| Description | ' At a meeting ot he Pcific Science Committee held on 17 July 1970:
Present: Sir Maurice Yonge in the chair; Professor E J H Corner; Professor E J Denton; Professor J A Steers; Sir George Taylor; Dr H G Vevers
1. Minutes
The minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 1967 (previously circulated as PS/3 (67) were confirmed.
2. Membership
The membership of the Pacific Science Committee from 1 January 1970 was noted as follows: Sir Maurice Yonge (Chairman), the Treasurer, the Biological Secretary, the Physical Secretary, Professor A R Clapham, Dr L H N Cooper, Professor E J H Corner, Professor E J Denton, Professor J A Steers, Dr J C Swallow, Sir George Taylor and Dr H G Vevers.
3. Matters arising
With reference to minute 7 of 15 May 1967, it was reported
a. That the Official Resolutions of the XI Pacific Science Congress had been circulated to the persons and institutions named in a) and in March 1968 comments from the Director of the Tropical Products Institute, the Director-General of the Meteorological Office and Dr M W Holdgate (then one of the Deputy Directors of the Nature Conservancy) had been sent to the Pacific Science Association.
b. That in June 1967 Council had approved the recommendations made by the Pacific Science Committee at its meeting on 15 May 1967, including that relating to the Palau Tropical Marine Biological Laboratory, and that the desirability of re-establishing the Laboratory had been drawn to the attention of the US National Academy of Sciences. Sir Maurice Yonge had attended an I.B.P. meeting at Koror, Palau Islands, on the conservation of Pacific Islands in November 1968 at which it had become apparent that the Government of the Trust Territory there was not able to establish a laboratory for international use, and it had been agreed that the matter should be discussed at the Inter-Congress meeting of the Pacific Science Council at Kuala Lumpur in May 1969. In February 1969 Council had agreed that Sir Maurice Yonge should take the matter up at Kuala Lumpur, it being understood tht there would be no financial commitment so far as the Royal Society was concerned.
With reference to b) the Chairman reported that he had been informed by Dr V Brock, Director of the Marine Laboratory of Hawaii, in November 1969 that it seemed likely that the Janss Foundation of Los Angeles would be able to provide funds to establish a marine Laoratory in the Palau Islands with an associated aquarium and museum; Dr Brock was then intending to write an article about this for 'Science' but no further news had been received to date.
4. Inter-Congress Meeting
It ws noted that in June 1969 a report by Sir Maurice Yonge on the inter-Congress meeting of the Pacific Science Association held at Kuala Lumpur from 5 to 9 May 1969 had been circulated to members of the Pacific Science Committee (PS/1(69) previously circulated). It was noted that the Pacific Science Association was to apply for Scientific Affiliate Membrship of the International Council of Scientific Unions, the application to be considered by the 13th General Assembly of ICSU in Madrid in September 1970, and it was agreed that the support of the Pacific Science Committee be given to this application.
5. Twelfth Pacific Science Congress: Canberra 18 August to 3 September 1971
The committee had before it a letter dated 10 April 1970 from Sir Macfarlane Burnet, President of the Twelfth Pacific Science Congress, inviting the Royal Society to be represented at the Congress and send him the names of five official delegates by 30 September 1970 (PS/1(70) previously circulated), together with the preliminary Programme for the Congress, which had been sent to members of the Pacific Science Committee, members of the National Committee for the International Biological Programme (I.B.P.) and the chairman of the National Committee for Geology on 22 April 1970, a list of names of British scientists already invited or proposed by symposium organizers and others (PS/2(70) previously circulated) and a copy of an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the National Committee for the International Biological Programme held on 1 July 1970 (PS/3(70) previously circulated).
It was noted that the Canberra Congress would be restricted to certain symposia, with invited speakers only, although the Vancouver Congress in 1975 would have no such limitations, and members of the committee expressed the opinion that a limited Pacific Science Congress of the Canberra type was not a good idea and should not be encouraged; Sir Maurice Yonge undertook to raise this point at the Pacific Science Council.
Members of the committee considered the list of names of British scientists mentioned in connexion with the Twwelfth Pacific Science Congress (PS/2(70) and the Chairman read out a letter he had received from Sir Otto Frankel. The Deputy Executive Secretary reported that the Directorate of Overseas Surveys would provide funds to enable Mr J R F Hausell and Dr J R D Wall of the Land Resources Division to attend, and Professor E J H Corner said he and Lord Medway (who would be taking part in the New Hebrides expedition in August 1971) did not want to attend. It was also reported that Mr W Brass (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) had not received a formal invitation and had made no definite plans to attend, and that Mr E M Nicholson was going to Symposium A.10 in an IBP capacity. MEmbers of the committee then discussed the composition of the Royal Society delegation of five members, and it was Resolved - That it be a recommendation to Council that Sir Maurice Yonge (leadere), Dr G E R Deacon, Dr R W J Keay, Dr R Melville and Professor J A Steers, with Dr J V G A Durnin as reserve, be appointed members of the United Kingdom delegation to the Twelfth Pacific Science Congress, and that provision be made of up to £715 each for the expenses of the five delegates, subject to the necessary provision being made in the Parliamentary Grant-in-Aid (delegates and travel) for the fiscal year 1971-72.
6. Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
The Committee noted a letter dated 23 June 1970 from the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science in which dates were fiven of congresses of the Australian Association until 1973. '
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