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Professor Jones's argument is too long and too profound to be reproduced here. But I venture to state that before reading his article I was dissatisfied with the Archbishop's doctrine. To me it seems that Dr. Temple conceived of the Deity as outside of the world, so that the two stand apart, as it were, God having once for all, long ago, created the world, and thereafter left it to go on by itself, governed indeed by divinely ordained laws, but not needing divine control and support from moment to moment. The world being thus conceived as in nearly the whole of its extent and course governed by the "uniformity of nature," the Deity is supposed to have made two exceptions to this general rule. These exceptions are human free-will, and divine intervention working miracles to attest revelation. This conception of the relations between God and the world is one which has long been held, and still widely prevails; but recent philosophy is strongly inclined towards another conception, a conception which, pushed to an extreme, has led to pantheism, viz., the immanence of God in the universe. To some minds it has seemed that the cosmos is God. God is all and all is God. But we are not obliged to go to the pantheistic extreme. We may refuse to identify the world with God; and at the same time may refuse to believe that God is altogether outside the world in some far-off region. We may believe that God is here and now, in an eternity which includes all time, in a proximity which fills all space.

"Nearer is He than breathing,
Closer than hands and feet."

And this belief in the immanence of God in all times and places, in all things and events, in all lives of all beings, seems to be the way in which Jesus thought of His Father; the God who sends the sunshine and the rain, without Whom not a sparrow falleth, Who clothes the lilies with their beauty, and of Whom He said, when He Himself was accused of sabbath-breaking, "My Father worketh even until now."

The CHAIRMAN then called on Dr. Kidd to reply.

Dr. KIDD, in response, said he was quite unable to deal with all the points that had been raised, and it was rather late if it were possible; but he would refer to one matter that Canon Girdlestone spoke of, viz., that the province of mystery does not shrink. I think, he continued, that is hardly correct. Mystery after mystery

has been made clear by science, more and more up till now. That does not exclude the fact that great mysteries remain, but when we compare our knowledge of to-day with that of fifty years ago, it is enough to say that mystery does shrink, even though greater mysteries may arise.

As to the question of sponges that Dr. Walker referred to, I think he is quite correct in what he says as to their organs of respiration and digestion.

I put the name of Aristotle last among the Greeks in order to point him out as the greatest of all-the greatest father of knowledge of those days. Many others might have been referred to, but I did not want to make the list too long.

The criticism we have just had of Archbishop Temple's lectures is very valuable; but I do not think, as to the last point, that the immanence of God is at all excluded by the way in which Dr Temple has dealt with the matter. As far as I can understand, it does not exclude the view of the immanence of God, but it is a mere recognition of the claims of science.

As to the two paths of mental progress, what has been said goes rather to confuse what is meant here, which merely represents the paths of religion and science in early times, which ought at that time to have been separated. Those two paths diverged for many centuries, just as in these modern days they are coming together again.

I thank you for the reception you have given my paper. I am sorry that I have dealt with the subject so imperfectly, but it is a very large one.

The Meeting then terminated.

[graphic][subsumed]

ORDINARY MEETING.*

CAPTAIN HEATH, R.N., IN THE CHAIR.

The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed.

The following paper was read by the author :

ON THE HOT LAKES DISTRICT, NEW ZEALAND. By Miss HILDA BOORD. (With photographic illustrations by kind permission of Mr. Josiah Martin, of Auckland, N.Z., of Messrs. Valentine and Sons, of Dundee, and of Mr. Iles, of Rotorua, N.Z.)

HAV

AVING been asked by Professor Hull to give an account of what I saw during my stay in that part of New Zealand which is most justly termed the Wonderland, I can but endeavour to comply with his request. I must confess at once, however, to being no scientist myself, and therefore I fear that my observations can have no more value than those of any other ordinary traveller; circumstances, moreover, prevented me from visiting some of the principal places of interest.

My best plan, I think, will be to take up my narrative from the time my sister and I left Pipiriki on the Wanganui River; a river so exquisitely beautiful in itself that it would be fatal to my present purpose to dwell upon its banks and describe its many charms.

It was in the New Zealand autumn, nearly three years ago, that we started one morning on our seven days' coaching trip across country to Rotorua from Pipiriki, a very small settlement formed, for the most part, of Maoris. They are very

* Monday, February 8th, 1904.

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