116 KOYAL SOCIETY FROM THE YEAE 1840 TO 1900. 



Queeu's Orpbau Schools, of whom 396 were the offspring of 

 convicts, and were taught at the expense of the British 

 Government ; 64 were the children of free parents, and were 

 paid for by the Tasmanian Government. It was estimated 

 that, including tliose taught in private schools, the number 

 of children under instruction amounted to 6,214, a number 

 which may be considered as fairly satisfactory. There was 

 then no daily newspaper published in Tasmania, but four 

 were published in Hobart twice weekly, and two once a 

 week. Three were published in Launceston. The total- 

 imports exceeded the exports by 1 7-| joer cent. 



The introduction of salmon into Tasmanian watei's afforded 

 some discussion, and was introduced in a paper by Captain 

 Stanley, in which the opinion of Mr. Young, the manager 

 of the Duke of Sutherland Salmon Fisheries, is quoted, and 

 his advice given. Mr. Young says : — " I hope that yor. will 

 get a stiitable vessel, so that you can with safety carry the 

 young salmon, but in case you should not succeed in getting 

 it in every respect fitted for their safety, I would not advise 

 you to proceed with it at all. Were you to make an ill- 

 prepared job of it and not succeed, it would deter yourself 

 and others from the attempt for a long time (for, assuredly, 

 it will at some time be done successfully)." Mr. P. S. Seager 

 has, with much trouble, written a history of the salmon 

 experiments in Tasmania, which has been read before this 

 Society, and will, perhaps, be familiar to most of you; but 

 it ought to be mentioned, in passing, that the last and very 

 successful shipment in the year 1888 was brought out at the 

 sole expense of Sir James Agnew, by Sir Thomas Brady, 

 then Inspector of Fisheries in Ireland. 



That perennial subject, the weather, of course came up 

 for discussion, and some valuable statistics were forthcoming ■ 

 on this interesting topic. There were 14 days in 1847 on 

 which a hot wind blew, and on two days especially the air 

 was like a heated furnace. The thermometer registered 

 lOSdeg. in the sliode, and later lOOdeg. The next year was 

 remarkable for intense cold in the months of November and 

 December. 



At this time coal was being discovered in every direction — 

 at Schouten Island, Port Arthur, Mersey and Don Eivois, 

 and many other places; and Dr. Milligau was requested by 

 the Governxnent to report on them. This first volume has 

 some of these reports, and specimens were sent to the 

 Museum of Practical Geology, London, for analysis by Sir 

 H. De La Beche. Though he did not think so highly of 

 them as Dr. Miiligan did, yet the discovery of coal in so 

 many parts of Tasmania was a matter of the highest import- 

 ance to the future of the colony. Even then, with four 



