x PROCEEDINGS. 
succeed, in however limited a measure, in effecting this object, our 
intention in founding the association will be fulfilled, and our humble 
efforts for the promotion of science and the elevation of our native land 
will be abundantly rewarded.” The Hon. Dr. Hill could hardly have 
expected then that these prophetic utterances would have been so fully 
realized as they were in his own lifetime, for, owing to the strenuous 
exertions of some of our members, chiefly I believe Dr. MacGregor and 
Mr. Maynard Bowman, there is now no country under the sun whose 
scientific societies (where such exist) do not have our Transactions on 
their library shelves as exchanges for their own. The exchange list 
presented this evening sliows that our annual distribution of Transactions 
to such libraries throughout the world amounts to upwards of seven hun- 
dred copies. 
While sentiments such as those expressed in Dr. Hill’s address were 
entertained by the organizing members who looked to the Institute they 
were creating as an association for the promotion of pure science, it was 
no doubt felt, on the other hand, by the business or more practical classes 
of the community, that the want of home information in regard to our 
industrial resources in general, and our mines and minerals particularly, 
was a great evil, restraining the progress of our industries,—for coal 
mining was going on apace, iron was being produced at Londonderry, gold 
had been discovered at Tangier, and was being picked up in other places 
along the Atlantic coast. Such memoirs on the new mineral industries 
as had been prepared, either by native scientists or professional miners, 
were then necessarily published beyond the Province. Thus, in a paper 
by Prof. How of King’s College, read to the Institute on the 4th April, 
1864, on iron ores, he remarked: ‘‘ Many facts have been given in 
original papers by myself, and others, published almost exclusively out 
of the Province, during the last few years, and are scattered through the 
pages of various periodicals; * * * and I propose, now that an 
Institute of Science exists in the Province which has a prospect of per- 
manence and an established system of publication of its Transactions, to 
offer for the consideration of its members, from time to time, such notes 
on the minerals of Nova Scotia as I hope will be acceptable and useful.” 
For thirty-two years the work of the Institute has gone steadily on. 
The monthly meetings have been regularly held ; the channel for publi- 
cation of scientific papers has been maintained ; the fasciculus of them 
under title of Transactions has been annually issued, and of late years 
we have been able to illustrate papers more freely. 
