MORITURAS TE SALUTAT. 595 
later on this is not the cause of its now coming to an end. An 
analysis of the total number of subscribers shows that their 
distribution was as follows:— 
Otago and Southland us ee me 34 per cent. 
Canterbury iM af, a i 14 ef 
Wellington Ge ed we oe 14 + 
Auckland i ae i” Sus 112 SORES 
Hawke’s Bay _... - -. a 8 ae 
Rest of New Zealand 25; bp sh 6 ,; 
Australia nn. eas oe, Pc 7 3 
The remaining three per cent. were in EKurope. The fact of such a 
relatively large proportion of the subscribers being in Otago means 
simply that many persons took the Journal because it was a local 
publication. The uniformity of the numbers from other provincial 
districts is a singular coincidence, but nothing else. A fair measure 
of the support accorded to such a periodical may be obtained by 
referring to our reports of the meetings of societies. Publicity is a 
large element in the life of societies, whether they be scientific or not, 
and it shows the estimation in which such publicity is held, when 
bodies like the Linnean and Royal Societies of New South Wales 
and the Royal Society of Tasmania regularly sent notices of their 
meetings. ‘These societies are all doing active work and take care to 
let the scientific world know the fact. Among the scientific societies 
of this colony we have to regret that the Wellington and Auckland 
Institutes have not taken as full advantage of these columns as they 
might have done. The advantage would have been all on their own 
side, and they were heartily welcome to it. 
The cause of discontinuance of the Journal is certainly to be 
reerctted, and is not very creditable to a certain section of the 
subscribers. The periodical has been more than paying its way 
on paper, but as a matter of fact has not proved a financial success. 
Considering the enlightened class of readers for whom it was 
intended, very little margin was left for non-payers; unfortunately a 
very large margin has been required. And as only one individual 
has all along guaranteed the publishers against loss, itis hardly to 
be expected that he will continue this guarantee in the face of such a 
result. In considering this matter, we were at first inclined to 
attribute the reluctance displayed by the section of our subscribers 
referred to in meeting this liability, to the innate depravity of New 
Zealanders asacommunity. <A glance at the annals of our Bankruptcy 
Courts shows that mewm and tuwm are convertible terms in the minds 
of a large number of people, and rashly judging by this low standard, 
we were inclined to think very hardly of our non-paying subscribers 
as a kind of exceptional race. We said in our haste “all men are 
hars.’”’ But Herbert Spencer has completely reassured our minds. 
In the notes appended to his “Study of Sociology” (p. ) he gives. 
an account of a serial publication “limited in its circulation to the 
well-educated” which was issued periodically to its subscribers, 
“from each of whom a small sum was due for every four numbers.” 
In course of time several of these subscribers fell into arrears, and 
after various attempts to extract payment out of them, an analysis 
was made of the hardened offenders who had succeeded in totally 
evading their claims. For instance we find in this analysis that of 
the clergy who had subscribed, no less than 31 per cent. finally 
