xli 



tlie accession of His Majesty, King Ed- 

 ward the VII /' (Applause.) 



The Chief Secretary (Hon. G. T. Col- 

 lins) then handed His Excellency the sil- 

 ver trowel, with which he spread the 

 mortar for the reception of the memorial 

 stone. The stone was then lowered, and 

 having given it the customary taps with 

 the polished mallet. Sir John said : 

 — "1 have tested the laying of this stone 

 with the level, and pronounce it to be 

 well and truly laid. (Applause.) In 

 the old country it is customary on oc- 

 casions of this kind that a prayer should 

 be offered in connection with the cere- 

 mony, though I am aware that it is a 

 new feature in connection with such pro- 

 ceedings in Tasmania; but still, it is a 

 good old custom, and a beautiful and 

 simple prayer has been handed to me, with 

 a request that I should read it, which I 

 now do: — 



"O God, who by Thy power hast laid 

 the foundations of the earth, and caused 

 Thy spirit to brood upon the face of 

 the waters, regard with Thy favour the 

 increase of this building, set apart for 

 the furtherance of Thy glorious works. 

 Guide, we beseech Thee, the students of 

 truth, for whom we have prepared this 

 house, that they may abundantly reveal 

 the treasures of Thy creation, and help 

 them so to labour that all things that 

 Thou hast made may, with one voice, 

 proclaim thy power and glory : enable 

 us by their aid so to read what thou hast 

 written in the books of nature, that we 

 may adore Thy wisdom, and trace Thy 

 gracious Providence in all the works of 

 Thy hands. Grant this, we beseech 

 Thee, O Heavenly Father, in the name 

 of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. 

 Amen.'' 



The Bishop of Tasmania then present- 

 ed an ad-dress, beautifully illuminated, 

 as follows: — "We the Council of the 

 Royal Society of Tasmania, desire to take 

 this opportunity to offer Your Excellency 

 our warmest congratulations on the cir- 

 cumstance that you have attained for the 

 second time, and have held for lengthened 

 periods, the high position of Administi-a> 

 tor of the Government. .\rid we cor- 

 dially recognise the fact that the various 

 duties connected with this high office, 

 when under your rule, have invariably 

 been discharged with a courtesy, ability, 

 and practical interest in both social and 

 State affairs, which have not failed to se- 

 cure the entire satisfaction of the com- 

 munity." The Bishop of Tasmania added: 

 -^"It is with regret, from one point cf 

 view, that I find myself the actual reader 

 of this address. The honour of present- 

 ing it belongs, of unquestionable right, to 



our beloved senior vice-president, Sir 

 James Agnew, a man full of days and 

 honours, whose riches have for years been 

 lavished upon public objects, and nota- 

 bly upon the Museum and the Art Gal- 

 lery. (Applause.) No living man has 

 done so much for us as Sii- James. He 

 is also one of the two survivors of the 

 first membera of the Royal Society when 

 formed in April, 1841. The other is Sir 

 Joseph Hooker. The society unanimous- 

 ly wishes that the most tenderly revered 

 man in Ta,smania were strong enough tc 

 witness this scene, which would give him 

 such unfeigned pleasure. Nor is it right 

 for the society to omit the mention on 

 this occasion of the secretary of the Mu- 

 seum, to whom is due to a very great 'X- 

 tent this new development. Ministers 

 could not well have proposed the grant 

 that Parliament has made, had they not 

 been sure that the Museum held a high 

 plac« in the estimation of the public es 

 an institution which has attempted in 

 every possible way to interest all classes 

 here, and to sustain the reputation of 

 Tasmania in scientific circles. This e 

 due in a great measure to the work of 

 Mr. Morton for 17 years. It only re- 

 mains for me now. Your Excellency, to 

 assure the public that the Royal Society 

 feel confident that they, coupled with 

 the unremitting' exertions of Mr. Morton, 

 will be able to make such arrangements 

 for the forthcoming meeting of the Aus- 

 tralasian Science Association in Hobart, 

 in January next, that Hobart may morp 

 than support its reputation as a place 

 where allgreat meetings of such a charac- 

 ter are both pleasant and pre-eminently 

 successful. Of couree the work that faHs 

 upon the secretary, and upon the ab- 

 surdly small staff at his disposal, is 

 very heavy, and the society feels that 

 the salary attached to the office of secre- 

 tary at present is wholly inadequate f^r 

 the work that has to be done. They 

 would be glad if some means could be 

 devised whereby a more adequate remu- 

 neration could be made, especially in 

 face of the increased work that must 

 follow upon so great a development of 

 this building. (Applause.) We look for- 

 ward with keen interest to the growth ?jf 

 science and the spread of art among our 

 people in this new century, and pledge 

 ourselves to do all in our power to en- 

 able Tasmania to take her full share m 

 such progress. (Applause.) 



Mr. R. M. Johnston, on behalf of the 

 trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and 

 Art Gallery, presented a handsomely- 

 illuminated address, which said: — "We 

 desire to gire you our beat thanks for 

 the able manner in which you have con- 



