ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 11 



The hall and staircase were decorated with ferns, palms, etc., 

 kindly supplied by the Director of the Botanic Gardens. About 

 one hundred and fifty guests were present • there were but few 

 exhibits, inasmuch as the principal object of the gathering was to 

 bring members and their friends together for a kindly chat and 

 smoke. 



Conversazione. — A Conversazione was held at the University, 

 on the 14th January, 1898, in honour of the meeting of the 

 Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 Upwards of seven hundred members and guests were present. 



Financial Position. — The Hon. Treasurer's Financial Statement 

 shows a balance of £42 2s. Id. carried forward, but against this 

 is an outstanding account of £64 15s., which leaves the Society 

 about £22 behind hand. In connection with this, however, it 

 will be noticed that the cost of printing and publishing the Society's 

 Journal for 1897 (Vol. xxxi.) viz., £384 7s. 6d. exceeds that of 

 the previous year by upwards of £50, and is the most expensive 

 volume yet issued, notwithstanding the fact that every possible 

 effort has been used to keep down the cost of illustrations. 



Library. — The amount expended on the Library during the 

 past year was £151 0s. lid., viz., £80 8s. 4d. for books and 

 periodicals, £58 2s. 7d. for binding, and £12 10s. for pine shelv- 

 ing. Amongst other works purchased to complete series, may be 

 mentioned the Transactions of the Ethnological Society. London, 

 Vols. i. - vii., and the Journal of the same Society, Vols, i., n. 



Exchanges. — Last year we exchanged our Journal with four 

 hundred and one kindred Societies, receiving in return two hundred 

 and forty-one volumes, one thousand four hundred and fifteen 

 parts, eighty-three reports, eighty-seven pamphlets, ten hydro- 

 graphic charts, a total of one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 

 nine publications. The following institution has been added to 

 the exchange list : — Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, U.S.A. 



Original Researches. — In response to the offer of the Society's 

 medal and grant of £25 for the best original paper on the follow- 

 ing subjects : — 



