Professor Benson had been President of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1946 and 1947. In speaking of the loss to science and to geology in particular, Professor Allan quoted from a tribute paid by him to Professor Benson at the memorial service when he was speaking on behalf of past students. He spoke of the affection and loyalty which Professor Benson inspired, of his capacity for friendship, and of his quality of mind and of the esteem and regard in which he was held by fellow geologists here and abroad Professor Benson was elected a Fellow in 1926 and in 1941 his scientific attainments had led to his election of F. R. S. The President had conveyed to Mrs. Benson the Council's deep regret and sympathy.

The Late Dr. H. H. Allan. At the request of the Chairman, Mr. F. R. Callaghan, who had for a long period been associated with the late Dr. H. H. Allan, M. A., D. Sc., F. R. S. N. Z., F. L. S., paid a tribute to him. He spoke of his personal ability, his strong character, “rather a silent man and a modest one”. As the first Director of the Botany Division of the D. S. I. R. he had given great service. For some time before his death he had been working on a revision of Cheeseman's Manual of N.Z. Flora, and this work was nearly completed. Mr. Callaghan referred to Dr. Allan as the last of the old classical botanists and one who was held in international esteem. Dr. Allan was elected a Fellow in 1928, and was Vice-President from 1940–1943, when he was elected President of the Society.

It was resolved to convey to Mrs Allan the Society's deep sympathy.

The Council stood in respect to the memory of Professor Benson and of Dr. Allan.

Chairman's Remarks. Professor R. S. Allan stated that he occupied the chair by reason of the fact that the President, Professor Briggs, was representing the Society in Bangkok at the Ninth Pacific Science Congress, and the other Vice-President, Professor L. R. Richardson, was absent from New Zealand on refresher leave.

Professor Allan briefly referred to matters which were to come before the meeting. He then announced that an intimation had been received from the Perpetual Trustees in Dunedin enclosing a copy of the will of the late Professor Benson, which stated that on the decease of his beneficiaries one-tenth part of the residue of his estate was to be given to the Royal Society of New Zealand to supplement funds available for the publication of scientific papers.

Notices of Motion. Notices of Motion to be considered later in the meeting were handed in.

Amendment to Rules. The requisite two weeks' notice having been given to members, Dr. Archey moved that Rule B. 12 be rescinded and that the following new rule be substituted therefor:

B. 12 (a) The President and Vice-Presidents shall be elected by the Council at the Annual Meeting from nominations made by the Councils of Member Bodies or by the Nominations Committee appointed under sub-clause (d) hereunder.

After a good deal of discussion, this was carried.

(b) The Council of each Member Body may make nomination of one member of the Society for the office of President and two such nominations for the office of Vice-President.

This section was carried.

(c) Nominations shall be valid if received by the Secretary not later than the last day of March in the year in which an election is to be held for the respective offices.

This section was carried.

(d) A Nominations Committee of six members of the Council shall be appointed annually by the Council, one member being named convener and chairman thereof and shall report to the annual meeting following its appointment. Any member of the Nominations Committee nominated for

office shall withdraw from the Committee. Notwithstanding that a member of the Committee should cease to be a member of the Council, he shall continue to be a member of the Committee until the next annual appointment of the same.

The proposed section was amended as above and carried.

(e) A list of valid nominations shall be sent to each member of the Council, to the Nominations Committee, and to each Member Body not later than the tenth day after the close of nominations.

This section amended as above was carried.

(f) The Nominations Committee having considered the nominations shall make a recommendation thereon to the Council. The Committee may make a recommendation in respect to any member of the Society, and such recommendation shall be held to be a nomination made under Sub-clause (a) of this Rule.

This section was carried.

On the motion of Dr. Archey, seconded by Mr. Callaghan, new Rule B.12 was adopted.

Member Bodies' Financial Obligations. Mr. Cory-Wright, Honorary Treasurer, reported on the manner in which Member Bodies are fulfilling their financial obligations as required under Rules 3 and 4.

He stated that after viewing the balance sheets for the year 1956–57 it appeared that three of the nine Member Bodies were not fulfilling the required support towards a Library or approved institution or towards the parent body. Wellington Branch has during the last year spent only one-tenth of its income in support of its Library, but has allotted the balance of one-third of income to a Library Fund. The other two Branches, Nelson and Southland, do not appear as far as their balance sheets show to be contributing anything towards a Library or Museum or towards the parent body.

Dr. Askew explained that members of the Nelson Branch pay a share of their annual subscription to the Nelson Institute.

Mr. Cory-Wright then went on to deal with the last paragraph in his report, which contained a suggestion for a standard contribution per member.

Dr. Archey stated that this matter was out of order as it had been disposed of at the annual meeting. After some discussion on the motion of Mr. Cory-Wright, seconded by Dr Salmon, it was resolved to adopt the report with the exclusion of the last paragraph, which should be deferred until consideration of 8 (f) on the Agenda.

It was resolved that this meeting notes that failure of Member Bodies to fulfil their financial obligations as set down in the Rules means that they automatically cease to be Member Bodies.

