122 President's Address 



however, between the Board of Visitors to the Melbourne 

 Observatory and the Royal Society of London, led the 

 board to recommend that Mr. Lassell's offer should be 

 declined. This recommendation was acted upon, and the 

 additional amount necessary to obtain a new telescope of the 

 most suitable construction was afterwards voted by Parlia- 

 ment. You will be glad to learn that the new telescope is 

 now being constructed by Mr. Grubb, of Dublin, and, it is 

 fully expected, will arrive by, or shortly after, the beginning 

 of next year. It will be of the form known as the Casse- 

 grainian ; the large speculum will be four feet diameter, and 

 about thirty-five focal length ; the tube is to be of open 

 lattice- work of steel. It will be mounted equatorially, and 

 driven by clock-work. An apparatus for repolishing the 

 speculum will accompany the telescope. The whole cost is 

 to be J4,500 in Dublin. 



While speaking of the scientific work going on in the 

 colony, outside the Royal Society, the geodetic and coast 

 surveys require some notice. The latter undertaking, under 

 Commander Cox, R.N., has made considerable progress. 

 The more tedious parts of the survey — namely, our two 

 principal harbours, Port Philfip and Western Port — have 

 been completed ; and the magnificent chart of the former, 

 which came out from the Admiralty some months since, is 

 sufficient evidence of the complete way in which the 

 admiralty surveyors, under Captain Cox, perform their work. 

 The survey is now being extended along the coast line east 

 of Western Port. 



The geodetic survey, under my superintendence, has also 

 made considerable progress. The principal operations of 

 scientific interest during 1805 were the completion of the 

 primary triangulation westwards to the South Australian 

 boundary, and its advance into the Australian Alps in the 

 north-east portions of the colony, and its extension along 



