Astronomical Society. 36Y 



tlie mode of making good Jlint glass, will shortly put us in possession 

 of at least a succedaneum for it. 



Some of the members* of the Society, regretting that the late 

 Board of Longitude was not remodelled instead of being dissolved, 

 had, during the last spring, several interviews with His Majesty's 

 ministers on the subject of a new one. A plan for the constitution 

 and regulation of a new Board was shown to the First Lord of the 

 Admiralty; and was only not introduced to the consideration of Par- 

 liament at the instance of the projectors of it, in consequence of a wish 

 expressed by Lord Melville, that a bill drawn up in its spirit should 

 be presented to the Legislature by the Admiralty officers; The ques- 

 tion which at that time, and during the remainder of the session, so 

 completely engrossed the attention of the government, being now 

 disposed of, let us hope, that the pledge then given will be remembered, 

 and that on our next anniversary we shall have to thank the govern- 

 ment for having given us a Board of Longitude, which shall be worthy 

 of the first maritime nation in the world. 



As connected in some measure with astronomy, we see the geodetic 

 operations in Ireland carried on with vigour, under the superinten- 

 dence of Colonel Colby ; whilst for triangulating our Indian empire 

 (thanks to the scientific spirit of the Directors of the East India Com- 

 pany) such a battery of field apparatus is nearly prepared by Troughs 

 ton and Simms, as; in even less able hands than those of Captain 

 Everest, could scarcely fail to immortalize him who should have the 

 happiness of using it. 



Again, we have the pendulum investigations of our associate. Pro- 

 fessor Bessel, showing that the corrections employed by British philo- 

 sophers for the reduction to a vacuum are far from accurate ; and, 

 to come nearer home, our ever active member, Mr. Francis Baily, has 

 demonstrated that certain imperfections and discordances exist in the 

 apparatus employed by previous experimenters, which point out the 

 absolute necessity of fresh inquiries being instituted, ere we can pre- 

 tend to be possessed of accurate estimations either of measure or of 



weight f. . . . c 



But our Society was not founded solely for the investigation ot astro- 

 nomical refinements— practical utility was to go hand in hand with 

 it : geography was to be improved ; and hydrography, so essential to 

 the well-being of our maritime country, was not to be neglected. To 

 advance our knowledge of the former since our last anniversary, 

 British intrepidity, undaunted by previous defeat, has left our shores, 

 and is now struggling in the Victory to achieve that, which the per- 

 severance of a Parry, backed by the' exchequer of Great Britain, was 

 forced, after repeated trials, to'ubandon in despair. And the no less 

 interes'ting part of the history is, that tlie expense of the attempt 

 (which God grant may be successful !) has been paid by tlie princely 



• Lord Ashley, Mr. Francis Raily, Captain Dcaufort, and the President. 



-}■ A standard measure, on a new construction, lias been ordered by the 

 Council, since the delivery of this Address, and is now in course of comple- 

 tion by Trouglitoii and Siiunis. 



liberality 



