ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. XXXvii, 



ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS, NOVEMBER 7, 1900. 



The General Monthly Meeting of the Society was held at the 

 Society's House, No. 5 Elizabeth-street North, on Wednesday 

 evening, November 7th, 1900. 



The President, Prof. Liversidge, m.a., ll.d., f.r.s., in the Chair. 



Thirty members were present. 



The minutes of the preceding meeting were read and confirmed. 



Messrs. R. T. Baker and W. R. George were appointed 

 Scrutineers, and Dr. H. G. A. Wright deputed to preside at the 

 Ballot Box. 



The certificates of three candidates were read for the third time, 

 and of two for the first time. 



The following gentlemen were duly elected ordinary members 

 of the Society :— - 



Bale, Ernest, Civil Engineer, Public Works Department. 

 Hawkins, William Edward, Solicitor, 88 Pitt-street. 

 MacTaggart, Archibald H., Doctor of Dental Surgery, Phil. 

 U.S.A., King and Phillip-streets. 



THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE READ : 



1. "Current Papers, No. 5," by H. C. Russell, b.a., c.m.g., f.r.s. 



This paper includes the records of one hundred and eight cur- 

 rent papers collected during the past thirteen months. The total 

 number of papers recorded in the whole series is now six hundred 

 and two; these have been published in the Royal Society's Pro- 

 ceedings. At this stage it is worth while to see what important 

 results have been attained. Beginning then in the Indian Ocean 

 it is found that north of the Equator current papers drift to the 

 eastward, but the number of papers found is too small to deter- 

 mine the rate of drift. From the Equator to latitude 10° south, 

 current papers drift easterly on to equatorial Africa ; five papers 

 in this area made an average drift of 13 '3 miles per day. Taking 

 the next section, that is, from 10° south to 23° south, the average 

 daily rate derived from eleven papers is 16*5 miles. From 23° 



