xliv 



abandoned mine>3 will be encouraged, if 

 confidence can be increased in the 

 potentialities for deep workings. Tlie sys- 

 tematical exploration of tne crust of the 

 earth also deserves better attention ; bor- 

 ing by the heavy steam-driven diamond 

 drill is most important, so much so that 

 here and elsewhere it has received State 

 assistance; but I earnestly trust that ttib 

 use of the diamond drill is in its infancy, 

 and that its scope can be greatly extend- 

 ed, e.g., by driving it electrically, or by 

 diminishing the cost and weight of the 

 machine, or by simplifying it so as to 

 bring it more within the possibilities of 

 handling it by unskilled labour. 



In conclusion, I may be allowed 

 to express satisfaction at the in- 

 terest shown by the ladies of Tas- 

 mania in natural science. Although 

 there are many other occupations generally 

 requiring their attention, there is no rea- 

 son why women endowed with scientific 

 tastes should not be encouraged in devot- 

 ing their leisure to research. In recent 

 times a discoverer of radium has been 

 a lady, and it may be mentioned that 

 traces of this precious substance are re- 

 ported in Australia. But for the fair 

 daughters of Eve to devote their leisure to 

 science is — and probably should be — 

 an excep^-ion rather than the rule. In 

 fact, the nrst instance recorded of misap- 

 plication of leisure is when Eve, wasted 

 with an apple and a serpent, precious op- 

 portunities which will never recur. The 

 ladies of Tasmania are, therefore, to be 

 specially congratulated on the facilities 

 nov>-adays offered by the Eoyal Society to 

 employ their leisure otherwise. As to the 

 apple, the men of Tasmania are protected 

 from a repetition of that temptation by 

 the phenomenal abundance of this beauti 

 ful fruit; in fact, Tasmania is out-rival- 

 ling Eve by offering apples of irresistible 

 beauty, in and out of season, to the old 

 Adams of the older world. The right to 

 enjoy leisure involves corresponding 

 duties; and active membership of thisi 

 Royal Society is one of the duties of lei- 

 sure which I venture to extol. 



His Excellency was loudly applauded at 

 the conclusion of his paper. 



The Kight Rev. Dr. Mercer, Bishop 

 of Tasmania, said he could not well 

 conceive a more appropriate bring- 

 ing together of interesting mattens 

 than was contained in the excel- 

 lent address they had ju>st listened 

 to. It implied a careful looking into their 

 lives, and seeing whether they employed 

 their leisure as they should do or not, 

 and went on to make some excellent sug- 

 gestions on the employment of leisure. 

 He remembered reading of the leisure ob- 

 tained by the Greek race of old. Ts'o 



doubt their marvellous works of Art and 

 Poetry generally were evidences of a lei- 

 sured class. But how was it brought into 

 existence ? It flourished, as had been 

 pointedly expressed, "on the dung-hill 

 of slavery." No doubt there must still 

 be a leisured class if there was to be 

 progress in Science, Art, and Literature. 

 To make everybody perform a certain 

 amount of work of a manual or kindred 

 character every day would result in retro- 

 gressKtn rather than progression. No 

 doubt progress was largely dependent on 

 the existence of a leisured class, and he 

 was thankful to say that there were good 

 evidences of a leisured class in Tasmania 

 — ^a leisured class of a right kind 

 — and that it was growing. (Applause.) 

 He was sure His Excellency would agree 

 with him that there were two kinds of 

 leisured classes — those who spent their 

 time in idleness, and the putting away 

 of time, and a leisured class who em- 

 ployed their time and talents in self-cul- 

 ture, and to the general progress of tne 

 race. It was leisure of the latter kind 

 that they had in view that evening. Not 

 for one moment would he lose sight of 

 the fact that they must also have leisure 

 for amuisements, pure and simple, as "all 

 work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." 

 That applied to all of us, from children 

 up to dry-as-dust professors, who some- 

 times becaime so immersed in their studios 

 that when they met their fellow-citizens 

 they had forgotten what they were like. 

 He happened one day to be in conversa- 

 tion with Lord Kelvin, who asked him, 

 "WOiat kind of logarithms do you eee.-^" — 

 mentioning two very abstruse ones. He 

 (the Bishop) did not use either, as he was 

 not a mathematician. But men who be- 

 came so severely immemed in their studies 

 would talk thus, just as some of them 

 would say, ''Have you seen such and such 

 a paragraph in 'The Mereury' thus morn- 

 ing?" This led him to say that he hoped 

 the Eoyal Society would take up work and 

 subjects of a more extended character, 

 and as to which His Excellency had that 

 evening set a good example. (Applause.) 

 He (the speaker) was particularly anxious 

 that the society should appeal to a larger 

 number of people than in the past. If 

 they confined themselves to purely scien- 

 tific subjects, even though, it included 

 geology and botany, two of the most fas- 

 cinating of scientific subjects, they ap- 

 pealed to too severe and narrow a circle, 

 whereas if they now and then — he would 

 not say always — had papers read of a 

 general character, such as would interest 

 a larger circle of people, he could not 

 help thinking that it would be for the 

 goo-d of the society as well as for that of 

 the community. We in Tasmania were 

 too small a community to support a^ fully 



