OTAGO INSTITUTE.
Annual General Meeting. 7th February, 1876.
J. S. Webb, President, in the chair.
New Member.—Dr. R. Martin.
Abstract of Annual Report.
The Council can again congratulate the members on the continued progress of the Institute. During the past year ten general meetings have been held, which have been well attended. At these meetings 15 papers have been read by 12 different authors, all residents in the Province, four of whom are contributors for the first time. Of these papers, four relate to Zoology, two to Geology, two to Physics, and seven to Miscellaneous subjects.
Since the last annual meeting 67 new members have joined us, while one has died, and five have resigned: thus bringing our number up to 226 members. One member has become a life-member.
Several scientific periodicals are now taken, and are placed in the Library of the new Museum, where they are accessible to all members.
The balance-sheet allowed the receipts for the year (including a balance of £6 13s. 7d. from last year) to be £177 16s. 7d. The expenditure amounted to £152 17s. 1d., leaving a balance in the Treasurer's hands of £24 19s 6d.
Election of Officers for 1876.—President—R. Gillies; Vice-presidents—J. S. Webb, H. Skey; Council—W. N. Blair, C.E., A. Bathgate, Professor Coughtrey, M.D., J. McKerrow, G. M. Thomson, J. T. Thomson, F.R.G.S., P. Thomson; Auditor—A. D. Lubecki; Hon. Secretary and Treasurer—F. W. Hutton, F.G.S.
The retiring President read his
ANNUAL ADDRESS.
My first duty this evening is to tender my thanks to those of my fellow-members who, by their contributions of papers to our proceedings and by their animated discussion of the subjects of many of those papers, have made it proper for me to say that the session of the Institute during which it has been my privilege to preside over our meetings, has been more interesting and more important than any that has preceded it. The time of weakness and struggle is, I think, now past for the Otago Institute; and those who joined with me in its origination will readily understand the feeling of something like exultation which I have experienced whilst watching the course of the past session.
I see that it is becoming a custom with the Presidents of kindred Societies in New Zealand to use the opportunity of their retiring addresses for a review of the work of the preceding year. I shall gladly fall into this fashion, since other engagements disable me