PEOCEEDIXGS. 



MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE. 



First Meeting : Thursday, loth January, 1S91. 



The General Committee met at 11 a.m. in the room of Section F in the 



new School of Engineering. About forty members were present, and the 



chair was occupied by Baron von jMueller, retiring President. 



Baron von Mueller said : Gentlemen, — Let me offer to you my 

 sincere felicitations on this occasion on the part of my Australian con- 

 freres and myself. As a stranger in these beautiful islands, it seems 

 fitting that I should, on behalf of my colleagues, tender to you my con- 

 gratulations. I express the hope that the meeting which we are this day 

 inaugurating will be characterized throughout by goodfellowship, har- 

 mony, and good results in the cause of science, and that it will leave its 

 mark in the history of this beautiful and interesting country. I trust that 

 one result of the meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science will be to draw closer together the bonds of science which 

 should exist between us all here in Australasia. I do not intend to address 

 you on this occasion at any great length. My duties at this meeting are 

 to a large extent formal, and I will now content myself with simply once 

 more offering the congratulations of my colleagues from Victoria and my- 

 self on this occasion. In the ordinary course of official business the 

 minutes of the meeting at IMelbourne will have to be confirmed. As we 

 have a good deal of work to get through to-day in two hours, and our dis- 

 tinguished colleague and General Secretary, Professor Liversidge, has pre- 

 pared the minutes very carefully, I will crave your indulgence to have 

 them taken as read. 



This was done, and the minutes confirmed by the President. 



Professor Kernot (Victoria) moved. That the appointment of sectional 

 officers and Committees, and all the arrangements made by the Committee 

 in Christchurch, be confirmed. As this was the first meeting, and mem- 

 bers were scattered all over the colonies, they could not arrange this, and 

 therefore their friends in Christchurch had prepared a most elaborate pro- 

 gramme. Their friend Professor Hutton had worked most indefatigably, 

 and all those who knew what the work was would agree with him that 

 Professor Hutton deserved their very best thanks. All the arrangements 

 for the reception and comfort of visitors had been made under his super- 

 intendence. They were indebted to him for the very complete pamphlet 

 and all the excursions which had been arranged for them ; and therefore 

 he begged to add to his motion, That the hearty thanks of the Association 

 be tendered to Professor Hutton for his zeal and indefatigable labours in 

 connection witli the meeting of the Association. 



Professor Haswell, of Sydney University, seconded the motion, and 

 expressed his high appreciation of the labours of Professor Hutton, and 

 also of his scientific researches. 



The Chairman, in putting the motion, expressed his high apprecia- 

 tion of the work done by Professor Hutton. They all knew the work 

 which devolved on the Plonorary Secretaries of an Association like this ; 

 and in this he desired to couple with the name of Professor Hutton that 

 of Professor Liversidge, whose work they all knew and appreciated. 



