August 8, 1889] 



NATURE 



349 



THE MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIA- 

 TION AT NE WCA S TLE- ON-T YNE. 



'T'HE arrangements of the Local Committee are nearly 

 -*• completed for the reception of the British Associa- 

 tion on the occasion of its fifty-ninth annual meeting, 

 which, as our readers are aware, is to be held in New- 

 castle-on-Tyne, and will commence on September 11. 

 This will be the third occasion on which the Association 

 has held its annual Congress in Newcastle-on-Tyne, the 

 last being in 1863 — a meeting memorable as being the 

 largest gathering of members and friends of the Associa- 

 tion, which has only been once exceeded in point of num- 

 bers, viz. by the Manchester meeting of 1887. No efforts 

 have been spared on the part of the Committee to make pre- 

 parations for a meeting which, it is hoped, will prove as 

 successful and interesting to the members as the former 

 meeting proved ; and in their endeavours to do this, the 

 work of the Committee has been greatly facilitated by 

 the many notable additions, in the shape of buildings 

 suitable for the purposes of the Association, which have 

 been erected since 1863. 



The reception-rooms, occupying a central position 

 with respect to the various Section rooms, will be located 

 in the new buildings of the University of Durham Col- 

 lege of Medicine, Bath Road, in which building a wriling- 

 room and ladies' drawing-room will be provided, also 

 special rooms for the use of the officers of the Associa- 

 tion. The Cambridge Drill Hall, near the reception- 

 room, is to be fitted up for a luncheon-room. Sections 

 A and B will meet in the new buildings of the College 

 of Science, opened in November last by H.R.H. Princess 

 Louise ; and in the chemical laboratory of this College 

 it is intended to bring together a series of exhibits illus- 

 trating the chemical and allied manufactures of the 

 district. The general meetings of the Association will 

 be held in the St. George's Drill Hall. 



The Natural History Museum, opened by H.R.H. the 

 Prince of Wales in 1884, in which building is Mr. 

 Hancock's unique collection of British birds, will be 

 used for the two soirees; the first is to be given by the 

 Mayor and Corporation, and the second by the Local 

 Committee. 



A guide-book, arranged in three sections, has been 

 prepared for the occasion of the Association's visit, dealing 

 respectively with the history and topography, the geology 

 and natural history, and the industries of the district. The 

 first section is edited by the Rev. J. CoUingwood Bruce ; 

 the second by Prof. Lebour ; and the third by Mr. Wigham 

 Richardson. 



The Durham, Northumberland, and Newcastle-on-Tyne 

 Botanical and Horticultural Society has arranged to hold 

 its autumn show during the time of the meeting, and on 

 Wednesday, September 11— the first day of the show— it 

 will be open to members free on presentation of their 

 tickets. 



On the Saturday, half-day excursions have been ar- 

 ranged to the following places of interest : Morpeth, 

 Wallington, Seaton Delaval, Hexham, Marsden, Prud- 

 hoe, Durham, and an excursion down the river. The 

 Senate of the University of Durham proposes to hold a 

 special Convocation on the Saturday for the purpose of 

 conferring honorary degrees on the President and other 

 officers of the Association. Convocation will be followed 

 by a luncheon, to which 200 meimbers of the Association 

 will be invited, after which there will be a special service 

 in the Cathedral. 



Thursday, the last day of the meeting, is to be devoted 

 to whole-day excursions to the following places: Aln- 

 wick, Cragside (the seat of Lord Armstrong), Middles- 

 brough, Berwick, Lanercost, Beal, Little Mile, Belford, 

 Raby, Bardon Mill, and Middleton-in-Teesdale. 



The principal works in Newcastle and on the Tyne 



will be thrown open to members for inspection during the 

 meeting. 



The railway company is prepared, during the meeting, 

 to issue tickets at reduced rates to and from places in 

 the neighbourhood, and to run special trains, so that mem- 

 bers, should they wish to do so, will be able to reside in 

 the country or on the coast, and get to and fro conveniently. 

 Through the kindness of the authorities of University 

 College and of Hatfield Hall, Durham, the Local Com- 

 mittee are enabled to place the students' rooms in these 

 buildings on their hotel and lodgings list, which list will 

 also be found to contain the addresses of several places in 

 Tynemouth, Cullercoats, and Whitley, on the coast. 



THE NEW BUILDINGS OF THE SORBONNE. 



T N England we are still fighting about the question 

 -*■ whether London is or is not to have a teaching 

 University. It is significant that Frenchmen have no so)t 

 of doubt as to the necessity of such an institution in 

 Paris. During the long and splendid history of the 

 Sorbonne they have had ample experience of the value of 

 a great teaching body in the capital ; and the result is 

 that this is one of the institutions in which men of all 

 parties take a common pride. 



So long ago as 1855 it was decided that new buildings 

 for the Sorbonne should be erected, but the scheme was 

 not really complete until 1881. It was then estimated 

 that the expense would be 22,000,000 francs — a formid- 

 able enough sum, but one which caused no serious diffi- 

 culty, as the city readily undertook to contribute half of 

 it. The foundation was laid in 1885, and now a con- 

 siderable part of the work is finished. This was opened 

 on Monday, in the presence of the Head of the State, 

 and the ceremonies on the occasion may be regarded as 

 affording fresh evidence of the enthusiasm felt by educated 

 Frenchmen for all that represents and tends to develop 

 the highest intellectual life of the nation. Every Univer- 

 sity had been asked to send delegates elected by the 

 students to the celebration ; and the State, and the City 

 of Paris, agreed to look upon them as their guests during 

 the ten days of festivity in honour of science. "This 

 part of the programme," says the Paris Correspondent of 

 the Daily News, " has been well carried out, arrange- 

 ments having been made with different hotels to board 

 and lodge the foreign visitors at the expense of the 

 Hotel de Ville and the Ministry of Public Insti'uction. 

 Russia and Germany have not accepted invitations, but 

 the Universities of Great Britain, of the Scandinavian 

 countries, of Belgium, Holland, Greece, Switzerland, 

 Italy, Spain, and the United States are represented. 

 There are about 700 delegates from these countries, 

 besides a large number who have come at their own 

 expense." 



The /eL's began on Sunday evening with a gala per- 

 formance of "Faust" at the Opera House, which the 

 President attended. On Monday, 3000 persons assembled 

 in the new amphitheatre, an immense hall adorned 

 with frescoes. Each delegation had a standard-bearer 

 carrying the flag of his nation, and the members 

 of the various groups were warmly greeted by the public 

 as they advanced to the places appointed for them. At 

 3 o'clock M. Carnot arrived, and took his seat on the 

 platform, surrounded by Ambassadors, statesmen, and 

 Academicians. M. Ferry, as the Minister who made the 

 arrangements for the enlargement, was much cheered. 



M. Grdard, Rector of the Academy, made the first 

 speech. He sketched the history of the Paris University, 

 extolled the events of 1789, and described study as a 

 common Fatherland, which had brought together dele- 

 gates from nearly all the European and American 

 Universities. M. Hermite next reviewed the mathemati- 



