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REPORT OF DELEGATE TO ROYAL SOCIETY. vill 
supply, is well worthy a visit. There are also the Parliament 
Buildings, with the Senate and Commons Chambers, the really 
splendid Legislative Library, the Museum and the Patent Office, 
which represents in great and astonishing variety—rather 
crowded, however,—the inventive genius of the Dominion. In 
a building in the vicinity, used as a temple of art, some pictures 
of high merit were recognized, some of which had graced the 
late exhibition at Halifax, held under the auspices of the 
Governor-General. Strangers should see all these and every- 
thing. In fact there is nothing to disappoint, but enough to 
gratify curiosity and taste in all the surroundings of Ottawa, 
which alone of themselves are amply sufficient to make a visit to 
the Capital of the Dominion highly agreeable. 
Ottawa is not gone over in a day; but the remainder of 
Monday was spent in the gallery of the Commons Chamber of 
the Parliament, a large, handsome and commodious hall, where 
the Liberal-Conservative and Grit elements sat facing each other, 
Sir John and Sir Charles on one side, and confronting them Mr- 
Blake and his following. Apparently they were seeking expla- 
nations one of the other, preparatory to winding up the business 
of the session, which occupied both parties far into the night. 
We left long before the adjournment. 
On Tuesday the Royal Society met in the Parliament Building 
to be organized, Dr. Dawson, the President, in the chair. Mr. 
Bourinot, the Secretary, read the minutes. The President ad- 
dressed the meeting. The roll was called, and a large number 
from various parts of the Dominion, members and delegates, 
answered to their names. The Society was divided into separate 
sections, which were referred to their several places of meeting: 
T was consigned to the Natural Science section, which was also 
where the general business was transacted. Several interesting 
papers were read, having reference to the Zoology of the North- 
West. As I was anxious to find anything that would tend to 
settle the question, whether any two species were common alike 
to the eastern and western hemispheres, I ventured to ask of the 
gentlemen who had contributed the papers in which badgers and 
earthworms were mentioned, if they were of similar species to 
