228 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
[July 
Although the New Zealand Institute has been in existence for over fifty 
years, and meetings of members of the incorporated societies have been 
held regularly, no general meeting of the members of the Institute as a whole 
has hitherto been held. Provision for such meetings exists in a clause in 
the New Zealand Institute Act, 1908, a clause inserted on the suggestion 
of the late Captain F. W. Hutton, and proposals to hold them have been 
made from time to time, but they have hitherto proved ineffective. 
The present meetings arose out of proposals for the reform of the New 
Zealand Institute made by Dr. J. Allan Thomson in 1917 to the Board of 
Governors and subsequently discussed by the several incorporated societies. 
In a memorandum accompanying his proposals Dr. Thomson wrote : “In 
its relation to the public the New Zealand Institute should, but does not, 
hold a position analogous to that of the British Association for the Advance¬ 
ment of Science, the body which most keeps the public in touch with science, 
and from which most of the improvements in the State attitude to science 
have had their origin. The Australasian Institute for the Advancement of 
Science meets too seldom in New Zealand to be effective in this direction.” 
One of the proposed reforms was a statutory obligation to hold not less 
than six public meetings in the year, which it was anticipated would lead 
to the holding of a week of meetings annually in one of the principal towns 
of the Dominion, where a programme similar to that of the British Associa¬ 
tion would be carried out, and public attention would be strongly drawn 
to the progress of science. 
The proposals for reform of the Institute did not meet with the 
unanimous support of the incorporated societies, but the proposal to hold 
a week of meetings was generally supported, and the Philosophical Institute 
of Canterbury invited the members of the Institute to meet in Christchurch 
in the autumn of 1919. This invitation was accepted by the Board of 
Governors in January, 1918, and so the first purely New Zealand Science 
Congress came into being. 
It was originally decided that the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury 
should undertake the local arrangements, while the Standing Committee 
should be responsible for the programme of lectures, papers, and other 
matters connected with the meeting. Owing to the absence through illness 
and other causes of several members of the Standing Committee towards 
the end of 1918, the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury was asked in 
November to take over the whole of the preparations necessary for the 
meetings. In spite of great difficulties caused by the influenza epidemic, 
and the postponement of the University examinations, the Philosophical 
Institute of Canterbury persevered with this accepted task, and the great 
success which attended the Congress is due primarily to the energy of the 
Canterbury society. It is making no invidious distinction to name especially 
in this connection Professor C. Chilton, C.M.Z.S., and Mr. W. Martin. But 
for the resolution and capacity for work displayed by these gentlemen the 
meeting must inevitably have been postponed and perhaps abandoned 
altogether. 
Previous to the influenza epidemic the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr. H. 
Holland, had convened a public meeting of the citizens of Christchurch to 
arrange for the suitable reception of the visiting members and for other 
local arrangements. At a subsequent meeting a Hospitality Committee 
(chairman, Sir John Denniston), an Excursions Committee (chairman, Mr. 
E. F. Stead), and a Finance Committee (chairman, Mr. A. Kaye) were set 
up. The use of the buildings of Canterbury College was granted by the 
Board of Governors and the Professorial Board of the College. Many offers 
of hospitality were received from Christchurch citizens and were passed 
on to intending visitors. An excellent and well-illustrated handbook 
