ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 
By H. C. Russert, B.A., F.R.A.S., &e., President. 
(Delivered to the Royal Society of N.S.W., 3 May, 1882.] 
GENTLEMEN, 
By a sort of tradition the President of a Society like ours is 
expected to make his annual address a compressed history of the 
science of the year; but our distance from the metropolis of science 
places your President at a disadvantage, for our first meeting is 
.long enough after all the kindred meetings in Europe to give 
us in the various periodicals reports of what has been said by the 
happy Presidents whose duty has been to select the best out of a 
superabundance. I confess I cannot feel happy in going over 
ground which has been so well “prospected,” nor could I do so if 
I felt as competent as those who have preceded me. I hope, 
therefore, you will not be alarmed at the innovation if I do not 
follow the traditional path, but endeavour to occupy your attention 
for a short time with some remarks upon matters, one of which is 
of great scientific importance, and the other of increasing local 
The report of the Council has been placed before you, and I wil 
only refer to one or two matters which I think the Council has 
not made so prominent as it should have done. And first, with 
reference to our own work during the past year, the report or the 
address should, I think, contain a list of the papers read, as evi- 
dence of our work. 
_ The list of papers read before the Royal Society of New South 
Wales, session ending December, 1881, is as follows :—May 4 
“Anniversary Address,” by the Hon, J. Smith, C.M.G., MLO 
