Sept. 9, 1875J 



NATURE 



391 



mittee under the essential condition that it had but a 

 limited sum of money to spend." 



" Have any results of scientific importance in your 

 opinion been obtained by the action of the Committee ? — 

 In the direction of what one may call investigation of an 

 absolutely scientific character, I should say none at all. 

 Of course the observations that are made at the special 

 observatories are valuable scientific information, and so 

 far one has no right to say that scientific results have not 

 been produced ; but I do not think that these can pro- 

 perly be referred to as specific results of anything that 

 the Committee has done. To the best of my belief there 

 has been nothing undertaken in the way of original in- 

 vestigation into the specific physical causes of any of 

 the phenomena which are recorded, nor any original 

 research, properly so called, in relation to any of the 

 several branches of meteorology. The Committee hardly 

 has appliances at its command for any such investi- 

 gations, and, the funds at its disposal being limited, it 

 was hardly possible that it should attempt them. It is 

 also no doubt quite true that the observations which are 

 made at the seven observatories do not include any mat- 

 ters which are of great importance in physical science, and 

 which would properly come within the range of meteo- 

 rology." 



"Are the fund 5 at the disposal of the Committee in 

 your opinion insufficient for doing anything more than 

 has been actually done at present ? — I should say dis- 

 tinctly that this is the case. The Committee has always 

 considered that it is bound to attend primarily to 

 the special objects before referred to, which were in a 

 specific manner made over to it, and it finds that after 

 this has been done there is no money left for other things." 



Again, the same witness expressed a decided opinion 

 that the State should do more for the promotion of meteo- 

 rological science than it does at present, but entertains 

 some doubt whether any increased duties could advan- 

 tageously be allowed to devolve upon a body such as 

 the Meteorological Committee. 



The same view is expressed by Professor Balfour 

 Stewart : — 



" Would you organise the Meteorological Committee 

 in any really different form to that which at present 

 obtains ? — I should be inclined to dispense with the 

 Meteorological Committee altogether, and substitute 

 a Meteorologist Royal, or whatever his appellation might 

 be, a single official who should be responsible to the 

 Government in the same way as the Astronomer Royal is 

 responsible for his department. I do not see why the one 

 department should be on one footing and the other depart- 

 ment on a different footing. 1 think that there are grave 

 disadvantages with a department administered by an un- 

 paid committee." 



" Would you appoint a Meteorologist Royal corre- 

 sponding with the Astronomer Royal? — Yes, whatever 

 the name might be ; I should appoint an official very 

 much corresponding to the Astronomer Royal, and respon- 

 sible to the same extent. A board of visitors would not 

 be objectionable, but the direction of an unpaid com- 

 mittee appears to me to be very objectionable."* 



Evidence relatitig to Tidal Observations. 



Evidence in reference to tidal observations has been 

 placed before the Commission by Dr. Joule and Prof. Sir 

 W. Thomson. 



Dr. Joule is of opinion that-=- 



" With regard to the sea level and the tides, although 

 the laws with regard to the tides are pretty well known, 



* The whole of the evidence, of which the above are curtailed extracts, 

 coincides with the trenchant rem.ark of the Astronomer Royal in his last 

 Report to the Board of Visitors that " The subject of Meteorology hardly 

 deserves the name of a science." 



they ought to be continuously observed, if only for 

 the purpose of registering the changes arising from the 

 alteration of banks, depth of channels, &c. Also with 

 regard to the sea level, there have been reports from 

 time to time with regard to the inroads of the sea on our 

 coasts, but sufficient steps do not appear to have been 

 taken to ascertain the facts in those cases. It seems to 

 me very important to be acquainted with any alterations 

 in the configuration of the earth which may be taking 

 place, however minute those alterations may be." 



Sir W. Thomson gives the following evidence on this 

 point : — 



"In addition to those institutions which you have 

 recommended, you consider, do you not, that it would be 

 advisable that the Government should undertake secu- 

 lar observations of the tides ?— Yes, certainly, secular 

 observations of the tides with accurate self-registering 

 tide gauges, with the triple object of investigating the 

 science of the tides, of perfecting our knowledge of the 

 actual phenomena of the tides, both in respect to naviga- 

 tion and as a branch of natural history, and, thirdly, with 

 a view to ascertaining the changes of the sea lev^el from 

 century to century." 



" Is anything of the kind done at present ?— There 

 are several tide gauges, some of which have been carried 

 on with great care, others with not sufficient care, and 

 none with any security of permanence." 



" Was not it in connection with the Ordnance Survey 

 of Great Britain ? — No sufficient steps have been taken 

 to ascertain whether the sea level is changing relatively 

 to the land in any part of this country." 



The Commissioners state that the accurate reduction 

 of tidal observations, without which, of course, they are 

 useless, has not hitherto been undertaken by any depart- 

 ment of the State, and we are indebted to the zeal of indi- 

 viduals for the results which have been obtained. The 

 reductions are laborious, and require the employment of 

 paid computers. A memorial from the British Association 

 for the Advancement of Science to the Lords Commis- 

 sioners of the Treasury, put in evidence by Sir William 

 Thomson, shows the difficulty that has been felt in pro- 

 curing the moderate sum required for the reductions, the 

 amount asked for being only 1 50/. 



The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury did not 

 accede to the prayer of the memorial, so that at present 

 there is no guarantee that the observations which have 

 already been accumulated, and those which are still in 

 progress, will ever be adequately discussed and utilised. 



Evidence relating to the Extensioti of the Government 

 Grant administered by the Royal Society. 



The Commissioners remark : " The strong and concur- 

 rent evidence which we have received as to the usefulness 

 of the Government grant, as at present administered by 

 a Committee of the Royal Society, has led us to inquire 

 whether this grant might not be advantageously extended ; 

 and the witnesses whom we have examined on this point 

 are unanimous in expressing the opinion that great bene- 

 fits might be expected from such an extension." 



Prof. Owen, Mr. Spottiswoode, Prof. Grant, Mr. De la 

 Rue, and Col. Strange are amongst those who gave evi- 

 dence to the above effect. Lord Salisbury is also of opinion 

 that the Government grant might be increased, in order 

 to afford liberal assistance to " first-rate workers." 

 Evidence as to the Payment of Scientijic Workers. 



The Commissioners remark ; — 



" On this branch of our inquiry the evidence laid before 



