The Australasian Association. 273 



As his Excellency the Governor has told you, the British 

 Association met on Canadian soil. Some of our meetings 

 are also held in the large centres of the Dominion of Can- 

 ada, and the meeting of the British Association was really 

 a joint meeting of the two Associations. We sometimes 

 read disturbing cablegrams, but I love to think that blood 

 is thicker than water. Now, my honored colleagues, through 

 me, extend to you an invitation to visit our Association. 

 Do not regard it as one of those general invitations which 

 means just drop in as you pass by ; but if you find you can 

 be present at any of our meetings just inform our General 

 Secretary, and when you did meet, then the general invita- 

 tion, you would find, would be converted into a most spe- 

 cific one. I again thank you for your cordial welcome, and 

 congratulating the Association upon its past and present 

 success, I have only now to express on behalf of our Asso- 

 ciation, and on my own behalf, our best wishes for Austra- 

 lasia and the Australasian Association." 



The address of the President, Sir James Hector, present- 

 ed a valuable review of the advance of Scientific knowledge 

 and research in New Zealand. It possesses so much of 

 general interest that we venture to reproduce the greater 

 part of it. 



Presidential Address. 



" * * * * Presidents of similar Associations in 

 the Old World, who are in constant contact with actual 

 progress in scientific thought, feel that a mere recital of 

 the achievements during their previous term is sufficient 

 to command interest ; but in the colonies most of us are cut 

 off from personal converse with the leading minds by whom 

 the scientific afflatus is communicated j and in our suspense 

 for tardy arrival of the official publications of the societies, 

 we have to feed our minds with science from periodical 

 literature. But even in this respect my own current edu- 

 cation is very defective, as I reside in the capital city of 

 New Zealand, which has no college with professional staff, 

 whose duty, pleasure and interest it is to maintain them- 



