PROCEEDINGS OP TlIB VICTORIA INSTITUTE. 
337 
not move. Prince Bismarck invented a telegram : “The enemy 
have invaded German territory ; no hesitation any longer posd- 
ble/’ Wurtemburg accepted that telegram as true, and marched 
with the rest of Germany against France. The telegram was 
not true, but the result was the united Germany of the present 
day. Well, we have not forced he war, nr, at, ail events what- 
ever may have occurred before, Me i oers have, invaded Natal, 
action has commenced, and every Ih-irisher must watch events in 
silence and pray for the success of the mother country 
W hat remains ? All I can do is to impress upon y<>u what 
the meaning of the Institute is, and how truly. i i the sense of 
the unity which is so essential tc> Trinidad’s advancement, you 
should, one and all, in whatever class and position you may be, 
join with us in the effort which is being made for the education 
of the people. Wlmt are the objects of the Society? They 
have been very clearly put forward in the proceedings of the 
Victoria Institute for the year 1894. They are the collection 
and diffusion of information on agricultural, commercial and 
scientific subjects. Now, has tin's Society done what it intended ? 
That is the question So far as agriculture is concerned, we 
have had lectures on TriniJ i 1 as an agricultural Colony, by Mr. 
de Verteuil ; on the care of horses, by Mr Pngson ; on the 
resources of Trinidad, by Mr. Bert ; on the cultivation of cocoa, by 
Mr. Hart. Lectures have been given upon everything that this 
colony can produce, and every hint lias been given to the colony 
that can possibly be called valuable, lurning to the commercial 
interest, we have had a lecture on Trinid.nl as a Commercial 
centre, by the Collector of Custom*, and although the Collector 
of Customs is one of my officers, I am glad of this opport unity to 
say, that he is one of the most conscientious and- active workers 
that this Colony possesses. You have also had a remarkable lecture 
upon harbour works. It is true that it referred only to Poi t-of- 
fclpain, but as long as Port -of-'* pain is the capital, it is the centre 
towards which everything must converge. You have had other 
lectures of similar character, setting f..|th views which, if not 
here to listen to them, you may read in the Proceedings of the 
►Society. The Society has not only been true to itself, but it 
has been loyal and true to its antecedents. It undertook to do 
the work of the Scientific Ass. elation — an Association whieji 
should not he forgotten. Ten or eleven scientific men, in 18**6 
or before that date, under the guidance of a man who. I am 
happy to say, is on the Committee of this Institute even now — 
Mr. Guppy — devoted themselves to scientific work and were so 
modest that they would not allow the whole of their proceedings 
to be published in book form. That was a mistake which I 
trust will not be followed by this Institute. The only point 
