X ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



The Council havo noticed with much pleasure the addition within 

 the past year of two societies, one scientitic and the other historical, to 

 the list ol Canadian societies, as given above. One is the Natural His- 

 tory Association of Miramichi, in New Brunswick, which has already 

 printed a short record of its proceedings. The women of Ottawa have 

 also established a local Society of History, and have held a number of 

 meetings in which papers of considerable interest and merit have been 

 read by local students. We have much pleasure in recommending that 

 these two societies be added to the list of associated societies who already 

 take part in our work. 



10. Canvassing for Membership. 



The Honorary Secretary has also called our attention to what seems 

 an absence of good taste on the part of some persons who wish from time 

 to lime to become connected with this society, and that is in pressing 

 their personal claims with great pertinacity on the membersof the section 

 to which they have aspirations. It is somewhat interesting and certainly 

 satisfactory to hear that claims are never urged hy literary or scientitic 

 men of such distinction as vvould bring their names in the natural order 

 of things before the society in case of vacancies. The Council feel that 

 it is quite sufficient to call attention lo a matter which probably brings 

 its own remedy with it, and that is the reluctance of membersof a section 

 to listen to claims pressed with so little regard to the dignity or self 

 respect of an aspirant to fellowship. 



11. The Government and the Plains of Abraham. 



Much interest has been felt by many patriotic Canadians in the 

 announcement thut ere long the famous batflerteld, on which Wolfe is 

 understood generally to have won Canada for England, and laid the foun- 

 dation for the present Dominion, must be disposed of and probably sold 

 and divided up into building lots, unless the (Jovernment of Canada or of 

 Quebec intervene, and prevent such a desecration of the most famous 

 historic ground of the country. It is encouraging to understand, from 

 a statement recently made by the Premier in the House of Commons, 

 that the Government have made a proposition to the owners — the Ursul- 

 ines of (Quebec — for the purchase of the property. We cannot suppose 

 for one moment that this famous religious body, associated with the his- 

 tory of the province IVom its very commencement, will not respond sym- 

 patiietically to the appeal made to them from all parts of Canada, or fail 

 to dispose of it at such a reasonable rate as will justify the Government 

 in buying it for the Canadian people. The following letter will show the 

 interest that is being excited in all parts of the Emi)ire by the news that 



