WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 



First Meeting. 18^^ July, 1874. 

 Charles Knight, F.KC.S., President, in the chair. 



New members. — E. F. Burrell, George M. Wink, C.E., Hon. William Fox, 

 M.H.K, Alexander Kerr, F.R.G.S., Alexander McKay, Thomas Kirk, F.L.S., 

 Charles Holmes Borlase, John Newton Coleridge. 



Before the business of the evening was formally entered upon. Dr. Hector 

 introduced to the society Dr. Berggren, of the University of Lund, who is at 

 present engaged in making a botanical exploration of New Zealand, and Mr. 

 Joseph Hollo way, agent for the Agiicultural Labourers' Union, who is 

 making a tour of observation through the various Provinces for the purpose 

 of furnishing a report upon the suitability of New Zealand as a field for 

 immigration. 



Publications received from Harvard College, the Smithsonian Institution, 

 and the Geological Society of Florence were laid on the table. 



There were also laid on the table a number of marine specimens, presented 

 to the Colonial Museum by the gentlemen belonging to the " Challenger " 

 expedition, and a microscope with mounted slides for showing the nature of 

 the bottom of the sea between New Zealand and Australia, as evidenced by 

 specimens obtained from the soundings made by the " Challenger." 



The President delivered the following anniversary 



ADDRESS. 



It has been the custom for your Presidents in their annual address to 

 notice the papers discussed at the Society's meetings during the year. I find 

 it difficult to make such notices interesting. Indeed, it is the most valuable 

 papers that are the most difficult to comment on, except in general terms of 

 praise. Take Mr. George's paper on the Patent Slip at Evans Bay — the 

 first of our papers in the Transactions of the Institute — it is over-running 

 with valuable suggestions for engineers; or turn to the end of the volume, we 

 have Captain Moresby's Lecture on New Guinea; certainly in this last case 

 I may tell you that Dr. Macleay visited the Astrolabe Gulf in the years 1871 

 and 1872, and studied the inhabitants of the whole coast of that Gulf, and the 

 dwellers on the islands near Cape Duperre, and speaks of them, as Captain 



