HC PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



The highest authorities in t-he Old Country, such as Sir Joseph 

 Larmor and the late Sir George Darwin, have lent their support 

 to the project no less warmly than do Australasian scientists. 

 The Federal Government of the first Fisher Ministry made, in 

 1909, this generous offer, which is still open: — " He (the Minister 

 for Home Affairs) realized the importance of the plea for an Aus- 

 tralian observatory, and that the financial aid required was 

 probably disproportionate to the value of the scientific records 

 sought to be secured. He thought that Parliament would not be 

 less public spirited than private citizens, and would probably give 

 £1 for ,£1 to the erection and equipment fund, and might 

 maintain the observatory after its establishment." 



This magnaminous offer of the Federal Government, if 

 approved by Parliament, would leave only £5,000 to be raised 

 by private subscription. In 1911, no less than £4,017 of the 

 required £5,000 had been subscribed in money or in kind. The 

 handsome bequest of a fine reflecting telescope valued at £2,000 

 was made by a single patriotic citizen of Ballarat, Mr. James 

 Oddie. 



The Government Astronomer of Melbourne, Mr. P. Baracchi, 

 than whom no one's judgment should carry more weight in such a 

 matter, has selected what he considers to be an eminently suitable 

 site, with excellent climatic conditions, at Yass-Canberra. You 

 will all be pleased to hear that there is every prospect of the Federal 

 Government very soon making this solar physics observatory an 

 accomplished fact. Accurate scientific work, such as would be 

 accomplished at such a solar physics observatory, would not only 

 be of extreme value to science, but would certainly actually pay 

 in the long run, as does all honest scientific research. 



In regard to economic results from expenditure on science, as 

 this address has related specially to meteorology, my remarks will 

 refer to it only, thovigh what is true of meteorology is true also of 

 almost all the sciences. 



The cost of the maintenance of the United States Weather 

 Bureau now amounts to over £300,000 a year, and the most con- 

 servative estimate places the saving to the country brought about by 

 timely forecasts at many times the cost of maintaining the bureau, 

 probably at least £1,000,000, to say nothing of the still more 

 important matter — the saving of so many human lives through 

 warnings to shipping. Our own Commonwealth Meteorological 

 Bureau, with its branches in the various States, costs, at present, 

 £22,000 annually, a small sum when we consider what vast 

 interests are at stake dependent on weather. If we take the case 

 of shipping and agriculture alone, by no means the only interests, 



