Address bv Sir David Gill. 29* 



Believe me., there is no more important function of an Associa- 

 tion like this than the opportunity which it offers for suggestion,, 

 guidance, and the formation of scientific friendship. I hope, in the 

 days to come, that there will be not a few who are able to speak from 

 experience in like terms of the benefits of this Association. 



The advances of Science during the past century have been so- 

 rapid that none but a specialist in a limited department can hope 

 to follow all the work done, as it appears in the original com- 

 munications. But the British Association has stepped in and pro- 

 vided its " Reports on the State of Science '" ; these are invaluable 

 to the general scientist, and they afford even to the specialist a 

 comprehensive glance of his subject, an invaluable source of 

 reference. 



There are two promised communications in our Agenda which 

 may be quoted as types. I refer, on the side of pure Science, to 

 Dr. Muir s paper, entitled, " A Third List of Writings on Deter- 

 minants. In this department of Mathematics, Dr. Muir is probably 

 the leading authority. The work in question completes the exten- 

 sive bibliography of the subject of which two parts have already 

 been published by him. 



On the side of Applied Science I refer to Mr. Caldecott's com- 

 munication on " The Cyanide Process from its Introduction into the 

 Rand to the Present Day." 



Both these papers, and many others in the list of our Agenda, 

 are types of reports peculiarly suited for communication to such an 

 Association as ours. They are not mainly the results of original 

 investigations on the part of their authors, and. therefore, as such 

 they come less distinctly within the field of a body like our 

 Philosophical Society, but they are precisely the sort of thing which 

 it is the province of this Association to cultivate and to publish as 

 reports. In their respective subjects they are condensed archives 

 to which either the .specialist or the more general scientist would 

 turn as a first aid to further investigation or knowledge. 



There is a third function of our Association which is no less 

 important if we are to follow the example of the British Association — 

 I mean the " grants to committees and individuals for scientific 

 purposes "' which have been voted by that body from the third year 

 after its inception. The first step in this direction Avas made in 1834, 

 when a modest sum of ^20 was voted in aid of tidal discussions. 

 This rose to ^157 the following year, to ;^435 in 1836, and to ^922 

 in 1837. since which time the vote has generally exceeded ^i.ooo 

 a year. The total amount expended by the Association in this wav 

 to the present time amounts to nearlv ^70,000. 



The principal cities of the United Kingdom emulate one 

 another in the cordiality of their invitations for the Association to 

 become their guests, and sometimes deputations with the Mayor 

 and some of the Councillors attend a meeting to urge officiallv the 

 acceptance of their hospitality. Doubtless the blandishments of 

 various Municipal Corporations will be exercised this year at South- 

 port to induce the British Association to visit their respective cities 



