PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 9 
views or to vote. Their duties would consist in ascertain- 
ing, from authoritative sources, and in assessing the scien- 
tific aspects, from all sides, of any question submitted or 
that should be submitted to Parliament, and of expressing 
these views to members. By their patents they would have 
all reasonable access to public and private sources of infor- 
mation and, in placing the truth before the House, would 
be untrammelled by political or other considerations. It 
is clear that especially able and capable men, with real 
scientific training, must be chosen, and must be paid 
suitably high salaries. Their whole time would be devoted 
to this work. By an appointment for five years, and beyond 
that, by two years’ notice of intended removal, endorsed 
by both Houses under two consecutive Parliaments, ade- 
quate protection would be given them in fulfilling their 
duties. The appointment of such commissioners would, I 
feel certain, result in great advantage, whilst the Parlia- 
ments adopting the measure would lead in an advance in 
our methods of legislation that would be quickly followed 
elsewhere. Parliaments that have a nominee Upper 
House, as that of this State, already have a ready means 
of obtaining the invaluable advantages to be derived from 
inclusion amongst their members of men of high scientific 
attainments. 
Science and Its Applications in Australia. 
For many years British scientists have been calling atten- 
tion to the urgent need for more scientific research and a 
greater utilisation of scientific knowledge throughout all 
walks of our national life. The British scientist is, on 
the whole, not a business man, his chief desire being the 
acquirement of knowledge for its own sake rather than for 
the purpose, purely and simply, of money-making. The 
business man, on the other hand, is essentially not scien- 
tific. Huis training has been purely commercial, except in 