Plant Diseases Trust In submitting the proposed revision of F.VII, Rules relating to the Plant Diseases Trust, Dr. Fleming stated that although the present rules had been adopted in 1943, there had been no applications for grants from the Plant Diseases Fund, which fact led the Standing Committee to ask the Research Grants Committee to enquire into the existing rules to see if some revision were desirable.

The Committee had therefore drawn up revised rules, but it considered that before these were adopted the donor of the original fund and the Director of the Plant Diseases Division should be consulted.

On the motion of Dr. Fleming, seconded by Mr. Callaghan, it was resolved that the meeting empowers the Standing Committee to take the necessary steps to bring the proposed rules before the donor of the Fund and the Director of the Plant Diseases Division for approval.

Cockayne Memorial Fund. Mr. F. R. Callaghan submitted proposed rules for the Cockayne Memorial Fund for adoption. After some discussion and after two slight amendments had been made, the following rules were adopted:

F.VIII. The Leonard Cockayne Memorial Fund.

The purpose of this fund is to commemorate Dr. Leonard Cockayne, C.M. G., F. R. S., F. R. S. N. Z., F. L. S. who, between 1881 and 1935, did much original research in the field of New Zealand botany, and whose writings between 1898 and his death covered comprehensively such a wide scope as to place him in the forefront both of New Zealand and of world botanists.

On the motion of Dr. Salmon, seconded by Mr. Callaghan, it was resolved:

That the original proposal of a Cockayne Memorial Volume be not proceedes with and the reprints set aside for such a volume be sold.

Publication of Rules. Some discussion took place as to whether, when the Rules are reprinted in the Transactions and in booklet form, the Declaration of Trust of each Fund should also be printed.

With regard to the cost involved Dr. Archey was of the opinion that it would be sufficient to print the rules with a reference to where the Declaration of Trust of each Fund could be found in the Transactions.

On the motion of Mr. Callaghan it was resolved to refer this matter to the next Council Meeting.

Hutton Fund Rules. In connection with applications for grants from the Hutton Memorial Fund, Dr. Falla, convener, submitted a report from the Research Grants Committee which recommended that the Council should:

The report including the above recommendations was adopted.

Ways and Means of Obtaining Increased Income. Mr. Cory-Wright spoke to the last paragraph in his report on Member Bodies' finance which had been deferred for consideration. It is as follows:

“Objections were raised last year to standardised contributions, but it seems illogical that most branches contribute nothing, resulting in only £22 total contributions. The Government Grant is almost our sole income, and complaints are made that we should help ourselves before we can expect help from outside. I am constrained therefore to reopen the appeal for some standard contribution based on membership, and I suggest for consideration that 5/- per Branch Member be made a standard contribution to the parent body. This would produce over £500 per annum income, and I think could fairly be a charge included in the subscription of members all over New Zealand.”

Mr. Cory-Wright then moved that the matter of imposing a subscription of 5/-per member be referred to the Branches. This was seconded by Dr. Salmon, who outlined what had transpired when the deputation last waited on the Minister in an endeavour to obtain an increased grant.

Dr. Salmon went on to point out that there has just been an increase of approximately 15% in all printing charges and that he had in hand MSS. to the extent of £711, while papers costing an estimated additional £241 were in the hands of the referees. The estimated expenditure for the current volume is approximately £2,500.

Dr. Archey spoke against the motion, and he quoted figures showing the number of State employees and members of the staffs of University Colleges whose papers were published in the Transactions, thereby saving the D.S.I.R. and the University of New Zealand publication expenses. Moreover, the Society's library built up by reason of the Transactions was a scientific asset. He continued that it was right and proper for State funds to be allocated to the Royal Society and that there was no occasion for Branches to restrict their own activities by contributing to the parent body.

Dr. Fleming supported Dr. Archey's arguments, but the question was, How is the Royal Society to maintain its autonomy if wholly maintained by the Government? Mr. Keys supported the resolution. Dr. Dixon maintained that the Society should do more to help itself and that 5/-per member was a ridiculously small sum to suggest. Mr. Callaghan supported Dr. Dixon, stating that we should treasure the independence of the Royal Society and every member should subscribe in keeping it an independent body. Dr. Barnett agreed with this attitude.

Mr. Brooker said he thought the Auckland Institute might compromise if a Fund for sending representatives to approved overseas conferences were set up. Dr. Duff supported this view.

After others had contributed to the discussion the Chairman put the motion that the matter be referred to the Branches for consideration. This was carried on a show of hands.

Deputation to the Council of D. S. I. R. Regarding a former suggestion that a deputation should meet the Council of D. S. I. R. and discuss financial matters with it, Dr. Falla moved, Dr. Salmon seconded:

That the Council empowers the Standing Committee to arrange, if practicable, a conference between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and a representative sub-committee of the Royal Society with a view to discussing the status of the Royal Society and the basis of its annual submission for adequate financial support.

Dr. Archey opposed the motion on the grounds that the Minister is the one who should be approached.

On being put to the meeting the motion was carried.

Separate Proceedings and Transactions. Mr. Allen introduced the following report submitted by the Wellington Branch: