208 THE ADDRESSES, LECTURES, ETC., OF 



Euchene and Greiner of Seraing ; Tenore as representing Italy ; 

 and YbaiTa, Spain ; Griiner, Jordan, Schneider, de Wendel, 

 Morel, Gautier, and Perisse, as representatives of France ; and of 

 our American members, Cooper, Holley, Burden, and Gowen. 

 The large number of gentlemen proposed at the present meeting 

 of the Institute, including several foreign names of distinction, 

 proves that the general interest felt in our proceedings is not 

 abating. 



A further important step towards giving this Institute an 

 international character was made in 1873, when we accepted the 

 invitation of the Belgium engineers and ironmasters to hold our 

 summer meeting at Liege. The success of that meeting, under 

 the able presidency of my friend and predecessor in office, Mr. I. 

 Lowthian Bell, is still fresh in the memory of all those members of 

 the Institute who could avail themselves of the invitation. 



We are now for the second time assembled upon foreign soil, 

 having accepted the invitations kindly given us by the Institution 

 des Ingenieurs Civils, by the Societe" d'Encouragement, and by the 

 Directors of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. 



When at Liege, we found ourselves in the midst of a great iron- 

 producing district, an advantage which we cannot boast of on 

 the present occasion, inasmuch as in Paris and the Departments 

 immediately surrounding it, iron and steel industries are con- 

 spicuous by their absence. On the other hand, we have the 

 advantage of meeting at one of the greatest centres of intelligence 

 in all branches of knowledge, including those in which we are 

 particularly interested, and of finding at the Universal Exhibition 

 opportunity of viewing the mineral and manufactured produce of 

 nearly all civilised nations brought into juxtaposition so as to 

 facilitate comparison between them, although allowance must, of 

 course, be made for the limited space and imperfect arrangement 

 appertaining to the greater part of the exhibits other than French. 



Eighteen months have now elapsed since I had the honour 

 of addressing you upon assuming the office of President of this 

 Institution, and the present is the last time upon which the 

 responsibility of conducting its meetings will devolve upon me. 



In the address I delivered upon that former occasion, I referred 

 to the already depressed condition of the steel and iron trade 

 throughout the world, and but few of us would have thought at 



