A. LIVERSIDGE. 



recovered from the effects of the commercial depression which 

 took place a few years ago ; it is also doubtless due to the fact 

 that there are now several societies in Sydney for special subjects, 

 such as the Linnean Society of New South Wales, the Sydney 

 Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia, the 

 Branch of the British Medical Association, the New South 

 Wales Branch of the British Astronomical Association and 

 others, all of which have tended to withdraw members or prevent 

 new members from joining our Society; the Australasian Associ- 

 ation for the Advancement of Science has also probably been a 

 factor in bringing about the present reduction in our members, 

 hence we need not necessarily attribute it to a loss of interest in 

 Scientific matters on the part of the people of New South Wales. 



Still another reason may be, that the residents of Sydney are 

 now much scattered ; since the opening of the suburban tram 

 lines and the building of additional railways, miles of new suburbs 

 have grown up, and many of the streets conveniently near to the 

 Society's House, which a few years ago contained only private 

 houses, in which many of our members resided, are now, more or 

 less, occupied as professional offices and business premises ; hence 

 much larger numbers of the population live in the suburbs and as 

 many such find a difficulty in attending our meetings they are 

 deterred from joining the Society. On this account it may be 

 desirable that we should consider whether it would not be, better 

 to hold our meetings in the afternoon, as is done by some of the 

 more important societies in London on account of the very same 

 difficulty ; our members would then neither have to wait in town 

 until eight o'clock nor make a second tedious journey into Sydney 

 after perhaps a fatiguing day. 



A further reason, and one which has probably had a great 

 effect, is that the Society has of late years often omitted to give an 

 annual conversazione ; many besides our members are very much 

 interested in the scientific apparatus, natural history specimens, 

 inventions, etc., usually exhibited thereat ; I think that the 

 majority of our members much appreciate such evenings, and 



