EARLY TRANSACTIONS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 259, 29 July 1937, Page 15

EARLY TRANSACTIONS

Wellington Philosophical Society An interesting account of the early history of the Wellington Philosophical Society, by Professor Kirk, was the main item of the society’s transactions at a meeting in the Dominion Museum last night. Professor Kirk mentioned that the society was already in its sixteenth year when he became a member. In 1851 a New Zealand Philosophical Society was formed, with the Governor, Sir George Grey, as chairman. It experienced ups and downs, and a meeting in 1866 decided to reconstitute it as the Wellington Philosophical .Society. Some of the subjects mentioned in a circular as suitable for information were the history, mythology, and ethnology of the Maori race; fisheries, extraordinary meteorological phenomena; rare plants, minerals, and animals. Later the scope was extended to include literature, "engineering, and certain other subjects. Among the difficulties experienced was one referred to in an early report stating that the governors regretted that two papers could not be printed because of the lack of type for certain algebraic formula. Many wellknown New Zealand authorities were mentioned by the lecturer as having appeared before the society, among them Dr. Buller, author of the famous book on birds. The volumes of transactions showed that the society continued a vigorous existence. The earliest paper remembered by the lecturer himself was one on “Does Morality Depend on Free Will?” which showed the society did not confine itself to purely technical subjects. Mr. J. C. Crawford, owner of the Miramar pepinsula, was an authoritative lecturer of the day. Professor Kirk recalled a- paper read in 1884 by Sir James Hector, on ‘‘Tidal Disturbances,” in which he advanced the theory, later found to be cor rect, that the disturbances in Wellington Harbour on the previous day were caused by the eruption of the island of Krakatoa. A humorous extract from an early paper on earthquakes, by Sir James Milne, was quoted by the lecturer in conclusion. Sir James, he' said, called the attention of his hearers to the danger of projections on buildings, mentioning the cornices on the then new Government Printing Office. “However,” remarked Sir Janies Milne, “this building is so ugly that even an earthquake might not deign to touch it.”