14 A. LIVERSIDGE. 



Academy's House should be reserved, as well as for Museums, 

 Libraries, Art Galleries, and for other educational and scientific 

 institutions, and for a Federal University ; although the Academy 

 might be organised upon somewhat similar lines to the Continental 

 Academies, the members should certainly not receive a salary, as 

 they do in some cases in Europe, but just as the English Govern- 

 ment applies to the Royal Society of London for advice and 

 assistance in certain matters, which is always given gratuitously, 

 so the Federal Government might receive the benefit of the 

 deliberations of the Australian Academy upon similar matters. 



The chief difference between this proposed organisation and 

 the existing Royal Societies in the various Australian States 

 would be its federal character, and that its members would be 

 elected only after having given proof, by original thought or work, 

 of their fitness for membership. 



A National Academy would, I think, be of great benefit to 

 Australia, not only by its general usefulness, but the hope of 

 election to it in the future would be a great stimulus to the 

 younger scientific men ; further, it would also bring together the 

 best intellect of all the States for more systematic consideration 

 and discussion of matters than is possible at the meetings of the 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 



International Association of Academies. — In connection with 

 this I may mention that an international Association of European 

 Academies has recently been formed. A preliminary meeting was 

 held in Wiesbaden in 1S99, and another of the Council was held 

 in Paris in July, 1900, at which the Royal Society of London 

 was represented. 



It was understood at the Wiesbaden meeting of the Association 

 in 1899 that no Society devoted to one subject, or to a limited 

 range of subjects, could be regarded as an " Academy " and 

 admitted to the Association, unless its scope included both scien- 

 tific and literary subjects ; such a society might, however, be 

 admitted to either the scientific or literary section of the Associ- 

 ation. 



