.s/A' WILLIAM SIEMENS, I-.R.S. 167 



ADDRESS 



Of DR. C. WILLIAM SIEMENS, F.R.S., 



President of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, 



Delivered on the 23rd January, 1878.* 



GENTLEMEN, Six years have now elapsed since I had the honour 

 of addressing you as first President of the Society of Telegraph 

 Engineers. The hopes which I then expressed as to the probable 

 development of the Society have been fully realised under the able 

 guidance of my successors in office, combined with the active 

 and ever-increasing support of our honorary secretary Colonel 

 Bolton. 



At the time I addressed you first the Society was composed of 

 only 110 Members of every description. This number increased 

 during my term of office to 353, whilst it has now reached up to 

 nearly 1000 Members, a number quite sufficient I should say to 

 insure a continuance of its prosperous career. 



The six volumes of Transactions issued by the Society since its 

 origin are proof of its activity as a scientific institution, whilst its 

 status has been much advanced through the establishment of a 

 scientific library, bequeathed to us in trust by the late Sir Francis 

 Ronalds, containing a most valuable record of all publications 

 having reference to the advancement of Telegraphy. In order to 

 make this collection of permanent value it will be necessary to 

 complete the record always up to date, a duty which I trust will be 

 faithfully and well discharged by the officers of the Society. 



In reviewing the progress made in Telegraph Engineering 

 during the last few years, I propose to notice in the first instance 

 the subject of Duplex and Quadruplex Telegraphy, which has 

 recently much occupied the attention of the Telegraph Engineer. 

 Duplex Telegraphy has been known and practised to a very limited 

 extent since 1854 when it was first announced by C. A. Nystrom 

 of Oreboro, Sweden, and by Dr. Gintl, of Vienna, and carried 

 out practically by Frischen and Dr. Werner Siemens. Although 



* Excerpt Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, Vol. VII. 1878, pp. 

 8-19. 



