Anniversary Address. xxm. 



Time will not allow me to make more than a passing mention of 

 the papers of Mr. Samnel Locke and Mr. Barstow concerning the 

 Native race and the history of the earliest European settlers in this 

 colony ; of Dr. Newman's paper respecting the healthiness of New 

 Zealand; or of many other contributions. I will only add that I 

 cannot look through the compressed report of the local Societies with- 

 out a feeling of regret that I have no opportunity of reading at greater 

 length several of the interesting papers, of which only an abstract can 

 be given. 



The honorary members who have been added to the roll of the 

 Institute during the last year are : Professor W. B. Carpenter, the 

 eminent physiologist, who has done great service to New Zealand by 

 assisting in the organization of the University; Sir Wm. Thompson, 

 from whose researches in physics and especially in electricity, this 

 colony, in common with other countries, is deriving daily benefit ; 

 and Professor Ellery, the well-known astronomer at the Melbourne 

 Observatory, whose work in the preparation of star catalogues is of 

 great benefit in all survey operations in these latitudes. 



SCIENCE. 



The past year has been one of exceptional activity in the world of 

 science. Astronomers in all quarters of the globe have been watching 

 with keen interest the movements of the magnificent comet which 

 was visible last spring ; two months ago we had the opportunity of 

 seeing one of the most beautiful of astronomical phenomena — a total 

 eclipse of the sun ; and in December last scientific parties were de- 

 spatched by almost every European nation to take careful observations 

 of the transit of Venus. 



COMET. 



In the recent volume of Transactions there is a valuable paper on 

 the constitution of comets, which was read before the Southland 

 Institute last October by Mr. Fairclough. There and elsewhere 

 you will find it stated that, according to Kepler, comets are as 

 numerous as fishes in the sea. But, however that may be, there is 

 no doubt that they may be numbered by hundreds of thousands, and 

 that they are indeed the most numerous family of bodies in the 

 universe. The movements of some hundreds only, however, have 

 been studied, and of these only a few by the aid of modern appliances. 

 They all describe a course round the sun ; but, whilst some revolve in 

 orbits occupying only a comparatively short period, which can be 

 calculated with precision — as, for instance, Encke's Comet and 

 Halley's Comet, which accomplish their revolutions in about three 



