308 CHARLES CARDALE BABINGTON. [1849 



Association being asked to meet at Edinburgh. If you wish them 

 to go to you in 1850, you should immediately communicate with the 

 Council through John Phillips or Sabine, and then it may probably 

 be arranged. It is satisfactory that James Forbes has come round. 

 The University has done only its duty in granting a " small sum " 

 to the Botanical Society for keeping the herbarium (not only 

 keeping, but making it at its own expense), as they ought to have 

 employed a person to put it into order if there had been no Society. 

 What a pity, and how ridiculous it is, that your college should be 

 under the direction of the Town Council. You ought to have a new 

 charter altering that, and vesting the property in the University. 

 Let your Graduates follow the example of those of London, and put 

 your University upon a proper footing. — Believe me, very truly 

 yours, Charles C. Babington. 



Thanks for the remarks upon the portrait of Johnston. Of 

 course I shall not subscribe until I hear from some of you. 



To Professor J. H. Balfour, M.D. 



St. John's College, Cambridge, April 27, 1849. 



Dear Balfour, — I have just obtained some authentic information 

 which may be of use to you. It seems that Sabine has for some 

 time been in communication with (Forbes and) Brewster concerning 

 a Meeting of the British Association at Edinburgh, and that they had 

 arranged that when it took place, the latter should be the President 

 of the Association. Forbes, however, had led him to believe that 

 the Edinburgh people were opposed to the meeting, owing to some 

 affront that they had taken it into their heads that the Association 

 had put upon them. What it was I have been unable to learn. 

 Can you tell 1 After this they, Sabine and Phillips, gave up all 

 idea of an early meeting in the north, and as they had an invitation 

 for the Association to go to Ipswich, they had accepted it privately, 

 and the Ipswich people have undertaken to huilcl a large room for the 

 meeting. Still later the Edinburgh invitation Avas sent to Murchison 

 instead of Sabine, as it ought to have been, and has now been pre- 

 sented to the Council of the Association. It was accompanied by a 

 statement that it was wished that the Duke of Buccleuch should be 

 the President. Sabine thus finds himself in two difficulties. He 

 says that he cannot break off with Ipswich without affronting them ; 

 and even if he did that, that he cannot accept the Duke as President 

 without offending Brewster. Also, that if the Council determine to 

 recommend Edinburgh as the place of meeting for 1850, and the 

 Duke as President, then he must resign the office of Secretary. 

 The Council could come to no conclusion at a very prolonged 

 meeting on Friday last (last week) and so the business is adjourned. 

 The Council feel that Brewster will very likely not be acceptable to 

 Edinburgh, and that the Duke would probably be the cause of a 



