PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. LV 



The vital question of the org'anization of science in Austi'alia 

 will form, later, the subject-matter of an important discussion, 

 but meanwhile it may be pointed out fhat, apart from Govern- 

 ment Departments, various State societies, and museums, all pub- 

 lishing papers, we have three general organizations — 



(1) Our Australasian Association, meeting under normal 

 conditions once every second year. As its members are drawn 

 from an area equal in extent to that of Europe, it seems 

 to be impossible to arrange for more frequent meetings of 

 the whole body. At the same time it might be possible to 

 form, from amongst its officers, a central standing committee 

 or council that could meet wholly, or in sections, more often. 

 The carrying out of investigations wonld require funds, 

 which, unfortunately, are not at present at the disposal of 

 the Association. 



(2) The Australian I^ational Research Council, acting as 

 the Australian Branch of the International Research Council 

 inaugurated by the Royal Society of London. A provisional 

 council was appointed at a meeting of . delegates from the 

 various Australian scientific societies held in Sydney, in 

 iVugust, 1919, on the understanding that the appointment of 

 the new council be intrusted to that of our Association at this 

 meeting. In view of economizing, in regard both to time, 

 energy, aiid. expense, it may be worth considering whether 

 the National Research Council could not be constituted as a 

 standing committee of this Association, which represents all 

 scientific bodies in Australasia, with independent powers of 

 initiating research, supervising generally the interests of 

 science in Australasia, and dealing with such funds as may be 

 placed at its disposal, reporting progress at the biennial 

 meetings of the Association. 



(3) The Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry, 

 founded by Act of Parliament in 1920. The constitution of 

 this is by no means satisfactory, but at least it shows that 

 the Grovernment recognises the profoimd importance of scien- 

 tific investigation, and, unfortunately, it is the only one 

 of the three bodies that, under present conditions, will havc- 

 at its disposal the funds necessary for carrying on work. It 

 is deeply to be regretted that the wise policy adopted in 

 regard to the constitution of the National Research Council 

 in the United States was not adopted in Australia. There is 

 only one other point to which I would draw attention in 

 regard to this matter, and that is that, with our limited 

 endowments, what we require is the organization of scientific 

 investigation largely from the purely Australian point of 

 view. There has met recently, at Honolulu, a Pan-Pacific 



