PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 19 



less much more used than at present. Volapuk, Esperanto, 

 Ido, and Simple are all languages manufactured for this 

 purpose, the two latter being probably the best. It has 

 been suggested that Latin should be now taught as a living 

 language, with this object in view, but a uniform pronunciation 

 would be necessary. Another point nearly related to this 

 would be uniformity of letters of the alphabet in writing ; and 

 ingenious plans have been proposed for turning Russian into 

 Roman script. A curious instance of the desirability, at 

 least in Mathematics, of not accepting a rule as universal 

 without actual proof, in spite of its being apparently almost 

 certain, is furnished by a theory in regard to prime numbers, 

 that is, numbers which are indivisible by any other number. 

 A rule as to the number of prime numbers less than any given 

 number had been shewn to hold good when the given number 

 was not greater than 1,000,000,000, and it was naturally 

 supposed to hold good universally. But it has recently 

 been shewn that for some very high numbers it fails. We 

 are always pleased to hear of any distinction obtained by 

 those connected with us, and I would offer our congratulations 

 to our distinguished Honorary Member, Dr. Smith Woodward, 

 on the award to him by the Royal Society of a Royal Medal 

 for his researches in Vertebrate Palaeontology, on which he is 

 one of the highest authorities. He has always taken an 

 interest in our Club, and has contributed to our volumes of 

 Proceedings. I have always found him most kind in giving 

 valuable help and information. I should like also to congra- 

 tulate our Member and Vice -President, Sir Daniel Morris, 

 whose papers we have listened to with the greatest interest 

 on several occasions, on his election as President of the S.E. 

 Union of Scientific Societies. Our Club is, with its individual 

 members, like the nation, passing through an ordeal, and can 

 only carry out the objects of its existence to a limited extent. 

 We can only hope that before our Annual Meeting again 

 comes round, the efforts of ourselves and our Allies may have 

 been crowned with victory, leading to a lasting and universal 

 peace. 



