Presidential Address. 
BY DR. TRATMAN. 
(. Delivered June 14th, igio.) 
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
The year during which I have had the honour of being 
President of the Natural History and Science Society of Western 
Australia has been one in which its characteristics and aims have 
been a great deal altered and enlarged. This alteration is ex- 
pressed by its name, which was finally chosen after many other 
suggestions had been discussed at the meeting at which the new 
rules, drawn up by the Council, were passed. This change has 
proved to be an exceedingly wise one, having greatly increased 
the interest of members, brought in a stream of new ones, widened 
the outlook and generally raised the scientific tone of our meetings. 
We look forward to the time when we shall still further 
expand and become a Royal Society. At this place 1 wish to 
point out that the work of the Council during this session has 
been by no means light. The preparation of the rules, which 
are adopted, and the bye-laws, for which the Council are re- 
sponsible ; the business in regard to < >ur removal from the Museum, 
the work in connection with our library and collections, and a 
hundred other matters, have necessitated very frequent meetings, 
and a great deal of personal work by some of the members, who 
have given up many evenings and worked hard to get things 
into order. 1 wish to record my great thanks to the members 
of the Council, who have one and all worked hard and truly in the 
interest of the Society and its work. Some members may possibly 
have noticed the absence from our meetings of the tea and cake. 
This was necessary from financial considerations, otherwise it 
would have been a pleasant way of terminating our meetings. 
Although the social side of life is with us a secondary consideration, 
it should, I think, be cultivated as far as is compatible with the 
work for which we exist. 
However innocent we may look, I believe I should not be 
far wrong in saying that we all like cake, and those members 
who have been good enough to produce it for us at the psjmho- 
logical moment, as happened, for instance, last Saturday, must 
almost have felt the silent blessings which were rising all aronud 
them. I think it likely that some kind of semi-public gathering 
of a social character held once a year might make our work better 
known and bring us in more members. 
