•J43 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



During the year now ending the Society has received various 

 valuable contributions on matters relating to natural history and 

 geology, which are the sciences that in a new country are the 

 most prolific in furnishing original papers and monographs. The 

 object of this Society as a scientific body is to place on record 

 only new facts relating to science as they bear on South 

 Australia. This is the rule of the various learned Societies of 

 the Australian Colonies, so that the proceedings of this Society 

 should reflect the increase to our scientific knowledge respecting 

 South Australia in any given year. The thanks of this Society 

 are certainly due to those science-workers who loyally forward 

 the results of their labours on South Australian subjects to be 

 incorporated in our proceedings. To some of the Fellows it may 

 be a matter of regret that attempts have not been made by the 

 Council to place scientific subjects in a popular form before the 

 meetings. It should be remembered, however, that the functions 

 of a Royal Society are not to popularise science nor to give 

 instruction, but simply to publish results of work done or to 

 discuss the deductions which may legitimately be drawn from 

 ascertained scientific data. Our workers are, however, so few, 

 and each one is almost necessarily an authority on his own 

 particular speciality, that the opportunities for profitable 

 discussion do not often present themselves for want of a 

 sufficient number of those who would be entitled to speak ex 

 cathedra. Again, the existence of the University as a rallying 

 focus for anyone interested in science, as there are to be found 

 some of our chief exponents of various branches of science, 

 also tends to deprive the meetings of this Society of one of its 

 objects, namely, a common meeting ground for the exchange of 

 scientific thoughts. As to the popularising of science, this 

 Society might possibly have taken up the matter if it were not 

 being already done in a pre-eminently satisfactory manner by 

 the University and the branches of the Society. For this 

 Society to attempt to do the same would be superfluous, and 

 anything that is unnecessary is certain to be mischievous. It is 

 no object of this Society to enter into competition with 

 other institutions, and although it may be a matter of 

 regret that our meetings are not as well attended as 

 they might be, yet the regret is not on account of the small- 

 ness of the audience, but of the smallness of the band of science 



