426 



As the Otago Institute is now fairly launched, the first question for us to determine is, 

 whether we are to stand alone, or to be incorporated with the New Zealand Institute. 

 The principal advantages of incorporation, shown by the Act of 1867 (by which the New 

 Zealand Institute was created), are, that we shall obtain, 1st, the invaluable services of 

 Dr. Hector, in superintending any Museum or Laboratory that we may hereafter possess, 

 or which may be entrusted to us ; and 2nd, a share of any sum that may be placed on 

 the Colonial estimates for the purposes and expenses of the New Zealand Institute. But 

 the greatest advantage of all lies in the fact, that, in all such societies as the present, 

 co-operation is the highest requisite for success. In all probability the most useful work 

 that at this moment lies before the New Zealand Institute is the compilation of a com- 

 plete Natural History of the colony ; and to that history the Institute of each province 

 should contribute a chapter. Without the co-operation of all, to attempt such a work 

 would be hopeless. 



If, however, we prefer independence, the path is open ; and whichever we determine 

 upon, I trust we shall legally unite in carrying out our present undertaking, so far as our 

 ability extends ; I trust, too, that we shall be guided in our pursuit by the precepts of 

 that philosophy, which has been mentioned as one of the special objects we hope to 

 promote. I do not allude to the visionary theories set forth by the magnificent eloquence 

 of Plato ; nor to the barren sophistry of Scholiasts, into which degenerated the more 

 practical codes of Aristotle. Still less should we follow the school of the eighteenth 

 century, though their pages be illumined by the massive and splendid diction of Gibbon, 

 the lucid beauty of the style of Hume, the brilliant imagination of Rousseau, and the 

 scathing sarcasm of Voltaire. Their philosophy commenced by a denial of the truth of 

 Christianity, and appropriately culminated amid the orgies of the French revolution, in 

 the blasphemous worship of the Goddess of Reason. Their anti-christian writings have 

 already passed into deep shadow, soon to darken into night. There are records of their 

 powers of distraction, but of their philosophical creations scarce a trace remains. On the 

 other hand, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, though favoured by Emperors, fostered 

 by the Church, after a culture of two thousand years, ended where it began, in words, 

 and words alone. Let us turn rather to oiir own great countryman ; — to him who wrote, 

 at the age of thirty-one, that he had "taken all knowledge to be his province," and 

 whose right to assert this has never been questioned. It was reserved for Francis Bacon to 

 show that the highest end of wisdom is to be of use ; and that nothing that is of use to 

 the meanest, is below the notice of the highest. The ancient philosophy aimed at 

 training men to endure evils patiently ; that of Bacon preferred to remedy them. Plato 

 deemed the most brilliant invention in mechanics, a discredit to a true disciple. Bacon 

 estimated a philosopher's learning solely by the fruit it promised for the use of man, the 

 "Novum organum," Bacon's greatest work, gave a new direction to the human intellect ; 

 and by that change, has changed the face of the world. 



To apply his precepts to our present object, we should constantly keep in mind that 

 there is not a rock on the mountain, a stratum of soil in the plain, a tree in the forest, or 

 a herb in the pasture that has not its use — what that use is, it is for science and 

 experience to discover ; and every new discovery adds a new source of wealth to the 

 colony, and a fresh incentive to immigration. And it is in bringing together for the test 

 of science the results of experiences scattered through the colony, that the value of 

 co-operation amongst the Institutes of the various provinces, will be especially manifested. 



Take, for instance, that which, next to gold and coal, is probably our most important 

 indigenous product, the New Zealand flax. The value has long been recognised, but our 

 attempts at preparing it for export have been simply a series of blundering experiments. 

 Let each Institute prepare a careful report on the varieties of the plant, the modes of 

 culture, the chemical and mechanical means used in preparing it for use or sale ; and 

 forward with that report models of the machinery used, and specimens of flax in various 

 stages of preparation. Let the whole of these reports, models, and specimens be laid 

 before some able chemists and mechanicians ; before men who are not only thoroughly 

 versed in those sciences, but who have all the appliances of science, and ample time to 

 use them. Our experimental difficulties would soon be solved ; and it would be difficult 

 to over-estimate the importance of their solution to the colony. Within a few years 

 after, the export of flax would probably rival in importance that of wool. 



With respect to scientific appliances, we may congratulate ourselves on the fact that 

 the province already possesses a large and valuable Museum, the care of which will 

 probably be entrusted to us by the Government. We hope to establish a scientific 

 library, as the next requisite ; and at as early a date as our funds permit, to add a 

 laboratory. We trust to be in close connection with those Acclimatisation, Agricultural, 

 and Horticultural Societies, which have already conferred so much benefit on Otago. In 

 every town, and in every gold field we should have our correspondents, and every change 

 in the face of the province, every new botanical or geological discovery, every rare pheno- 

 menon of nature, should be registered on our records. The contribution of original papers, 

 with lectures and periodical meetings, complete all that we can expect to compass for the 



