 

 M.H.A., and Professor Jethro Brown, M.A., LL.D. 



DISPOSAL OF OUR DEAD BY CREMATION. 

 Gregory Sprott, M.D., D.P.H., Health Officer for the City of 

 Hobart, etc., read a paper on this subject. 



Mr. W. F. Ward (Government Analyst) said he would like to say 

 a few words in support of Dr. Sprott's ideas. To overcome the senti- 

 ment now prevailing against cremation the rising generation must be 

 inculcated with the scientific aspects of the question. If people would 

 only think what actually takes place in the ground there would soon 

 be a revulsion of feeling in favour ot cremation. He had personally 

 had some experience in regard to the exhumation of bodies and the 

 oontamination of water in the vicinity of church yards. In regard to 

 the medico-legal objection to cremation, he thought that it was desir- 

 able that all poisons sold should be mixed with the bright green 

 powder, oxide of chromium, This would render the accidental taking 

 of poisons almost impossible and the felonious administration of them 

 a matter of very great difficulty. If the oxide of chromium were mixed 

 with the various poisons in certain definite quantities it would be 

 comparatively easy after cremation, for oxide of chromium could be 

 found in the ashes, even if the poison with which it had been mixed 

 were destroyed by the fire, to detect what poison had been used. 



