XIV THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
devoted to his country and they form one long record of achievements, 
appointments and honours. His first permanent appointment as 
Inspector of Surveys Interior Department was of date June 13, 1881, 
and was followed by the appointment as Chief Inspector in 1886, 
Chief Astronomer in 1890, Director of the Dominion Observatory in 
1905, and Superintendent of the Geodetic Survey of Canada in 1909. 
In addition to his great mathematical and scientific ability, of 
which the above permanent departmental appointments furnish a 
striking evidence, Dr. King has performed very valuable services for 
Canada in the various boundary questions which have arisen with the 
United States. The keenness and judicial bent of his mind enabled 
him to quickly grasp and clearly present the essential features of any 
question and his numerous appointments as His Majesty’s Commis- 
sioner for various sections of the International boundary in 1892, 
1899, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908, present evidence of the value 
placed on his services by the Government. He was also appointed 
to the International Waterways Commission serving from 1903 to 
1907 and was made the representative of the Canadian Government 
in the negotiations relative to the uses of international waters for 
irrigation in 1908. It was probably largely owing to his valuable work 
on international boundaries and these allied questions that he was 
created Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George on 
June 26, 1908. 
Dr. King’s greatest work on behalf of pure science was probably 
the founding and organization of the Dominion Observatory. He 
began to urge the construction of an Observatory for Canada at first 
on a very modest scale over twenty-five years ago, and though not for 
some time successful he persevered in his quiet, yet effective way and 
gradually brought the Government to see the value of such an in- 
stitution. Success crowned his efforts during the administration of 
Hon. Mr. Sifton in the Interior Department, who recognized fully 
the high attainments of Dr. King and his great services to the country 
in boundary questions and who saw clearly the advantages of a national 
Observatory. 
This institution though only established about ten years and 
possessed of a comparatively modest equipment has attained an en- 
viable position in the scientific world largely owing to Dr. King’s 
faculty of selecting suitable men and making them responsible for 
the work. The equipment for astronomical research will shortly be 
greatly increased by the completion of the 72-inch reflecting telescope 
larger than any now in existence. This project was first formally 
brought to the attention of the Government by a Memorial from the 
Royal Society in 1912. It is undoubted that the confidence and high 
