the late Mr. Henry. 21 



" To the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. 



^ We, the subscribed, beg leave to present, to the Philoso- 

 phical Society, a portrait of our President, painted by Mr. Allen, 

 which having been in a public exhibition, has been declared 

 by competent judges, to be not only a correct resemblance, 

 but likewise an excellent production of art. Our wish is, that 

 a suitable place may be assigned to it, in the room where our 

 meetings are held: and that, if approved by the Society at 

 large, it may be inscribed by them as an affectionate tribute 

 of respect and gratitude to a man, universally beloved for his 

 conciliating qualities and private worth, and peculiarly endeared 

 to us, by the relation in which he stands, as one of the very few 

 founders of the Society, whom an indulgent Providence has 

 still spared to us; a Philosopher, to whose talents we owe 

 much of the approbation which the Public has bestowed on 

 our labours; and a Member, whose zeal has, for a period of 

 nearly thirty years, been uniformly exerted, in every station, to 

 promote the peace and prosperity of the Institution over which 

 he presides." 



Art. II. Investigation of the Corrections of the Places of 

 the Stars for Aberration and Nutation. 



A. If the earth moved uniformly in a circle, the apparent 

 place of a star would also describe a circle in a plane parallel 

 to that of the ecliptic, its diameter being 40 ",51. 



This proposition follows immediately from a consideration of 

 the cause of aberration, and is too well known to require 

 further demonstration. The magnitude of the circle is the 

 most accurately determined from the phenomena of Jupiter's 

 satellites ; Professor Bessel has indeed remarked, that the ob- 

 servations of Bradley seem to indicate a diameter about a second 

 greater, and that those of the Baron von Lindenau have a 

 similar tendency ; Professor Brinkley is also inclined to draw 

 the same conclusion from his own observations ; but it is 

 avowedly inconsistent with Mr. Pond's very accurate series of 

 observations on annual paruUax, as well as with Professor 



