PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 27 



Gilruth has been offered and has accepted the post of 

 Administrator of the Northern Territory, and he has just 

 arrived at Darwin. 



Scientific men throughout Australia, and I confidently 

 include members of this Society, will applaud this action 

 of the Government. It removes a working scientific man, 

 one of ourselves, from the seat of his activity, and declares 

 that lie is not debarred from high administrative work 

 because he is a scientific man. In other words, his appoint- 

 ment is a compliment to Australian science. He can now, 

 from the very nature of things, have but little time to 

 specialise in the scientific work in which he has won his 

 spurs, but we know that, while carrying out his onerous 

 and multifarious duties, bis acts will be judicially influenced 

 by the knowledge and sympathy of the scientific man. The 

 collection of specimens and the making of observations he 

 will have to largely leave to others, but in the newest of 

 Australian countries, we shall feel that we have a sympa- 

 thetic Administrator who has, as we think, the enormous 

 advantage of scientific knowledge. His science and 

 scientific sympathy will be brought out in various ways for 

 the advantage of the Territory, — in what ways, we cannot 

 say ; it is his function, as the man on the spot, to ascertain, 

 and we will not importune him. 



The Department of External Affairs, Melbourne has 

 commenced the issue of a Bulletin of the Northern Terri- 

 tory, 4to, illustrated. Bulletin No. 1, March 1912, is 

 entitled "Report of (the) Preliminary Scientific Expedition 

 to the Northern Territory, (by various authors). Bulletin 

 No. 2, April 1912, is entitled "An introduction to the Study 

 of certain Native Tribes of the Northern Territory,"( by 

 Professor Baldwin Spencer). 



