for the year 1873. xxiii 



Island, Amsterdam Island, St. Denis (Isle of Bourbon), Cape 

 of Good Hope, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland Island, 

 Noumea, Tahiti, and Noukahiva (in the Marquesas group). 

 These stations will all be manned by either English, German, 

 Russian, or French expeditions. In the general programme 

 of this work Australia proper is supposed to take its own 

 share, and it is not contemplated by the European or 

 American observers to have any stations in Australia, except 

 perhaps in Hobarton, where a United States observing party 

 maybe placed. The New South Wales Government have 

 already granted a thousand pounds (£1000) to Mr. Russell, 

 the Government Astronomer of Sydney, towards making 

 preparations for the proper observation of the phenomenon 

 in that colony. In South Australia I am informed a some- 

 what similar provision will be granted to Mr. Todd, the 

 observer in Adelaide ; and I have every reason to believe 

 that our own Government will also provide the necessary 

 funds to enable us to maintain our proper position in this 

 matter, and do our fair share of this " whole world's" V ark. 

 In conclusion, I wish for a moment to return to the atfairs 

 of our Society. It has for a long time been felt, that the 

 public at large have uniformly shown a warm interest in our 

 annual conversaziones, and it has been recognized that 

 whenever the public interest is in any way engaged in our 

 proceedings, a real advantage is so far achieved. We gain 

 something by popularising our meetings, but on the other 

 hand the real hard business of the Society, many of the 

 questions to which the members should devote their ener- 

 gies, are of a kind productive of papers which, however 

 valuable in a purely scientific sense, are the opposite of what 

 is called popular. In truth, these dry papers, resulting from 

 hard work and close thought, whenever we can obtain them, 

 are the most valuable of our acquisitions, which should on 

 no account be sacrificed. 



