THE QUESTION OF THE INTERN. PROT. OF BIRDS COMES TO HUNGARY 69 
the first International Ornitliological Congress had busied 
itseif most expressly with the question: consequently it goes 
without saying that the question in point could not be ignored 
at Budapest, Thus the question of the international protection 
of birds came direct to Hungary, v/hose government, as we 
know, had already, on more than one occasion, taken an 
active interest in the sam.e. 
The question of the international protection of birds 
conies to Hungary. 
The Second International Ornithological Congress, to be 
held at Budapest, was also organised and should have been 
held under the auspices of H. I. R. H. the Archduke Rudolf, 
heir to the thrones of Hungary and Austria. The organisation 
and preparation should naturally have been the work of the 
PIOC, especially the scientific part of the same: as for the 
question of the international protection of birds, its duty was 
to elaborate and then present the concrete proposals accord- 
ing to the unanimous instructions given by the first Con- 
gress. 
Consequently all the Hungarians had to do was to take 
the particular local measures suitable to the occasion, in- 
cluding the scientific contributions which Hungarian experts 
and societies were ready to supply for the occasion. 
The organisation was undertaken by the Royal Hungarian 
Ministry of Public Instruction in conjunction with the Royal 
Hung. Ministry of Agriculture. The initiative in organisation, 
however, undoubtedly belonged to the PIOC, which had 
received powers for that purpose from the first Congress, its 
creator. The said Committee was presided over by Dr. Rudolf 
Blasius, Professor at Brunswick, the celebrated ornithologist ; 
the Secretary's office, however, was at Vienna, the Secretary 
