THIS Society, which has been founded under the auspices of the Marquis of Lorne, and is intended to be to Canada what the Royal Society and the Institute are to England and France respectively, held its first meeting on May 25, 26, and 27. Inaugural addresses were delivered on the 25th by the Marquis, Principal Dawson, and the Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau. For the purpose of reading and discussing papers, the Society is divided into four sections:—(1) French literature, history, and allied subjects; (2) English literature, history, and allied subjects; (3) mathematical, physical, and chemical sciences; (4) geological and biological sciences. The following papers were read in Section 3:—Note on zinc sulphide, by T. McFarlane. On the “transition” resistance to the electric current at the bounding surface between amalgamated zinc and solutions of zinc sulphate, by Prof. J. G. MacGregor, D.Sc. The “transition” resistance in this case was shown to be at any rate not greater than a small fraction of an ohm, the current being weak and the electrodes large. The method of measurement employed was a modification of that formerly used by Beetz.—On the measurement of the resistance of electrolytes by means of Wheatstone's bridge, by the same. In this paper, a new mode of using the bridge was described. Alternate currents were sent through the bridge, and brought into the same direction by a commutator in the galvanometer branch, in which one of Thomson's galvanoscopes was inserted. Two of the arms contained equal metallic resistances; the other two contained, besides metallic resistances, electrolytic cells the same in all respects, except as to length. Thus the errors due to polarisation and possible “transition” resistance were eliminated.—On molecular contraction in natural sulphides, by Prof. E. J. Chapman.—On the law of facility of error in the sum of n independent quantities, each accurate to the nearest unit, by Chas. Carpmael, M.A. The chance of the error in the sum lying between y1 and y2 where y2 - y1 is small, was shown to be??? the series to be continued as long as the part raised to power n - 1 is positive. This series is approximately equal to??? —A symmetrical investigation of the curvature of surfaces; including a discussion of the plane sections of quadrics, the axes of conic sections and of quadrics, by Prof. A. Johnson, LL.D. In this paper it was shown that the leading theorems concerning principal radii of curvature, directions of principal sections, umbilics, lines of curvature, &c., can be obtained directly by a purely analytical investigation, elementary and symmetrical in its character, of the plane sections of a quadric.—Note on the deduction of the equation of continuity, by Prof. Loudon.— Note on the motion of a chain on a fixed curve, by Prof. Cherriman.—Note on the application of a remarkable determinant, by the same.—Note on a question of probabilities, by the same.— On the general regulation of civil time, by Sandford Fleming, C.E.—On the utility of geometry as applied to the arts and sciences, by Chas. Baillarge.