ASSOCIATION FOB THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7066, 19 January 1891, Page 3

ASSOCIATION FOB THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

To-day's Proceedings. SECTION j. — ENGINEERING. In this section (Mr Napier Bell, President), Mr J. P. Maxwell, M. Inst. C.E., read a paper on the working expenses of narrow-gauge railways with light traffic in New Zealand. He said that in New Zealand, with an eight hours' working day, high wages, very short distances for traffic to reach the ports, and very little return traffic, very different practice and results must be expected from those in Europe or America, with lower wages, longer working hours, dense population, and great traffic. To show the immense difference in conditions •— The New York Central Railway (1329 miles) and the New Zealand railways (1726 miles) showed the following figures - Tons moved a mile, New York 2,155,000,000, New Zealand 46,000,000 j average goods load, New York 177 tons, New Zealand 17 tonß ; average distance a ton is carried, New York 189 miles, New Zealand 28 miles ; passenger miles. New York 47^,000,000; Now Zealand, 56,030,000; average expenses per ton mile, New York, 0*26 pence; New Zealand, 2*14 pence ; average expenses per passenger mile, New York, 0 - Gl pence ; New Zealand, O*S6 pence. Many popular writers committed great errors in dealing with the subject through not being conversant with the varying practices and technicalities of working in different countries, and the different conditions under which results were obtained. A high cost per ton mile and per passenger mile waa unavoidable in New Zealand, where the traffic and population were insufficient to use the railways continuously. The New Zealand lines were not a fourth part used, trains in some place? ran only once or twice a week, the traffic being insufficient to justify more. The average paying to nonpaying load in New Zealand was only as one to two. Running very light loads with long standing between trains, made high expenses compared with carrying hundreds of tona hundreds of miles in continuous j ourneys. Th c terminal expenses on account of stations, trucks, engines, labour, &c, in New Zealand were just 2s per ton, not itself a high charge, but when averaged over so short an average haul aa 28 miles, it was a high charge per ton .per mile in comparison with a like charge on railways with seven times the average distance. New Zealand passenger traffic waa large for the population. The economies which had to be practised in New Zealand, where the population was so small.were unknown to English and American managers; high speeds, carriage warming, separation of traffic and many other luxuries and conveniences must be foregone when traffic wa9 light, i grades steep, curves severe, rails light [ and at least half the stations withoui i resident officers, on account of the insufficiency of the business to justify the cost ■ The cost of the replacing of iron rails witl . heavier steel rails; reconstruction ol improved types of carriage and waggot

