PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 6! 
bourne and Launceston; but I am not aware of the 
systematic publication of tidal predictions at any otier 
ports. In answer to my inquiries, I have been informed at 
two ports that no attempt at prediction is made, because the 
tides are so irregular, and appear to be more influenced by 
the wind than anything else. The probability is, however, 
that a proper application of analysis to.these records would 
show, just as it has done in other ports where similar opinions 
were once held, that the irregularity is really governed by 
complex but regular law, and that the dependence upon the 
wind is more fanciful than real. 
Now that we have Federation, it seems to me that it 
would be a great gain to us in this matter if the whole of the 
tidal work for Australia were controlled from one central 
office. At present each State does a little in the way of 
securing tida! records, but. as a rule, very little use seems to 
be made of these; and while each State continues to act 
independently of the others, we cannot well expect to get a 
proper methodical treatment of the whole available records. 
What we want is a definite general scheme of procedure, 
which, as it is gradually worked out, will, as the years go 
by, give us more and more complete information about our 
tides and tidal currents. Such a scheme might. well embrace 
the gradual extension of the records, their systematic 
analysis, and regular prediction, the work of the whole of 
Australia being carried out on a uniform plan. In the 
securing of records the method of the Indian Government 
commends itself. There, at certain ports of first-rate im- 
portance, tide-gauges are established permanently. At 
other ports the tides are gradually being recorded by- tide 
gauges, which are set up for five years, a period long enough 
to ensure that the analysis of the curves will give a very 
perfect knowledge of the tides of that port. When a tide 
gauge has done its five years’ duty-at one port it is shifted on 
to another. As the records are systematically analysed, in 
this way a very perfect knowledge is gradually being ob- 
tained of the tides along the Indian coasts. Such a proceed- 
ing recommends itself as an eminently reasonable one, and 
might well, one would think, be to some extent copied along 
our coasts with advantage. The work of systematic analysis 
and regular tida! prediction could undoubtedly be done very 
much cheaper and very much better from a ceniral Federal 
office. The value and interest attaching to a publication 
giving predictions for the principal ports of the Common- 
wealth would be very much greater than can possibly attach 
to one issued by a single State. The commercial import- 
