lix 



been called to the fact that the occupant had no 

 authority to use the land for this purpose, some 

 sort of annual lease or licence was issued by the 

 Lands Office, apparently without any notice to, 

 or knowledge of, the Koyal Society, which body 

 by an Act of Parliament in the year 1885 

 handed over to the Trustees of the Museum all 

 their right, title, and interest in the land and 

 buildings (with the exception of one room re- 

 tained for the meetings of the Royal Society), 

 on the condition that the institution should be 

 a public one, to which admissioQ was to be free 

 of charge. It is therefore the Trustees of the 

 Museum and Art Gallery who now claim, through 

 their predecessors, the Royal Society, that the 

 whole of the site extending to Davey-street 

 should now be permanently vested in them for 

 the benefit of the irablic. 



The Minister of Lands (Hon. E. 

 Mulcahy) said that the Ministry sympa- 

 thised with the trustees, and did not wish 

 to see any injustice done. He understood 

 that some difficulty had been experienced 



in the matter of choosing a site for a 

 Customs-house ; one portion of the com- 

 mercial community wanted it on the site 

 of the Mariner's Church, but there were 

 many reasons against that proposal. The 

 tendency of the business was in the direc- 

 tion of the north-east end of the harbour, 

 and the most suitable spot for shipping 

 and commercial interests was where the 

 Government proposed to have it, near the 

 Museum. The Government could make 

 use of the ground without infringing the 

 rights of the Museum, and if the Govern- 

 ment proposal was carried out the trustees 

 of the Museum would actually get more 

 land than they would receive under other 

 circumstances. The Government could 

 provide the necessary accommodation at 

 the proposed site by utilising a portion of 

 the street without infringing upon the 

 footpath in any way ; but the Marine 

 Board or Corporation would require to be 

 approached before this could be done 



DEATH OF MR. J. B. "WALKER, P.R.G.S. 



Widespread regret \vas expressed in the 

 «ity on Saturday at the sad intelligence 

 that Mr. James Backhouse Walker, 

 F.R.G.S., of the firm of Walker and 

 AVolfhagen, solicitors, and Vice-Chancellor 

 of the University of Tasmania, had died 

 from pneumonia, supervening on influenza. 

 Mr. Walker had been out of health for 

 some days previous to Monday in last 

 week, when he was seized with influenza, 

 and for the first two or three days was laid 

 up with the usual symptoms. Then 

 pneumonia set in, but of such a mild kind 

 that up to Friday evening he had but little 

 fever, and up to midnight on Friday he 

 appeared to be going on well. He then 

 told his nurse he was so much more com- 

 fortable that he could go to sleep, and he 

 laid down and dozed, but during sleep the 

 heart's action collapsed, and he could not 

 be i-evived afterwards, death supervening 

 at 10 o'clock Saturday morning, November 

 4, 1899. 



The deceased was the eldest son of the 

 late Mr. George Washington Walker, and 

 was born in Hobart in 1841. He re- 

 ceived his education at the High School, 

 Hobart, and the Friends' School, York, 

 England. He was admitted as a barrister 

 in Tasmania in 1876, and was one of the 

 original members of the Council of the Uni- 

 versity of Tasmania. In 1888 he was elected 

 a member of the Council of the Royal 

 Society of Tasmania, and was a constant 



contributor to the society's journal. Mr. 

 Walker was recognised as the leading 

 authority on the history of eai ly Tasmania. 

 At the meeting of the Fellows of the 

 Royal Society held last month he read a 

 most interesting paper on the aborigines of 

 Tasmania. Few have taken a keener interest 

 in higher education in the colony. He 

 was also an active mem ber as one of the 

 trustees of theTasmanian Library, and pos- 

 sessed one of the finest libraries of works 

 relating to Australia and Tasmania. He 

 was also much interested in the prosperity 

 of the Workingmen's Club in the early 

 stages of its career, and did good service in 

 promoting thrift among its members. He 

 was also for many years a zealous worker in 

 the Davey-street Sunday-school, and his 

 unobtrusive charity was well known 

 throughout the city, though, like a true 

 man, he liked best to do good deeds by 

 stealth. The Council of the Law Society 

 found him always a consistent sujDporter. 

 In these, and in many other ways, he was 

 a prominent and useful citizen, 'and will be 

 much missed 



The funeral on Monday was a thoroughly 

 representative one, showing the high esteem 

 the deceased was held in by all classes 

 of the community. At 9 a.m. carriages 

 containing friends of the late gentleman 

 assembled at his residence, corner of 

 An till and Davey streets. At 9.30 the 

 cortege left his house in the following 



