34 PRESIDENTS ADDRESS, 
Association only visits towns to which it is invited, and generally 
there is more or less competition amongst the principal towns to 
secure the acceptance of their invitations, and to bring this about 
the competing towns offer as many attractions as possible. 
“For the Montreal Session all the great English Steamship 
Companies between England and America, and the Canadian and 
United States Railway Companies reduced their fares to members 
and their families; the Government Railways were, of course, 
made free to them, and the Telegraph Companies also granted 
free use of their lines all over Canada and the United States. 
Numerous free excursions were arranged to places of interest, 
some extending over a period of twelve or fourteen days, the 
members and their families merely paying for their meals and 
sleeping-berths at quite nominal rates, 
“Tn addition to the reductions made by the Steamship Com- 
panies, the Canadian Committee voted $14,000 for the purpose of 
still farther reducing the cost of members’ (and of their relatives’) 
passages to Canada. The Australian Colonies would of course 
gladly help in the same way; but, taking the much greater 
expense and time of voyage into account, the amount to be raised 
here would have to be many times as much. 
“J am however very much afraid that, although Australia, New 
Zealand, and the Islands offer great attractions to many of the 
members (I know of one eminent scientific man who is returning 
to England via Australia from the Montreal meeting), yet but 
comparatively few could afford the time and money to come out 
here. The visit to Montreal and the excursions through Canada 
and the United States could all be managed in a month or six 
weeks, and at a comparatively small expense—in fact, most of those 
who went to Canada made the trip do duty for the annual autumn 
holiday or visit to the seaside; but out of the 2,000 to 3,000 
members and associates (2,714 attended the Southport meeting in 
1883) only a comparatively small number could arrange to visit 
Australia ; the round voyage could scarcely be squeezed into the 
long vocation of those fortunate enough to have one, and the 
