xl President's Address 



By the last mail I received a telegram from Sir Edward 

 Sabine, president of the Royal Society of London, asking if 

 Australia intended to do anything with respect to the eclipse, 

 and also if we would use instruments if sent. I consulted 

 the hon. the Chief Secretary as to the reply I should make 

 to this, and informed him what the Society had done 

 towards organising an expedition. He thought the offer of 

 Sir Edward Sabine should be accepted, and gave me to 

 understand that if the Eclipse Committee would place him 

 in possession of the details of their proposition, the probable 

 cost, and the portion of it likely to be raised from such as 

 would join in the expedition, he would probably be in a 

 position to ask Parliament for some aid in the matter, and 

 signified his readiness to communicate with the Govern- 

 ments of the other colonies, with a view of obtaining help 

 from them also. 



There are many men scientifically engaged to whom an 

 opportunity of witnessing and carefully observing this, one 

 of the grandest of all phenomena, would be invaluable ; 

 there are more who, it is expected, would gladly seize the 

 chance of a summer trip in a comfortable steamer, coupled 

 with the prospect of seeing once in theii" lives the splendid 

 spectacle of a total eclipse ; and beyond all this, the 

 last total eclipse expeditions of various countries to the 

 Mediterranean were only partially successful owing to 

 the bad weather, and some most important problems 

 with respect to that wonderful appearance the corona 

 remain unsolved. If Australia should be able to con- 

 tribute observations which shall lead to this solution it 

 will place her still higher than her already well-recog- 

 nised position as a contributor to the world's scientific 

 advancement. 



The past year's history of our several scientific depart- 

 ments, although unmarked by any very startling achieve- 



