melting of snow which occurs when the warm north-west winds prevail, storing the surplus to provide a steady flow daring that portion of the year when the rivers would otherwise be very much lower than they are. In conclusion, he spoke of the Lake districts as containing within themselves all the elements of support for a large community—a delightful climate, good agricultural and pastoral lands, valuable mineral resources, and a complete system of internal water communication.

Mr. R. Gillies said that he had been asked by Mr. M‘Kerrow before the meeting to compare what he had said with Dr. Hector's remarks on the same subject. He had done so, and though not pretending to geological knowledge, he must confess that he saw some difficulties in the way of accounting for all the phenomena of the Lake district, if the theory of unequal subsidence was to be rejected. Dr. Hector's idea was that the axis of the glaciated country and the western part of the region had subsided more rapidly and to a much greater extent than the eastern portion had. He recommended all members to peruse Dr. Hector's lecture in the volume of Transactions just distributed, when they would find this and other points of extreme interest discussed.

Mr. J. T. Thomson expressed his concurrence in Mr. M‘Kerrow's views as to the sufficiency of glaciers—such as we must suppose existed during what is termed the glacial period of the recent epoch—to scoop out such valleys as that now occupied by Lake Wakatipu. He exhibited a diagram showing where the points of greatest pressure would be in the case of a glacier of some 3,000 feet in thickness occupying what is now the position of that lake, and showed that it is by no means necessary to suppose that the excavation which would result should pass clean through to the sea; if we admit that the Kingston end of the lake was at the time on or about the sea level.

Mr. A. H. Ross called attention to Dr. Hector's account of Milford and other sounds, given in a report of the expedition to the West Coast, and expressed his opinion that the meaning of the passage in Dr. Hector's lecture before the New Zealand Institute — (Transactions, Vol. ii. pp. 370–374) — had been misconceived by Mr. M‘Kerrow.

Mr. G. M. Barr, without expressing an opinion on the point of difference between previous speakers and the theory laid down by Dr. Hector, said he had carefully read the lecture which had been referred to, and his impression was that it was somewhat wanting in clearness. He did not feel sure that there was any substantial difference between Dr. Hector and the local observers. He called attention to the very interesting subject of the circulation of the water of the lake, as to which