PROCEEDINGS, SEPTEMBER. 



SEPTEMBER, 1890. 



The monthly meeting of this body was held on Monday, September 

 15. The President, His Excellency Sir R. G. C. Hamilton, took the 

 chair. There was a good attendance of Fellows, and a large number of 

 ladies were present, including Lady Hamilton. 



NEW MEMBER. 



Major-General Tottenham was elected a Fellow of the Society. 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 



Mr. Morton reported that at a meeting of the Council of the Society 

 the following resolution was agreed to : — " That this Society desires 

 to express its sympathy with the proposal for the despatch of an expedi- 

 tion to the Antarctic regions, under the conduct of Baron Nordenskiold, 

 and resolves that active steps be taken to collect subscriptions in 

 aid of so desirable an object, the Royal Society heading the list with 

 a donation of £50." 



Mr. Thos. Stephens moved the adoption of the resolution by the Society. 

 Most of the members would agree that it was desirable that the little 

 known country in the neighbourhood of the South Pole should be explored, 

 and something more known of it. It was now something like 60 years 

 since the last attempt was made to gain any information about these 

 southern regions, and from various circumstances that experiment was 

 practically abortive. Perhaps the most interesting discovery during the 

 voyage of the Erebus and Terror was the two magnificent volcanoes named 

 after the exploring ships, and which are, perhaps, without a parallel in the 

 known world. He did not think that the expedition should be taken up in 

 a commercial spirit, as was suggested by some friends in the other colonies, 

 and with the almost certain project of re-establishing the whale fishing. If 

 people started with a foregone conclusion of that kind, he was afraid that 

 they would be disappointed. It was better that the expedition should rest 

 on the ground that it was undertaken in that spirit of enterprise which 

 was the peculiar property of the Anglo-Saxon race all over the world — 

 (hear, hear) — and with a desire to get rid of that feeling of shame which 

 they must have at knowing so little of a country which was comparatively 

 close to us. Much would be gained in the cause of science and otherwise 

 by a well equipped expedition. It was incumbent on all those who could do 

 so to help in removing some portion of the veil which now hangs over the 

 southern part of the world. He had pleasure in submitting the resolution 

 for the approval and concurrence of the members of the Royal Society. 



Mr. James Barnard seconded. Usually the Council possessed the power 

 to transact all business of the Society, but when the resolution agreed to 

 involved the expenditure of money, it was thought advisable that it should 

 receive the concurrence of members. He did not propose to speak at 

 length, as he considered that the subject had been thoroughly thrashed out, 

 and it was like "painting the lily" to expatiate upon it. They were 

 simply following the example of the Councils of the different societies of 

 Australia in voting this sum, which was in proportion to their limited 

 resources. 



Mr. A. Mault did not intend to propose an amendment, but desired to 

 explain why he should vote in the negative. It was because he so heartily 

 agreed with almost every word Mr. Stephens had said that he thought the 

 course proposed was unfortunate. They all regarded with something like 

 a sense of shame the fact that they knew so little cf a locality that was 

 nearer to us than any other part of the world, but he did not think that 

 that sense of shame would be taken away by the consideration of the fact 



