1919.] 
New Zealand Institute Science Congress. 
227 
taking full advantage of the invitations to inspect local industries which 
were so freely offered. 
Visitors to the Congress commented upon the earnestness which marked 
the meetings. The occasion was not regarded as a holiday, but as an 
opportunity to learn and to discuss. Nevertheless, the lighter side was not 
neglected, and the afternoon programme of excursions and garden party 
relieved the strain of the meetings and was greatly enjoyed by-those taking- 
part. 
An encouraging feature of the Congress was the part taken by women 
both in the reading of papers and in the discussions. Science as a career 
has not as yet been seriously considered by the womanhood of the Dominion, 
although for many kinds of work the psychological equipment of woman 
is superior to that of man. 
The wish was generally expressed by the unofficial visitors that the 
congresses should be held annually. In view of the immense amount of 
toil involved in working up such a gathering, and of the fact that the papers 
presented represented in many cases the fruit of several years’ work, the 
Board of Governors decided that for the present a two-years interval 
between congresses was desirable, and that the next should be held in 
1921. This course has the advantage that it will not clash with the meeting 
of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, in Hobart, 
in 1920.* Probably Palmerston North will be selected as the meeting-place 
for the next New Zealand Congress. It is hoped that a date can be selected 
which will allow of an attendance of secondary - school as well as of 
University teachers. 
INCEPTION OF THE CONGRESS. 
The Science Congress was formally a general meeting of members of 
the New Zealand Institute. For the information of our foreign readers 
it will not be out of place to explain in some detail the constitution of that 
body, which occupies a perhaps unique position amongst the scientific 
societies of the Empire. It is a statutory body, receiving Government aid, 
and incorporated under an Act of Parliament. 
The New Zealand Institute consists of a number of incorporated societies 
—viz., the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the 
Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, the Otago Institute, the Hawke’s 
Bay Philosophical Institute, the Poverty Bay Institute, the Manawatu 
Philosophical Society, the Wanganui Philosophical Society, and the Nelson 
Institute. The members of these societies are ipso facto the members 
of the New Zealand Institute. The management of the Institute is vested 
in a Board of Governors representative of the incorporated societies and of 
the Government, and this Board meets annually in Wellington in the month 
of January. The current business of the Institute is transacted by a Stand¬ 
ing Committee consisting of those members of the Board of Governors who 
reside or are temporarily in Wellington. The main business of this com¬ 
mittee and of the Board of Governors consists in the publication of the 
annual volume of Transactions and Proceedings, the maintenance of a scientific 
library (which is housed in the Dominion Museum), the award of certain 
honours and distinctions in the gift of the Institute, and the making of 
representations to the Government on matters of public interest involving 
scientific considerations. 
* We regret to learn that the Australasian meeting has now been postponed until 
February, 1921. 
