28 



NATURE 



[September ii, igig 



he did not survive to receive the honour of admis- 

 sion to the British Academy, to mark his signal 

 services to his science in this' country. 



Rugby, King's College, Cambridge, and the 

 British Museum, not to speak of the University 

 of London, have lost in him one of their most 

 distinguished members. H. R. Hall. 



THE BOURNEMOUTH MEETING OF THE 

 BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



WRITING on the day before the opening of 

 the meeting at Bournemouth, it is not pos- 

 sible to give exact figures of the number of 

 members and associates enrolled. The number 

 is approximately one thousand, and steadily in- 

 creasing. All day the Municipal College has been 

 the scene of great activity, and the officials have 

 had hard work to cope with the rush of applica- 

 tions and inquiries. The figures compare very 

 favourably with those of previous years, and, 

 while no new records are likely to be established, 

 it is believed that the attendance will be in excess 

 of that at any meeting held during the war. 



Local enthusiasm has been late in manifesting 

 itself, but has now reached a high pitch. The 

 town's privilege in being the scene of so import- 

 ant and in many respects unique a meeting is at 

 last fully appreciated. The greatest interest is 

 being shown in the proceedmgs of the Association, 

 and a most cordial welcome extended to the dis- 

 tinguished men of science visiting the town. The 

 citizens' lectures arranged in co-operation with 

 the Workers' Educational Association are also 

 likely to be exceptionally well attended. 



The great difficulties of securing accommoda- 

 tion have been successfully met, and the many 

 visitors find the arrangements in every way ex- 

 cellent. The careful organisation of the local 

 executive committee in other directions is in evi- 

 dence on all sides, and its results meet with the 

 keen appreciation of members and associates. 



The weather is fine and warm, a fortunate 

 circumstance in view of the numerous sectional 

 excursions to points of interest in the neighbour- 

 hood taking place during the week. 



Even at this early hour it is possible to pro- 

 nounce the Bournemouth meeting a decided 

 success. 



[Tuesday evening.) 



The weather to-day has been brilliantly fine, 

 and with Bournemouth looking its best the meet- 

 ing has opened under the happiest conditions. 



More than 1200 tickets have been issued, and 

 many fresh applications are still being received. 

 The section lectures and discussions and the 

 excursions to-day were exceedingly well attended. 

 This evening the Winter Gardens Pavilion was 

 crowded by a keenly appreciative audience on the 

 occasion of the pre.sident's inaugural address. The 

 attendances are not so large as at certain meet- 



NO. 2602, VOL. 104] 



ings held before the war, but they are regarded 

 here as most gratifying and quite equal to expecta- 

 tions. 



The interest displayed in the citizens' lectures 

 exceeds all anticipation, and the accommodation 

 provided, based on the experience of previous 

 years, has proved quite inadequate. All the 

 tickets have been disposed of, and large numbers 

 of intending auditors have been disappointed. 

 This points to a useful development of the work 

 of the Association in the future. 



All the conditions are exceptionally favourable, 

 and the " Peace " meeting is pro\ ing eminently 

 successful in every way. 



Prof. W. A. Herdman,'^gJfio has been general 

 secretary of the AssociatifflR^since 1903, has been 

 elected to fill the office of president for the year 

 1920-21, beginning with the Cardiff meeting. 



INAUGURAL AdDKRSS Bi' THE HOX. SiR ChARLES A. 



Parso.n's, K.C.B., M.A., LL.D., D.Sc, F.R.S., 

 President. 



Three years of anxiety and stress have passed suice 

 the last meeting of the British Association. The 

 weight of the struggle which pressed heavily upon us 

 at the time of the Newcastle meeting in 19 16 had 

 increased so much in intensity by the spring of 1917 

 that the council, after consultation with the local com- 

 mittee at Bournemouth, finally decided to cancel the 

 summer meeting of that year. This was the first 

 time in the history of the association that an annual 

 meeting was not held. 



We all rejoice to feel that the terrible ordeal through 

 which the whole Empire has been passing has now 

 reached its final phases, and that during the period 

 of reorganisation, social and industrial, it i^ possible 

 to resume the annual meetings of the association under 

 happier conditions. We have gladly and with much 

 appreciation accepted the renewed invitation of our 

 friends an:l colleagues at Bournemouth. 



We are gathered together at a time when, after a 

 great upheaval, the elemental conditions of organisa- 

 tion of the world are still in flux, and we have to 

 consider how to influence and mould the recrystallisa- ' 

 tion of these elements into the best forms and most 

 economic rearrangements for the benefit of civilisa- 

 tion. That the British Association is capable of 

 exerting a great influence in guiding the nation 

 towards advancement in the sciences and arts in the 

 most general sense there can be no question, and of 

 this we may be assured by a study of its proceedings 

 in conjunction with the history of contemporary- pro- 

 gress. .Mthough the British Association cannot claim 

 anv paramount prerogative in this good work, yet it 

 can certainly claim to provide a free arena for dis- 

 cussion where in the past new theories in science, 

 new propositions for beneficial change, new sugges- 

 tions for casting aside fetters to the advancement in 

 science, art, and economics have first seen the light 

 of publication and discussion. 



For more than half a century it has pleaded strongly 

 for the ad/ancement of science and its application to 

 the arts. In the yearly volume for 185, will Ije found 

 a report in which' it is stated that : — " The objects for 

 which the association was established have_ been 

 carried out in three ways : First, by requisitioning 

 and printing reports on the present state of different 

 branches of science; secondly, by granting sums of 



