Royal Astronomical Society. 225 



ing to the world the grounds of my general confidence in the skill of the 

 observer. Still more, I wish that I could produce sufficient means for 

 estimating numerically the probable error of the observations, as af- 

 fected not only by personal sources of error, but also by the causes of 

 error which no skill can overcome. 'I'hese remarks apply to the pro- 

 bable exactness of the observation only. With regard to the certainty 

 of transmission to the reader, there is no sufficient security. The fair- 

 ness of apportionment of weights, the correctness of means of separate 

 results, the correctness of the printing ; for all these there is no secu- 

 rity. Let it not be supposed that these remarks are answered by refer- 

 ring me to the circumstances, that the computation is easy, that it has 

 been performed by the astronomer himself or immediately under his 

 eye, and that he has himself superintended the printing. I know by 

 experience that errors are more likely to occur in easy than in difficult 

 computation ; that the principal person usually performs calculations 

 and reads proof sheets with less accuracy than comparatively illite- 

 rate assistants ; and that, after all his care in passing the sheets 

 through the press, errors will creep in over which he has no control 

 whatever. Had the manuscripts of the observations and of the cal- 

 culations in this instance been placed at our command, my remarks 

 would have been comjDletely answered. In the case of Lord Wrot- 

 tesley's Catalogue, to which the Medal of this Society was awarded, 

 and in that of Groombridge's Catalogue, the printing of which was 

 placed by the Admiralty under my superintendence, the original ob- 

 servations and the intermediate calculations were placed at the com- 

 mand of this Society ; and the repeated references which already it 

 has been found necessary to make to the latter manuscripts prove 

 the propriety of this caution. In the instance of the Bedford Cata- 

 logue we have no such power of referring to the originals. Feeling 

 these things, gentlemen, and impressed with a sense of the responsi- 

 bility to you and to the world of science which is implied by my po- 

 sition in this chair, I deem it my duty to state to you, that I for one 

 have hesitated in assenting to this award except in the hope that the 

 manuscripts relating to these observations would at some time be 

 placed in our hands. And I am fully persuaded that it is the gene- 

 ral feeling of the Council that the reasons upon which this Medal is 

 now presented are such as have never before been used to justify our 

 awards, and are not likely to be used again. I trust that the value 

 of the Medal will be greatly enhanced to Captain Smyth by this con- 

 sideration. I trust that he will perceive that, where direct evidence 

 was wanting, this Council have not refused to give to the world their 

 most solemn assurance of the value of the Bedford Catalogue, relying 

 only, until further security shall be given to them, upon their perso- 

 nal appreciation of the instrumental skill, the editorial care, and the 

 general exactness and fidelity of the observer. 



{The President then, delivering the Medal to Captain Smyth, addressed 

 him in the following terms) : — 



Captain Smyth, — In the name of the Council of the Royal Astro- 

 nomical Society, I present to you this Medal ; and I beg leave to 



Phil. Mag. S. 3. Vol. 27. No. 1 79. Sept. 184<5. Q 



