15 

 INAUGURAL ADDRESS 



BY 



HIS EXCELLENCY F. A. WELD, ESQ., C.M.G., 



President of the Society, at opening of Session of 

 1876. 



Gentlemen, — I have -willingly acceded to the request 

 that I should open this session of the Royal Society with 

 an address, because I wish to take an opportunity of 

 testifying the interest I feel in the Society, not only as its 

 President and as Governor of the colony, but also in my 

 individual capacity ; and although I do not pretend to any 

 special scientific acquirements beyond those common to 

 most educated men, and must confess to having forgotten 

 much which I formerly knew, there are, perhaps, some 

 topics upon which I may touch without rashness or unduly 

 presuming upon your patience. It is, gentlemen, a matter 

 of congratulation that the Australian colonies, though 

 hardly yet more than emerging from their infancy, have 

 shown a great and increasing interest in scientific research. 

 It might have been expected that the struggles of early 

 colonial life and the hurry of business would have so fully 

 occupied men's minds, that a generation or two would 

 have passed by before scientific matters could have claimed 

 attention, either from the people or Governments (Govern- 

 ments being, as a rule, such as the people make them, and 

 a reflex of the people's mind). Yet, in nothins:, I think, 

 would an intelligent visitor from Europe be more 

 agreeably surprised than by seeing the scientific depart- 

 ments and their work, the societies or institutes, and the 

 museums and libraries of most of the principal cities of 

 these colonies — for my own part, I feel pleasure in think- 

 ing that the establishment of the Colonial Government 

 Museum at Wellington, New Zealand, and the establish- 

 ment of a scientific department, with Dr. Hector at its 

 head, took place under my auspices as Premier, much 

 being due to the exertions and active assistance of Mr. 

 Mantell, son of the geologist, and himself well-known to 

 the world of science ; that the first geological survey of 

 Western Australia and Mr. Forrest's geographical dis- 

 coveries were made under my rule as Governor there ; 

 whilst as a private individual I was instrumental in forming 



