PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 
By J. B. CLELAND, M.D., Ch.M. 
Delivered to the Royal Society of N. 8S. Wales, May 1, 1918. 
Introduction. 
During another year the titanic conflict of the Great War 
has overshadowed every aspect of the life of our community. 
The part that scientific knowledge is playing in its progress, 
the part that it will take in the strenuous times of the 
peace to come, indicate the important effect the war must 
exert on the activities of this Society. It is a national duty 
at all times, and much more so during the present world- 
érisis, for every member of the community to add all he 
can to the sum total of general knowledge. Thus shall we, ~ 
aS a nation, be made fitter for our present task and more 
capable of holding our own in the future. 
That in this respect members of the Society have recog- 
nized the duty imposed on them is shown by the number 
and nature of the communications submitted during the 
year and published in our journal. Still more important 
is the fact that some of our members are engaged in ser- 
vice abroad, in many cases placing at the disposal of the 
military or other authorities the special knowledge at their 
command. Prof. T. W. E. David, Prof. J. A. Pollock, Dr. 
J. A. Dick, Dr. J. S. Purdy, A. Clunies Ross, W. G. 
stone, C. E. Tilley, A. M. McIntosh, H. B. Taylor, and 
F. Marshall, are thus still in Europe, whilst Dr. F. Guy 
Griffiths and Dr. Archie Lang McLean have left us for 
this purpose during the year, and Professor S. H. Barra- 
clough is in America. Dr. H. J. W. Brennand, Sir Alex- 
A—May 1, 1918. 