storks; improvement of locomotive stocks, and renewal of structures in a more perj manent form was borne by working expenses, which thus appeared heavier than they otherwise would do. After giving details of the expenses and 1 conditions of the various sections of the New Zealand railways, Mr Maxwell said that there had been a gradual decrease in expenses for some years on all the railways, but the improvement was slow because of the continual extension of the lines into unsettled or pastoral and mountainous country almost devoid of population, which neutralized the economies and cheapening of transit, due to increased traffic elsewhere. To be financially successful lines must belccited, both as regarded tbe claBS of country t j be served andthe competition they had to face, so as to allow of a reasonable traffic being obtainable. Lines connecting ports at short intervals apart, Eerring only very limited areas of country, were not likely to be financially successful ; nor was any line entering a country which could not furnish traffic to give one train load a day. Railways in New Zealand had been passed on with a view to j give access to unsettled and undeveloped country rather than with the expectation | of any present direct profit. A practical ! cessation of railway building, until the Colony had largely increased it 3 population, would lead to a lower rate of expenses on the larger volume of traffic which would result. Mr E. Dobson. M. Inst. C.E., read a paper on the railway gauge as a factor in the profitable working of locomotive railways. He considered three gauges, the j 3ft Gin, or narrow, the 4ft BJ.n, or standard, and the sft 3in, or broad. He arrived at the conclusions that the supposed economy in construction from using the narrow gauge was a delusion ; that the use of tbe narrow gauge crippled the tractive power and 6peed of the engine, with the result that ihe reduction of train speed involved the employment of a larger amount of rolling stock, and a greater expenditure in wages on account or. the corresponding increase in the staff, than was requisite on the wider gauges for equal amounts of traffic ; that, while an increase of gauge above oft 3in was not followed by advantages commensurate with the additional cost, the comparative inefficiency of narrow gauge lineß made them unable, in many cases, to compete with other modeß of conducting traffic, and thuß led to a serious loss of revenue that might otherwise be derived from their establishment in a new country. Votes of thanks were passed to Messrs Maxwell and Dobson for their papers, and that of the latter gentleman was followed by an animated discussion. SSOTION C. — GEOLOGY, In the Geological Section Professor Ulrich read a paper on nephaline bearing rocks in the Dunedin district, stating that nephaline, which, as a rock-forming mineral, was very rare outside Europe, occurred in a series of structurally different rock varieties collected from over a large part of the area of the Duuedin district. A collection of specimens of the rocks was shown, together with a number of their sections and drawings illustrating the appearance of the rock varieties under the microscope. Mr James Park, of the New Zealand School of Mines, contributed a paper on the occurrence of some rare minerals in this Colony. The minerals enumerated were, cotermite — lead chloride ; nagyagite— a telluride and sulphide of lead, gold and Bilver, containing 60 per cent of lead, 1 of gold, and 15 of silver; petzite — a mineral containing 4*50 per cent of gold, and 275 per cent of silver; hexagonal aragonite; pearlspar; epßomite; and chalcanthite. SECTION F. — ECONOMIC SCIENCE. This section met at 11 a.m., when a paper on "Australian Political Achievements and Aspirations " was read by Mr E. Pariss Nesbit. The paper Baid that our political achievements had been animated by two strong and persistent desires, viz., to abolish all unjust privileges, and to utilise the wealth and power of the State for the common good of all. Let us by all means look back with pride on our achievements, but in looking forward our hopes should be checked by a reasonable fear. We were children still and were having a good time. The young Australian giant was basking in the sunshine, rolling about on tho grass and revelling in the free, fresh air, gazing in childish wonder at his enormous limbs and chuckling at the half-unexpected strength he finds in his thews and sinews. But be assured that there was work for him to do, good, hard, muscle-grinding work with, perhaps, a fight for his very life in the not far distant future. We saw, among the shadowsof coiningevents, agreat federation which would give birth to a new and mighty nation ; we saw the possibility of a labour struggle of unprecedented magnitude, we saw large probabilities of land nationalisation, or movements tending in that direction ; of intercolonial Freetrade, of female suffrage, of taxation upon a progressive principle designed to effect a more equitable distribution of wealth ; of arbitration by State and local Boards in industrial disputes ; of reform in the marriage laws, of checks upon legislation by means of the referendum, of laws for the amelioration rather than the punishment of criminals, of great social reforms without number. Waa it any wonder that with such destinies to mould as those which are committed to our charge, we felt some tremorsofchildhood mingling with the exultation of our youth ? And when to the civil and domestic difficulties with which we must inevitably contend was added the terrible possibility foreseen by Lord Wolseley, and other high authorities, of our being called upon to play our part in what might be the mightiest conflict the world had ever seen — ■ the death struggle between Mongolian and Caucasian ; the Australian giant must feel that life I might be made a very serious thing for him before he could exchange the bounding hope of boyhood for the steady strong assurance of a man. Reference was made to the subject of Federation, and the speaker expressed a hope that the coming independence of Australia would be followed by an alliance with the "United Kingdom, and eventually with the English speaking communities of America, for our race might then hope to impose the Pax Britannica upon the world. Extended reference was made to the questions of arbitration in tradeß disputes, and of land nationalisation, and in conclusion the speaker said that we Bhould not take long to realise the ideal of progress which was continually held up by some of our newspapers — an increase in the aggregate wealth of the nation without regard to the mode in which that wealth was distributed ; whether there were any rich men amongst us was a matter of very small moment, so long as there were no poor oneß. That was the happy state where no man, woman, or child felt the pang of hunger, or dreaded the gaunt spectre of poverty.

Mr Justice Denniston moved — " A vote of thanks to Mr Nesbit for his paper." He protested, however, against the term "drivelling" being applied to Professor Huxley in connection with hiß criticism of Henry George. Mr Meeson, in seconding the vote of thanks, criticised the paper at some length. The Hon G. W. Cotton, President of the section, made a few remarks, and then put the motion, which waa carried unanitoiufly. Mr Nesbit, in returning thanks, said that he had the greatest possible rf.pect for Professor Huxley, in his own department of science, but the Professor's criticism of Henry George waa characterised by arrogance, and even insolence, while it was manifest that the subject wbb one with which he was incompetent to deal. SECTION I. — LITBBATTJBB AND FINE ABTS. At eleven o'clock to-morrow morning a discussion will take place on the Presidential |»ddreßS, delivered last Thursday in Section I. by Mr R. H. Roe, M.A. It will be remembered that the question chiefly dealt with waß the relative importance of the classics and modern languages ac instrumentsof education. Many members of the Asarciation have expressed a wish to have the discussion on Mr Roe's papei re-opened, and an interesting meeting maj be anticipated in thiß section.

