Xll 



President's Address 



commencement of the present session in April, when 

 Mr. S. W. Gibbons read an " Account of a New Method for 

 the Disposal and Utilization of Excreta." At the May 

 meeting I gave a brief account of the forthcoming " Transit 

 of Venus," and of the preparations being made for its 

 observation. In June two communications were read — one 

 by Mr. D. Kennedy, " Account of an Escape of a Miner 

 from Drowning in a Flooded Mine," where the miner was a 

 considerable time in a drive below, and actually sealed by 

 the water ; the other by Mr. Etheridge, jun. (of Edinburgh), 

 " On the Sand Dunes of the Coast of Victoria." At our last 

 meeting a contribution by Mr. Corbett was read — "An 

 Account of Practical Experience in the Use of Abyssinian 

 Tube Wells " in the colony. Mr. S. W. Gibbons also read 

 and illustrated a paper " On Cremation," in which the writer 

 dealt with the different methods by which this plan of 

 disposal of the dead could be carried out with the least 

 possible objections. 



This then summarises the ordinary work of the session. 

 It is worthy of remark that the discussions on the various 

 papers or subjects brought before the ordinary meetings, 

 during the last year have certainly been more general and 

 animated than before, indicating perhaps a greater interest 

 in the subjects, or possibly a diminution of that diffidence 

 for which many of our members are not a little remarkable- 

 While speaking of this part of our Society's affairs, I may 

 mention that some little difficulty has been experienced by 

 the Council with regard to the custody of the papers after 

 they have been read to the Society. It has been our custom 

 to allow members of the press, if they made the request, to- 

 have the MSS. for publication, in full or in abstract, more 

 especially when the Society was not in a position to publish 

 its transactions regularly. Oar rules, however, are very 

 explicit on this point, and allowing the papers to go out of 



