xxvi. meetings op the general council. 



Minutes of Council Meeting held January 12th, at 11 a.m. 



The minutes of the previous meetings having been revised by the President 

 before the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed. 



Recommendation Committee. 



Professor Liversidge said that the Recommendation Committee had recom- 

 mended that Professor Skeats replace Professor Gregory on the Mueller Memorial 

 Committee. Agreed to. 



Section A. — Recommends the adoption of the following resolutions : — " This 

 Association is of opinion that the installation at Perth Observatory of a complete 

 set of magnetographs for the continuous registration of the variation of the magnetic 

 elements is a prime necessity of magnetic research, and respectfully urges upon the 

 Government of Western Australia the desirability of taking action in this direction 

 as soon as possible, inasmuch as Perth is situated at a great distance from any 

 other first-order observatory, and the comparison of records obtained there with 

 those obtained elsewhere would be exceptionally valuable." 



The Association is of opinion that the installation at Brisbane, Port Darwin, 

 and Hobart of seismographs of the same general character as those now in use at 

 Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Wellington, and Christchurch is very desirable, and 

 respectfully urges this step upon the consideration of the Governments concerned. 

 Approved. 



Section D. — Recommends the Association to lay down principles to guide 

 the committees in making their recommendations for the publication of paper.s 

 in the Report of each meeting. Approved. 



Recommends the Association to consider the desirability of publishing 

 approved monographs. Approved. 



Suggests that the Rev. Thomas Blackburn's paper on " The Principles of 

 Scientific Description in Natural History " be recommended to the council as a 

 subject for discussion two years hence. Approved. 



Section J. — Recommended that the committee appointed at Dunedin to inquire 

 into the teaching of science in primary and secondary schools, technical colleges, 

 and universities be reappointed, with the exception of Professor Gregory, who 

 has left Australia, and that the names of the following members be added : — 

 Mr. A. Williams, Director of Education, Adelaide ; Rev. H. Girdlestone, M.A., 

 St. Peter's College, Hackney, S.A. ; Mr. F. Chappie, B.A., B.Sc, Prince Alfred 

 College, Kent Town, S.A. ; Professor Baldwin Spencer ; Mr. Blanch, Church of 

 England Grammar School, Melbourne ; and Mr. Littlejohn, Scotch College,. 

 Melbourne. 



That it is a suggestion from this Section that the above local committees 

 from each State meet separately and forward their report to the General Committee 

 in time for the twelfth session of the Association. 



That each of the above local committees have power to add to its numbers. 



That the reports be sent to the secretary for the next session. 



That the secretary of Section J of the present session be empowered to coni- 

 municate with the conveners of the local committee, and urge the desirability of 

 calling a meeting of science teachers in the various States at an early date. 



Professor Liversidge said the Recommendation Committee had not approved 

 of this recommendation. 



Professor Lam-ie said that the committee was appointed by the Dunedin 

 meeting, and it had done only a fractional part of its work. The proposal was- 

 simply to carry on the work, and to suggest means of doing it in a more systematic 

 and thorough manner. If, however, the Recommendation Committee wished 

 to go back on the Dunedin meeting, and say that a mistake had been made in 

 appointing a committee, he was not in a position on behalf of Section J to press, 

 the motion, and he acquiesced in the decision. 



The decision of the Recommendation Committee was confirmed. 



