xviii Presidential. Address 
be made, the decision will certainly be come to with regret, seeing how good 
the general work of the Government Office has been, and particularly how 
efficient the reading has always been. But the responsibility resting upon 
the Board to see that the work of the Institute is done with the utmost 
promptitude may well outweigh this feeling. 
The Institute has continued, so far as it was able, to keep a watchful 
.eye on matters affecting the preservation of the native fauna and flora. 
In connection e pecially with the extension in 1922 of the Tongariro National 
Park, the members of the Institute took a very active part; and it may be 
mmi 
Governors; but they should be keenly interested in the matter of reserves, 
and each should make a point of knowing especially the reserves of his own 
district and the areas that ought to be reserved. —— 1. 
It is a noticeable feature that, except for the Carter bequest, the Institute 
has received no considerable beneiaction in aid of its work. The Government 
made for a short time a research grant by annual vote of Parliament; but 
this grant was one of the very first items eliminated when retrenchment 
became necessary. The Hector and Hutton Memorial Funds, and, lately, 
the Hamilton Memorial Fund, all contributed by members of the Institute, 
have been applied to the encouragement of research. But it cannot be 
said that the Institute has ever been in a position to aid and encourage 
research to the extent that might be expected of a body that includes 
practically all the scientific workers of New Zealand. | 
Another direction in which the Institute might be expected to take a 
principal part is the equipment and organizing of scientific expeditions in 
the Dominion and its dependencies, and, indeed, the Standing Committee 
recently passed a resolution recognizing the need for this work. Here, 
again, the lack of funds has constituted an insuperable difficulty. Scientific 
workers are not as a rule wealthy, or even well-to-do, and, although their 
private effort has never been wanting, it has been inadequate to enable the 
Institute to do anything like all the work that it is recognized ought to be 
done. Until scientifie work receives the recognition that is extended to it 
in more enlightened countries this must always be the case. Even New 
Zealand began to wake up to the value of scientific work towards the end 
of the Great War; but it soon dropped off to sleep again. 
A direction in which the Institute might, through the affiliated societies 
add to the usefulness of its work is in the popular exposition of scientific 
subjeets. If the Institute were to arrange for selected members to give 
popular lectures in amy centre that was prepared to pay the travelling- 
expenses of the lecturer, its readiness would, I believe, be taken advantage 
of, and the arousing of popular interest would be certain to have a beneficial 
reaction on the Institute itself. 
In conclusion, I wish to thank the members of the Institute for the 
hearty support and co-operation they have given me during the time I 
have had the great honour of being President. 
