May igth, ipoj.] Proceedings. xxxvii 



" Dalton in science. Highly reverencing his memory, the 

 " Russian Physico-Chemical Society begs you to accept their 

 "congratulations on the day of the Manchester celebration in 

 " honour of the founder of modern atomism. Glory to Dalton !" 

 Presidents, Mendeleeff, Petrushefsky, Beketoff, Egoroff ; 

 Secretaries, Tishtchenko, Mitkevitch. 



Congratulations were next offered by Professor van't Hoff, 

 who, speaking on behalf of the chemists of Germany, said that 

 they felt "deep admiration and thankfulness for the work of 

 your great citizen." 



Professor T. E. Thorpe, C.B., then presented the following 

 address on behalf of the Royal Society of London : — 



"The Royal Society of London for the promotion of 

 "Natural Knowledge sends fraternal greetings to the Literary 

 " AND Philosophical Society of Manchester on the occasion 

 "of the Dalton celebration." 



"Th£ general conception that matter is constituted of atoms 

 "has come down from antiquity; and it formed an almost 

 "necessary part of the Philosophy of Descartes, Newton, and the 

 " other great modern Physicists. But it was reserved for John 

 " Dalton to establish a more definite notion of specific atoms 

 " for the various elementary substances, to show how to explore 

 " through the different masses of these atoms the way they 

 "comport themselves in chemical transmutations, and to 

 "connect the properties of compound bodies with their atomic 

 " constitutions. In constructing these ideas, first announced to 

 " the world just a hundred years ago, and taking the earliest 

 " steps in their experimental development, Dalton laid the 

 "foundation on which the vast fabric of modern Chemistry 

 " has since been built. After the lapse of a century we can still 

 " enjoy the freshness and vigour and compactness of his thought, 

 "and the definiteness of the issues which he was constantly 

 "evolving for the experimental interrogation of Nature. We can 

 " follow with interest the calm appreciation of the scenery of 

 " landscape and cloud and sky that pervades his Meteorological 



