500 DR. LAMONT ON THE MAGNETIC OBSERVATORY 
an existing force, subject to many conditions, and fitted power- 
fully to excite the spirit of research. Nevertheless the questions 
which must have presented themselves when the phenomena 
were first perceived, as to the proper site of the magnetic force, 
or its connexion with the globe of the earth, as to the Jaws which 
govern both its normal condition and its variations, have as yet 
found no satisfactory solution; and if the brilliant discoveries of 
modern times in the domain of magnetism, and of its relation- 
ship or near connexion with other forces acting on the surface 
of the earth,—heat, electricity, and galvanism,—have appeared 
to point to possible connexions and possible modes of originiza- 
tion, no one has yet succeeded in deducing any determinate part 
of the phznomena of terrestrial magnetism from any one force. 
Although the earlier magnetic researches, notwithstanding the 
continually increasing accuracy of observation, had not been suc- 
cessful in discerning relations subject to laws, the investigation 
continued both to gain greater extension, and to approximate gra- 
dually to astronomical methods, until, in 1839, by an impulse 
memorable in the annals of science, a series of observatories, 
similar to those for astronomical science, were established, ex- 
tending to remote parts both of the northern and southern hemi- 
spheres, forming the foundation of a grand undertaking, which 
claimed the widest possible cooperation in order to ensure its 
success. It was under these circumstances that His Majesty, 
our gracious Sovereign, granted the foundation of the magnetic 
observatory which I am now about to describe. 
Having treated hitherto in a general manner of the o/ject, and 
of the means by which its attaiment is contemplated, I now 
proceed to the mode of execution. 
The new magnetic arrangements, so different in their origin 
from earlier proceedings, offer also in their mutual relations a 
feature as novel in science as it is gratifying. Whereas it has 
often happened in scientific researches, that from different paths 
having been chosen to obtain the same object, the combination, 
with a view to a general result, has been impeded, or at least 
rendered more difficult; we find in this case the same instru- 
ments, the same methods, and the same periods of observation 
at all the stations. The different establishments are parts of one 
great system of research, embracing as their sphere of action the 
terrestrial globe, the seat of the force which is the subject of 
investigation. 
