EDITOR'S TABLE. 



843 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



THE SCIENTISTS AT MONTREAL. 



THE Montreal Congress of British 

 Scientists, which was at first 

 thought to be a very dubious experi- 

 ment, turned out a success. Some nine 

 or ten hundred members of the British 

 Association crossed the sea, and, with 

 the accessions from Canada, and a 

 strong representation from the United 

 States, the meeting became very large, 

 and a great deal of excellent work was 

 done. The address of the president- 

 elect, and the inaugural addresses of the 

 presidents of the several sections — of 

 Sir "William Thomson in Physics, of Sir 

 Henry Koscoe in Chemistry, of Pro- 

 fessor Blanford in Geology, of Professor 

 Moseley in Biology, of Sir J. H. Lefroy 

 in Geography, of Sir Richard Temple in 

 Economics and Statistics, of Sir F. J. 

 B ram well in Mechanics, and of Mr. E. 

 B. Tylor in Anthropology — were all 

 productions of high, if not exceptional, 

 ability. Many important papers were 

 contributed to the several sections, 

 while the attendance upon their meet- 

 ings was large and the interest well 

 sustained. Of course, the Canadians 

 were delighted, as they had a right to 

 be. They were proud of the compli- 

 ment paid to the Dominion by the com- 

 ing of so dignified and distinguished a 

 body of scientific men to hold one of 

 its customary meetings in Montreal; 

 and were especially pleased that the 

 Queen should have graciously conferred 

 the honor of knighthood upon their lead- 

 ing man of science, Principal Dawson. 

 Of course, there were inconveniences 

 accompanying so large a gathering in a 

 city not provided with accommodations 

 on the largest scale. The reception at 

 the Redpath Museum, given by McGill 

 University, was a painful crush, pro- 

 ductive of far more discomfort than 

 pleasure, but the accommodations for 



the practical work of the sections iq 

 the university were more satisfactory. 

 Every hospitality was extended to the 

 strangers by the citizens of Montreal, 

 and the press of that city manifested 

 a creditable enterprise in reporting the 

 proceedings and publishing important 

 papers. The Governor-General, in his 

 address of welcome, as was natural for 

 a politician, used the occasion to mag- 

 nify Canada as an important constituent 

 of the British Empire, and appreciated 

 the immense advertising that would 

 come from this visit of the home scien- 

 tists. Altogether, it was a memorable 

 occasion ; everybody was gratified, and 

 its influence wiU, beyond doubt, be most 

 favorable to the cause of science. 



THE ELEVATION OF PHRASES ABOVE 

 THINGS. 



The inaugural address of Professor 

 Lord Rayleigh at Montreal, which we 

 pubhsh in full, is an able discussion. 

 As a review of the recent progress 

 of physics it is very instructive, full 

 of practical suggestions, and fair to 

 the workers of aU countries. But 

 there is one feature of it which we 

 think deserves especial commendation, 

 and that is the independent and com- 

 mon-sense way in which it refers to 

 the issue between the dead languages 

 and scientific education. He might 

 easily have evaded the subject, and, 

 being a Cambridge man, it was rather 

 to be expected that he would lean 

 toward the side of tradition. But he 

 did not shrink from his duty to recog- 

 nize the importance of the question on 

 this conspicuous occasion, and to rep- 

 resent decisively its scientific side. The 

 position which he took was moderate 

 but firm, and he indorses with emphasis 

 the main propositions advocated by the 

 friends of scientific education. He 



