6 
or inspire th6 energies of the tardy in this 
great work ; when the man of trained intellect 
shall seek to refute the fallacies of those who 
decry intellectual cultivation as a something 
inconsistent with practical ability ; either will 
find in the address lately delivered by His 
Excellency at Ipswich an armoury of topics 
and arguments, and, better still, will be able to 
point their lesson with the practical illustration 
furnished by the career of Sie Geoege Eee- 
GUSON BOWEK. 
The Council has paid its tribute to the 
memory of Dr. Baeton and of Mr. Austin. 
The record of, as it were, the dying 
words of the latter on our proceedings 
ought not to remaiu unstudied. His paper 
on the Anglo-Australian Telegraph is 
important in a scientific point of view, in its 
relation to the welfare and prosperity of Queens- 
land and Australia in general, and, moreover, 
in respect of the illustration which it affords of 
the imimate nature of the union which subsists 
between the theoretical and practical. The 
labour of the experimenters, and the studies of 
the sages, are not the mere diversions which 
some would represent them to be. Without 
them Austin would not have been able to 
unveil the prospect of communications to be 
had with England in sixteen days — days capable, 
when telegraphic communication is established 
between Egypt or Asiatic Turkey and India, 
of being reduced to hours. “ By availing her- 
self of the circumstances within her reach,” 
says Austin, “ Queensland may hereafter be- 
come one of the greatest of the Australian 
colonies in prosperity, wealth and influence.” 
On such an audience as that which I have 
the honour of addressing, I need not enforce 
the importance of all knowledge, of every de- 
scription of mental cultivation. But when, as we 
peruse Austin’s paper, we reflect that man, 
using a wire a3 a speaking trumpet and the 
subtle agencies of nature as breath, can transmit 
from one end of the earth to the other, and 
with almost incredible speed, the expression of 
his hopes, wants, and sympathies, of his com- 
mercial exigencies and his political require- 
ments, a feeling of gratitude, as well as of 
admiration, ought to animate us with regard to 
those who have contributed to such achieve- 
ments. Let us, however, be cautious lest we 
allow results like these to induce us to demand 
in all cases some immediate practical deduction 
from scientific labours. Such a deduction it 
may not be possible in all cases to give, and 
yet the labours may be practically valuable. 
The conical pendulum was a speculation 
in the bands of Huygens, but it 
was applied by Watt to the construction 
of the “governor” of the steam-engine. 
Albert Girard’s theorem for the spherical excess 
was with him a speculation, but General Roy 
at Dalby’s suggestion successfully applied it 
during the great trigonometrical survey of 
England or Great Britain. In the time of 
Kepler and Newton the properties of the 
ellipse and parabola, known as far back as the 
days of Apollonius, were seen to be necessary 
for astronomical purposes. “The time is 
coming,” says De Morgan, “ when really learned 
men will again be ashamed of not seeing the 
value of all the uses of mind : when nothing 
but thoughtlessness or impudence, mercurial 
brain or brazen forehead, will aver that no 
knowledge is practical, except that which ends 
in the use of material instruments.” 
The mission of such a Society as ours is to 
promote the spread of knowledge of all kinds. 
And this may, and I trust will, be done in two 
ways : first, by the direct contributions of its 
members to the body of knowledge ; secondly, 
by suggesting or fostering plans for the diffusion 
of knowledge as it exists. That it will not be 
wanting in the first the papers of Mr. Rawnsley, 
of Mr. Tiffin and of Mr. Diggles, mentioned in 
the report, afford an earnest of. Nor will it be 
found wanting in the second : for steps have 
been taken by the Society which will probably 
contribute efficiently to the establishment of a 
Public Library and Museum. 
That such establishments are desirable few, 
probably, would be disposed to dispute. But, 
it may be asked, would their utility be such as 
to justify the expenditure which would be 
incurred, regard being had to the circumstances 
of the colony ? I am in a condition to answer 
this query not merely by general arguments 
(for which I have now no time to seek), but by 
an appeal to experience. One of the greatest 
men who has yet appeared in this part of the 
world, a man of whom Victoria may well 
be proud, the Chancellor of her Uni- 
versity, and the friend and patron of aught 
that can promote her progress, has favoured 
Mr. Bliss with important information respect- 
ing the Melbourne Library. The letter con- 
taining it will, I trust, be published in its 
entirety. It embraces matters of detail that 
will be found invaluable when the projected 
institution is approaching accomplishment. 
But the portion of it which more immediately 
concerns us this evening is the statement that, 
“ experience has abundantly proved that there 
is no greater mistake than to undervalue the 
degree of intelligence possessed, and education 
attained by the people of this country (as well 
as those adjacent) and their ability to appre- 
ciate what expands and invigorates their 
intellectual powers.” Couple this statement 
with a fact which appears among others in the 
margin of the letter, viz., that there were up- 
wards of two hundred thousand visitors to the 
Melbourne Library in 1862, and we shall be 
able to surmise whether a Library and Museum 
would not be esteemed a boon at Brisbane. I 
care not whether the above number signifies 
the number of visits or that of visitors. It 
sufficiently appears that the institution is one 
of public value. The letter recommends that a 
piece of land of the size of four or six acres 
should be reserved for the like purpose at 
| Brisbane. I have dwelt upon this letter be- 