I SECTION B. — CHEMISTRY. I The meeting in this section was por*l poned till to-morrow, when several pipei will be read by Professor Bickerton. SECTION H. — SANITARY SCIENCE. I At the meeting of this section thi morning, a paper was read by Dr d Zouche on " Begistration of -Urease." 11 urged the official registration of disease oi scientific and practical grounds, point ing out the value of a State recon with all the surrouuding circumttances o the outbreak, i.e., locality, temperature rainfall, sewage, and ventilation, iv deal ing with subsequent epidemics. NotiSca tion should be made to the Health Officer so that preventive measures could be taken Publio attention should be called to thi presence of infectious disease by registra tion and publication, and compensitioi should be given for the loss of busi ness arising through the registra^ tion of a house in which zymotk diseases occur. The registration oi architects and builders was urged, and the necessity pointed out for their being qualified in hygiene. He referred to tht laws of various countries on the subject, and showed that there had been a decline of 45 per cent in the mortally from typhoid during the last ten years, owing to improved sanitary measures. The Public Health Act of New Zealand was defective, owing to its permissive character and to the non-appointment of medical officers of health. There were many scientific questions which could be settled by the registration of disease. At two o'clock a paper prepared by Dr Nedwil! and Mr Cuthbert on "The Sewerage Arrangements of Christchurch " was read. The paper pointed out that before the drainage works were undertaken the subsoil water was generally to be found within from two to three feet of the surface, while in some places it frequently covered the land. The district was then very unhealthy ; slop water saturated the ground, cesspits were numerous, and the almost uninterrupted flow of many artesian wells had a considerable influence in making the district waterlogged. In 1875, when the population was only 10,611, there were 49 deaths from typhoid and 21 from phthisis, while the mortality among infants under a year amounted to 18t*2 per thousand, the general death rate being 30*4. In 1889 the district had been transformed! into one that was exceedingly healthy. Thegeneral death rate was only 977, and, though the population had increased to 16,785, the deaths recorded from fever were only 5, and from phthisis 8. It was regretted that there were no statistics aB regarded the suburbs, but there was no doubt that they had participated in the improvement noticeable in the city. A long description of the sewage works followed. At the conclusion of the reading of the paper, the members of the Section and others paid a visit of inspection to the pumping station and sewage works, 6KCTION D. — BIOLOGY. Mr T. Kirk, F.L.S., Wellington, presided at the meeting of this section at 11 a.m. Baron von Mueller made a verbal report on behalf of the Committee on the fertilisation of the fig in the Australasian Colonieß, where fifty varieties of the tree are to be found. He said that the question was one for deep research, but, from a variety of causes, the Committee had been unable to go into it properly. He made some suggestions as to the course to be adopted. A Committee, consisting of Professors A. P. Thomas, W. A. Haswell, E. Tate, Baron von Mueller, Messrs F. A. Skuse, T. Kirk, T. F. Cheeseman, Olive, Bailey, Simpson and French (Secretary) waß appointed to continue the investigations into the subject. Mr Dixon, of Adelaide, read Mr A. F. Kobin6' paper on the systematic training of juvenile naturalists, with some details of the organisation and work of the Boys' Field Club, at Adelaide. Biron von Mueller took the opportunity of thanking the members of the Association, and especially the local Secretary, Professor Hutton, for the courtesy and kindness which had been shown to him during his visit to Christchurch . BKCTION G. — ANTHROPOLOGY. Mr E. Tregear, Vice-President of the Section, occupied the chair, and real a paper on Old Stories of Polynesia, dealing with various legends among the inhnbitantß of the Pacific Islands with reference to a deluge. The Rev J. W. Stack expressed thanks to Mr Tregear for his paper, and approved of the views given therein. Mr A, Hamilton read a paper prepared by Mr E. C. Harding, on Graphic Symbols. The writer Rnimadveited on the very large number of signs, in addition to the ordinary alphabet, which are used in every day writing, and pointed out that there was, nevertheless, a want of certain signs required for astronomical work.