ADDRESS 
BY 
PROFESSOR TRAILL, M.D. 
GENTLEMEN,—The duty of addressing the British Association, on 
this occasion,was originally confided to one admirably qualified to do jus- 
tice to the task; and few persons have more cause to lament the circum- 
stances which deprive us of the services of that gentleman than the indi- 
vidual who now addresses you. To those who know me only as connected 
with my present domicile, my position at this Meeting may appear un- 
warrantable or presumptuous. I can only plead, that though highly 
honoured by the office, it certainly was neither expected nor solicited 
by me; and that, unless twenty-eight years’ residence in this place, 
and the existence of numerous and valued local attachments, may be 
considered as conferring the privilege, I fear I can advance few claims 
to be received as one of the Secretaries for Liverpool. 
The objects and nature of the British Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science have been so eloquently handled by my predecessors, 
that to some members the subject may appear to be exhausted ; but, 
as the Association is necessarily a fluctuating body—as many have 
now joined it for the first time—and as there still seems to be con- 
siderable misapprehension in the public mind regarding its objects 
and utility, a few remarks on the purposes which it is intended to ac- 
complish may not be altogether misplaced. 
The British Association was undoubtedly suggested by the successful 
efforts of the philosophers of Germany, within the last few years. The 
_ obstacles to free intercourse between scientific men, in that part of 
_ Europe, had always been felt as a great bar to the advance of science. 
_ Under such a system, those who, in sequestered regions, had long 
| pursued laborious investigations, had often the mortification to discover 
_ that they were following paths trodden by others, or in which they had 
| been completely anticipated by more fortunate inquirers. To obviate 
_ such grave inconveniences, and to promote social intercourse among 
| men of science, scattered over wide regions, separated by physical and 
