60 
Forty years ago Professor Maxwell, of Cambridge, a great 
physicist, said these waves existed. Hertz, a German Professor, 
proved their existence. Slides were shown of the instruments 
used by Signor Marconi, who said his latest instrument would 
work at a speed of about forty words a minute; but there was 
still a great gap between forty words and six hundred. 
The Cunard steamers are now fitted with wireless telegraphy 
apparatus, and were able to communicate with each other and the 
shore when hundreds of miles apart. It was impossible to 
exaggerate the importance of this fact. There were stations 
in America, two in Ireland, several in England, and on the coast 
of France. Rough weather and fog made no difference to the 
ease with which the messages could be sent, so that this was one 
of the greatest scientific achievements of the age. At present 
messages could be picked up by other than those to whom 
they may be sent. This would be an advantage in the case 
of a ship in distress. In time of war it would, of course, be 
undesirable that communications should be picked up by an enemy, 
and this problem is now in the process of being solved ; they were 
assured that in a very short time it would be completely solved, 
and the privacy of the message preserved. During the night 
there was more difficulty in passing messages than during the 
day 
Italy, France, Germany and England all had contributed in this 
work. They could now send messages, speak, and re-produce 
handwriting at great distances. One thing more was needed 
and that was to see others at a distance—to see the face of the 
speaker. And yet that is not so strange as wireless telephoning 
must have seemed to Volta a hundred years ago. 
If they did not know what electricity was they knew what it 
would do. There was no department of science where such 
accurate measurements could be made as in electrical science. 
The calculations were very easy to make and they were absolutely 
certain in their results. 
At the close of the lecture the apparatus which had been used 
in the performance of successful experiments were carefully 
examined by many of the members. 
