XXVni SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL. 



And again, in his Presidential address to the South African 

 Philosophical Society, September 17, 1902, Sir David Gill said: — 



" Mr. Innes, previous to his arrival at the Cape, had devoted 

 himself to this branch of astronomy (double stars), and, with 

 comparatively feeble means, had discovered about 40 previously 

 unknown double stars, and published their estimated distances 

 and position angles. In the course of his revision of the Durch- 

 musterung, and by making use of opportunities of exceptional 

 definition, he has now added about 300 to the list of known 

 southern double stars, all of a class that would appear single on 

 cur photographic plates. He has also applied the i8-in. refractor 

 of the new McLean telescope to that work, and with Mr. Lunt 

 has made many measures of the position angles and distances 

 of southern double stars. In addition to this he has prepared a 

 reference catalogue of southern double stars, with a bibliography 

 of the subject, which is published in the Annals of the Cape 

 Observatory, vol. ii., part 2." 



In 1903 Mr. Innes was a])])ointed to take charge of the 

 Transvaal Observatory, and in this capacity he issued eight an- 

 nual volumes of Meteorological Reports. In 1909 the issue of 

 the Transvaal Observatory Circulars was commenced — the title 

 of this publication was altered to Union Observatory Circulars in 

 1912 — and some four dozen numbers have since appeared. 



Mr. Innes was amongst the first to appreciate the value of 

 the blink method in application to the discovery of minor planets 

 and other rapidly-moving objects in the heavens. By this method 

 he has succeeded in discovering many proper motion stars, vari- 

 able stars, and minor planets, including a third component of the 

 system Alpha Centauri, our nearest neighbour in stellar space 

 outside of the solar system. To this star the name of Proxima 

 Centauri has been assigned. 



In this connection it is of considerable interest to note 

 that the first parallax of a fixed star ever observed was found at 

 the Cape by Henderson, whose observations were made during 

 1831-32 This was. in fact, the parallax of Alpha Centauri. 

 The results, however, were not published uritil 1841 — that is 

 to say, after Bessel had announced the parallax of 61 Cygni. 

 The parallax of Proxima Centuri was found by Mr. Innes in 

 1917. 



It is in the knowledge of many members of this x*\ssocia- 

 tion that ]\Ir. Innes was one of its original founders in 1902, 

 and that by his zeal and service he did much to make it a suc- 

 cessful venture from the ver\- beginning. From 1909 to 1912 

 he was one of the General Secretaries of the Association, and 

 at the Pretoria meeting in 191 5 he occupied the presidential 

 chair. 



It is only seemly and just that the Association should mark 

 its appreciation of the services of one who has so loyally sup- 

 ported science in South Africa, and who has done so much 

 for its furtherance: the Council of the Association has therefore 



