Lord Rayleigh, ladies and gentlemen,--I am given to understand that it would be in accordance with the rules under which the business of the British Association is carried on, that the proceedings of to-day should commence with the vacation of the president's chair and by the installation of the president-elect in the place which he will so honourably fill. The occasion, however, which has brought us together is so remarkable, and will be so memorable, not only in the annals of the Association, but in the history of the Dominion, that I believe you will pardon the slight irregularity of which, as a member of the Association, I am guilty, in rising to address a few words to this distinguished audience. The occasion, Lord Rayleigh, is the first upon which the British Association has held a meeting beyond the narrow limits of the United Kingdom. Such a departure from the usage which you have hitherto observed, though an inauguration, is certainly not inconsistent with the objects of the Association or with the designs of its founders; its earliest records contain the statement that it was instituted for the promotion of intercourse between those who cultivated science in different parts, not merely of the British Islands, but of the British Empire. I question whether any means of promoting this intercourse could have been discovered more effectual than the holding of your annual meeting in one of the great cities of this colony, and my object in now addressing you is to express at the very outset the satisfaction with which the people, not only of Montreal, but of the whole Dominion, hail your arrival here and to welcome you in their name to these shores. (Loud applause.) Perhaps you will allow me to state my own belief that if you were to select for your place of meeting a spot within the colonial empire of England, you could not have selected a colony which better deserved the distinction, either in respect of the warmth of its affection for the mother country, or in respect of the desire of its inhabitants for the diffusion of knowledge and of culture. (Applause) In a young country such pursuits must be carried on in the face of some difficulty and of the competition of that material activity which must to a great extent engross the time and absorb the attention of a rapidly developing community such as this. We may, however, claim for Canada that she has done her best, that she has above all spared no pains to provide for the interest of science in the future, and that amongst those who have done scientific work within the Dominion are men known and respected far beyond the bounds of their own nation. In this connection I cannot deny myself the pleasure of referring to the honours which have been conferred upon Sir William Dawson within the last few days. (Loud and long continued applause.) He is, unless I am misinformed, more responsible than any one person for the visit of the