ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 23 
One of the main objects of the Association is gradually developing, 
arid that is the formation of committees for the investigation of 
scientific questions. Reports of such committees in England are 
amine of invaluable information on a great number of subjects, 
and our committees are trying to follow such a useful example. I 
will only refer to one of them, and I select one that has already 
succeeded in federating the effort to study earthquakes and kindred 
phenomena in all the Colonies. A most satisfactory report was 
brought up from this committee at the Hobart meeting, pointing 
clearly to certain well marked points from which earth tremors 
originate. One of the best defined is in Cook’s Straits, and another 
due east of the northern part of Tasmania. A method of observing 
and recording earthquakes has been agreed upon, and the same form 
of question and record paper has been distributed. In this way 
all the phenomena will be traced over a large area. The active 
secretary of this committee, Mr. Hogben of Timaru, New Zealand 
has done much to help forward the work of this section. Other 
committees are working at their own subjects, and in this way 
much important scientific work is being accomplished, and the 
reports will become a mine of scientific wealth. 
The Deputy Master of the Mint has kindly given me some most 
interesting data. During the past year 142,470 ounces of gold, 
the produce of New South Wales, and of the value of £518,249 
were received at the Mint for coinage. This is more than was 
brought in in any year since 1881, when the amount was 145,478 
ounces. A gradual decrease then set in up to 1888, when the 
receipts were only 82,891 ounces, which is the lowest year’s pro- 
duction on record. The total quantity of gold raised in the 
Colony to the end of 1891 is estimated at 10,328,665 ounces, of 
the value of £38,219,327, which for the past forty-one years gives 
an annual average of 251,918 ounces. This is far above our 
present production, but it is to be hoped that the rapid recovery 
during the last three years will be maintained. The total quantity 
of gold from all the Australasian Colonies received at the Mint 
in 1891 was 782,804 ounces, value £2,800,803, which is consider- 
