Royal Society. 65 



theory of the locomotive in the essay of De Pampour, or the prin- 

 ciples of steam in general in the researches of Regnault ? 



In military engineering too, as well as in naval architecture, 

 has not science been sometimes on the side of our adversaries ? and 

 have we not in consequence suffered severely ? But let me not be 

 mistaken. I do not contend that science can in a moment increase 

 our success in the arts, upon which the greatness of this country de- 

 pends. If we were to. say to the mathematician, give us the best 

 lines for a ship suited to a given purpose, however profound his ma- 

 thematical knowledge might be, he would fail ; practice must be com- 

 bined, but in due subordination with theory. It is where in a nation 

 science is cultivated profoundly by a large class of persons, and cir- 

 cumstances exist tending to direct it to practice, that some men will 

 always be found, gifted with the faculty of applying it in whatever 

 way the interests of the country may require. 



Popular science, however, will not do : it has its uses, subordinate 

 as they are ; it must be science of a high order ; science as taught 

 at our universities : there a power is created capable of effecting 

 great objects, but in too many cases it is not applied at all, and it 

 soon passes away without useful result. Were it possible to enlist 

 that gigantic power into the service of the country by making our 

 scientific Associations more inviting, by placing science in this me- 

 tropolis in a position more attractive, a result would be obtained 

 which the merest utilitarian would consider of immense value. 



I deeply regret that the last accounts have brought no intelli- 

 gence of Sir J. Franklin's expedition, and that science has sustained 

 a heavy loss in the death of a distinguished French officer; the 

 latest sacrifice to the perils of Arctic discovery. 



Many now present were acquainted with Lieut. Bellot, and I am 

 sure they will bear me out in this, that there was a singleness of 

 purpose, and a propriety of feeling in everything he said and did, 

 in perfect keeping with the tenor of his previous life ; and though 

 he was here so short a time, he was regarded as a friend by all who 

 knew him. 



You have heard no doubt with sincere pride, that British valour, 

 and British perseverance, have at length solved the problem of the 

 north-west passage. A question of great geographical interest has 

 thus been settled, and an important fact has been added to the data 

 of terrestrial physics. In all future inquiries relative to the oceanic 

 currents, the tides, the variations of temjierature, the winds, and 

 meteorological phenomena generally, it will no longer be a doubtful 

 assumption, that the sea flows freely around the northern coast of 

 America. 



It now only remains for me to state, and I have the greatest plea- 

 sure in doing so, that your Society is jirosperous. The publication 

 of your Transactions proceeds regularly, and they continue to be, 

 as they have been for two centuries, the records of every important 

 addition to British science. There is no indication of a diminished 

 anxiety to share in your labours, the candidates for admission are 



Phil. Mag. S. 4. Vol. 7. No. 42. Jan. 1851.. F 



