74 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
and expenditure submitted by the Treasurer, it appeared that there 
was a credit balance of £75 15s in the bank. 
The report and balance-sheet were adopted, and the following 
gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing year, the names 
having been submitted to the meeting by the Council :—President, 
‘Mr. W.T. L. Travers, F.R.S.; Vice-Presidents, Hon. J. R. Johnson 
and Dr. Buller, C.M G., F R.S.; Council—Dr. Newman, J. P. Max- 
well, N. Govett, M. Chapman, Dr. Hector, L. H. Cox, T. King; 
Secretary and Treasurer—R. B. Gore; Auditor—Oliver Wake- 
field ; Librarian—T. W. Kirk. 
The President stated that the substitution of Mr. Wakefield 
for Mr, Ballantyne, as auditor, was in consequence of Mr. Ballan- 
tyne having resigned. 
A vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Ballantyne for his services 
as auditor to the Society. 
Dr. Hector said it was usual for the Presidents during some 
portion of their tenure of office to address the Society upon its 
general work, or upon some special subject. The last two Presi- 
dents had each delivered a more complete address than he could 
hope to make to them that evening, for he had been taken by 
surprise by the early date of the meeting; but at the same time 
there were some remarks he would like to make before they 
proceeded to the business of the ordinary meeting. He thought, 
from the report just read, that the Society might be congratulated 
upon the work done during the past year. It had not been brilliant 
work, and they had missed the lectures of previous years on special 
subjects interesting and instructive. This had been the case 
chiefly because the hall had been required for other purposes, and 
their meetings could not be held regularly. It was also a difficult 
matter to get good lecturers. He trusted before next year that 
one of the great drawbacks to making these lectures attractive 
would be removed, and that the lime-light apparatus would be 
ready. Everything was now almost completed, so that in a very 
short time it would be possible to make the illustrations of the 
lectures visible to all present. Great improvements had been 
effected in the Library arrangements, and Mr. Kirk had been 
appointed Librarian, and would be responsible for the books of 
the Society. They had now a really very excellent library of 5000 
volumes, and the catalogue was available in manuscript for the 
use of members. In connection with the Museum, it had always 
seemed to him to be a great drawback that there had not been 
more scope given for rendering the large collection and library 
more available for the purposes of direct tuition, but he might say 
that arrangements were now in course of formation by which 
lectures would be carried on in connection with the College. 
Collegians who desired to study these subjects would, under the 
arrangements he contemplated being given effect to, be able to 
attend classes at the Museum and Library, which would be con- 
ducted by competent persons. He hoped these classes might be 
open to members of the Society, and to such of the general public 
as desired such a course of study. With reference to the work of 
the past year, it had been chiefly the reading of papers. This 
kind of work required the co-operation of members residing in 
different parts of the Colony, in order that the results might be 
useful. In this connection he might particularly refer to the paper . 
