20 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
HAMILTON SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION, SESSION 1903-1904. 
BY J. M. DICKSON, PRESIDENT. 
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: 
My appearance here to-night indicates that another year has 
passed, whether of profit or loss remains for your decision. We have 
profited by the addition of many valuable papers to our proceedings 
and have lost several of our active members. 
Death, I regret, has removed from our ranks a figure once 
prominent in our meetings. I refer to the past President, Thomas 
Mcllwraith, the noted Canadian ornithologist, who, full of years, de- 
parted this life in January. An earnest student, keen observer and 
careful writer, his works, of wider than continental repute, will perpet- 
uate his memory. 
We have also to regret the resignation of Mr. Alexander Gavil- 
ler, a gentleman who has held for many years the honorary office of 
Curator, a position which he has most zealously filled. 
Mr. Schuler, the active assistant Curator, has likewise been 
compelled, ty business pressure, to remove from our midst. 
The Astronomical, Geological and Photographic Sections con- 
tinue to carry on their good work and increase in strength. 
Scientific investigation of the element Radium has attracted 
much attention. Its remarkable production of heat and light, great 
rarity and almost fabulous cost have claimed the interest of all 
readers, while its destructive action upon the tissues has created the 
hope that it may prove to be a valuable germicide. Like many new 
discoveries its powers have probably been over-rated, and already a 
British scientist has concluded that it is not a true element, but a 
compound of helium and some other element or elements, the con- 
stant discharge being simply due to spontaneous decomposition. 
Nature study has taken a prominent position during the past 
year, and almost illimitable is the field it offers for our exploration. 
