Otago Institute. 561 



Election of Officers for 1879 : — President — Prof. Hutton ; Vice- 

 presidents— \N . N. Blair, C.E., Prof. Scott; Council— \N . Arthur, C.E., 

 Eobert Gillies, F.L.S., Dr. Hockeii, A. Moutgomery, D. Petrie, J. C. 

 Thomson, Prof. Ulrich ; Hon. Secretary — Geo. M. Thomson ; Hon. 

 Treasurer — H. Skey ; Auditor — J. S. Webb. 



The retiring President read the following 



ADDRESS. 



It has become the custom for the retiring President to address you on the work of 

 the session, the aims and prospects of the Institute, or the prominent scientific topics of 

 the day. I cannot do better than follow in the same strain, but instead of confining 

 myself to one of these subjects, I shall glance shortly at all of them in succession. So 

 far as the last head is concerned, anything of a general character that I can say on 

 current scientific questions must be second-hand. You can get it in a more attractive 

 form in the thousand-and-one addresses and articles that flow annually from the scientific 

 press throughout the world. I shall therefore only consider it in so far as it applies to 

 the material progress of the colony. 



The Otago Institute has now entered on the tenth year of its existence. Its career 

 can scarcely be characterized as brilliant; it has not brought to light wonderful dis- 

 coveries in science, nor propounded strange doctrines in philosophy ; still its progress has 

 been steady, and it has done useful work in promoting the cause of science and the 

 general well-being of the state. 



The work during the last session has been up to the average of previous years. 

 Twenty-five papers were read at the ordinary meetings, and five lectures were deUvered at 

 what are called the popular meetings. Of the twenty-five papers nineteen were on subjects 

 of Natural History, nine of them having been contributed by Professor Hutton, and six by 

 Mr. G. M. Thomson. Those of lis who heard these papers read or commented on, could 

 not help being struck by the scientific skill and care displayed by their authors, in investi- 

 gating the subjects under consideration, and the exactness with which every minutia of 

 form and organism was dehneated and described. I have no doubt many of the facts thus 

 recorded will be highly prized by the scientists of the old world. Specialists here and 

 there will perchance find among them the clue to some great truth that otherwise might 

 never be revealed. 



The five remaining papers were on miscellaneous subjects. My absence from Dunedin 

 prevented me hearing the two relating to Navigation by Messrs. Pope and Boss but I 

 understand they formed a valuable contribution to the literature of Nautical Science. 



Mr. Purnell's paper on Antarctic Exploration opens up a world of speculation as to 

 the direction in which the adventurous spirit of the New Zealander of the future will find 

 an outlet. Doubtless the discovery of the South Pole will some day become as much an 

 object of ambition to the Briton of the South as the North Pole now is to his elder 

 brother. 



Two interesting and valuable papers on kindred subjects — accHmatized and native 

 fish — were read by Messrs. Arthur and Thomson ; the former described the steps that have 

 from time to time been taken to stock the Otago streams with brown trout and the success 

 that has been achieved. We trust that Mr. Arthur will supplement his contribution oi 

 this year by a similar treatise on the other acclimatized wild animals. Mr. Thomson's 

 labours, in having for three successive years taken a daily note of the varieties of fish in 



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