President's Address. 133 



I do not think it is well to lean too niiich on McGill 

 University and be too frequent in our calls upon her. 

 Professors of McCrill gave (most of them not numbers of 

 the Society) half of all the papers and lectures for the 

 season last year. They gave the whole of the Somerville 

 lectures, two of the lectures to children, and half the papers 

 printed at the March meeting. 



This is not a natural state of affairs. It is well that 

 the Science Professors should aid our Society to a certain 

 extent, but it is not right that they should be called upon 

 to do so much of its work. The Society should, I believe, 

 rely more upon itself and do its own work, instead of 

 calling upon outsiders to work for it. 



The Eecord of Science has not appeared during the 

 past year. Something must be done about it at once. 

 We are now receiving all our exchanges and sending 

 nothing for them. This, of course, is really dishonest, and 

 if the Eecord is not continued notice must be given to 

 our exchanges to that effect. If the Record goes our 

 library goes with it. 



We need for the continuation of the Record, first, 

 financial support, and secondly, an editor who is able to 

 devote the very considerable amount of time necessary to 

 maintain a re'ally good publication. If this can be sup- 

 plied, publication of our Record, which has been, without 

 the least doubt, a great source of strength to our Society, 

 can be resumed. 



Our appeal for financial help has not, I regret to say, 

 been pushed with that vigour of which it is worthy. I 

 am free to confess this, as I feel that I am one of the 

 delinquents in this matter. The responses in the quarters 

 where the appeal has been made, however, were in many 

 cases so generous that we should be moved to real exer- 

 tion in this matter, which is one of the greatest importance 

 to us. With the loss of the grant from the Quebec Gov- 

 ernment, we have to rely entirely on our own resources, 



