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OCTOBER, 1900. 



The monthly meeting of the Eoyal So- 

 ciety was held on Monday evening, the 

 8th inst. The Bishop of Tasmania, V.P., 

 presided. The Secretary read an apology 

 from the Acting-President (His Excel- 

 lency Sir John Dodds), regretting that, 

 owing to important official business, he 

 was unable to preside. 



Tiie Hon. Sir James Agnew forwarded 

 the following letter: — 



October 8, 1900. 



My Dear Mr. Morton, — P. ease convey 

 to the Council of the lioyal Society and 

 to the Trustees of the I'asmanian Museum 

 and Botanical Gardens my cordial and 

 grateful thanks for their very kind 

 wishes on the occasion of my birthday. I 

 value these pleasant gj eetings more es- 

 pecially as coming from a body of friends 

 who take a practical interest in the wel- 

 fare and management of those two na- 

 tional institutions, which alone keep 

 Tasmania in touch (as she ought to be) 

 with similar institutions, not only in 

 our neighbouring colonies, but in the 

 world at large. — Very sincerely yours, 

 J. W. AGNEW. 



A. Morton, Esq., Secretary R.S. 



"valuable woeks of art." 



The Chairman said, before the business 

 of reading papers commenced, he wished 

 to read a letter that had reached him 

 since the last meeting. from Mr. 

 F. G. Simpkinson De Wesselow, Gros- 

 venor-mansions, Victoria-street, S.W., 

 July 10, 1900:— My Dear Bishop,— My 

 nephew at Millicent, South Australia, has 

 forwarded to me a letter you wrote to him 

 in April last, concerning the society you 

 have formed at Hobart, and you desire 

 to possess for it any relics of the past his- 

 tory of Tasmania. I happen to have 

 several volumes of drawings and sketches 

 made 'during the years I passed tnere, 

 1844 to 1849, which have been lying 

 packed away almost ever since my return. 

 I am exceedingly glad there is now a 

 chance of their being of some use or n- 

 terest, and I forward them to you with 

 much pleasure. They are packed in a 

 zinc-lined case, and I trust will reacJi 

 you safely. Amongst them is a panora^na 

 of Hobart in 1848, taken from a spot just 

 outside the Domain, probably now 

 covered with buildings. There are, also, 

 some sketches of the aborigines of Tas- 

 mania (then Van Diemen's Land), located 

 at that time on Flinders Island, which I 

 visited in 1845, in comijany with the 

 artist, Prout, where we were hospitably 

 entertained by the Superintendent, Dr. 



Milligan. Some sketches, too, of Mel- 

 bourne in 1846-47, then in its infancy, 

 may be interesting. Most of my time 

 was passed at Hobart, where I had an ap- 

 pointment under tne Admiralty at the 

 Magnetic Observatory. This was situ- 

 ated in the Domain, close to the Botanical 

 Gardens ; and, as you will know, a lovely 

 situation. In looKing at the sketches 

 again, I am forcibly reminded of the 

 beauty of the Derwent and its siirroiind- 

 ings, and of the many happy days passed 

 in delightful Tasmania. I had many 

 friends there, now all departed. Bishop 

 Nixon, Bicheno, the genial Colonial 

 Secretary, Charles Stanley, and others. 

 The Bishop often joined our sketching par- 

 ties, and I am glad you have some of nis 

 drawings. Charles Stanley was my 

 dearest friend. I often visit his widow, 

 and only a few days ago she showed me 

 a book of drawings by Owen Stanley that 

 she was about to send you. You will see 

 by the sketches that I visited a good 

 many parts of the island. Lake St. 

 Clair was but little known, and our party 

 explored it, sending up a boat from Ho- 

 bart through the bush for the purpose. 

 Also, the falls on Mount Wellington, 

 now, probably, a regular place for pic- 

 nics, were discovered by us. During our 

 stay the convict system was at its height. 

 All our servants were convicts. It was 

 a sad moral stain on the community. 

 "Out of evil cometh good," inasmuch as 

 the beautiful roads and bridges could 

 never have been made without the con- 

 victs. Port Arthur was the head- 

 quarters, and, in a sketch of Eagle Hawk 

 Neck, I show tne now historical savage 

 dogs that guarded the peninsula." 



The Bishop said he now had very great 

 pleasure in handing over this valuable 

 gift to the Royal Society, as also the 

 volume of sketches presented by Mrs. 

 Charles Stanley. 



The -ixon. N. J. Brown (Speaker of the 

 House of Assembly) movecl a special vote 

 of thanks to the donors of this priceless 

 gift of works of art, and also to His Lord- 

 ship for securing such a gift to the Royal 

 Society. The resolution was carried br 

 acclamation. 



The Hon. N. .T. Brown read a paper on 

 "Federal Finance." 



The Treasitrer (the Hon. B. S. Bird^, by 

 request, moved that a special meeting, be 

 called for discussion of the paper next 

 Monday week, "Further Observation on 

 some Obsidian Bttttons," by Mr. Thos. 

 Stephens, M.A., F.G.S. 



