Presidential Address. The following is the presidential address delivered at the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the New Zealand Institute, at Wellington, on the 30th January, 1920, by Dr. L. Cockayne, F.R.S.:— Gentlemen of the Board of Governors of the New Zealand Institute,—First of all it is my sorrowful duty to record the great loss which the New Zealand Institute has experienced since our annual meeting last year through the death of two of our foremost members—Major T. Broun and Mr. T. W. Adams. A full account of Major Broun's scientific activity will appear in the next volume of our Transactions; here I need only express my admiration of our accomplished member's services to science—services, indeed, that have laid an enduring foundation in a domain of New Zealand zoology virtually unexplored prior to his investigations. Regarding my esteemed friend Mr. T. W. Adams, I have already recorded in the last volume of our Transactions my high appreciation of his pioneer researches in New Zealand forestry and their extraordinary economic value. The influence of such men must be felt for many years; their place in our scientific circle will be hard to fill. But if the past year has brought its sorrows, as must all years, joy has also come in the safe return after the hardships and perils of war of most of our members who so willingly set forth to serve their King and country. To those who fell, and whose laurels won on the field of battle are entwined with those gained in the peaceful path of science, has gone forth long ere this both our deepest grief and most fervent admiration. You will see from the report of the Standing Committee that the Roll of Honour is now completed, and will be printed in this volume of the Transactions. The scientific year just concluded will, I feel convinced, be looked upon, in time to come, as the most important for the New Zealand Institute since its reconstruction in 1903—or, indeed, perhaps since its foundation. This will be for the reason that two important advances have been made—the holding of a Science Congress and the founding of the Fellowship. So successful was this Congress, notwithstanding the many unforeseen difficulties which stood in the way, that it was proposed to make it a biennial function. There is no need for me to give any details regarding the proceedings, since such have appeared in two special numbers of the Journal of Science and Technology, where also some of the papers read at the Congress are printed. It has been decided to hold a second Congress at the beginning of next year in Palmerston North. The idea of the Congress was not new, since such meetings were provided for in the New Zealand Institute Act of 1903, but for its successful inauguration full credit must be given to that very active body, the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. Without doubt these gatherings will do a great deal to bring the Institute into touch with the non-scientific public, and in this lies no inconsiderable part of their value.