1.^.4 



NA TURE 



[December 8, 1892 



Captain H. L. Gallwey, vice-consul for the Oil Rivers 



Protectorate, gave, at the meeting of the Royal Geographical 

 Society on Monday, a detailed account of his travels in the 

 Benin country, of which notice has already been taken in this 

 column (vol. xlvi. p. 65). The fact that some of the deltaic 

 streams are clear and transparent, while the Niger water is very 

 muddy, makes it probable that they are small independent 

 rivers. An account of a visit to Benin city gives some idea of 

 the decadence of native West Africa since the time of the early 

 writers on the region, if these were to be trusted. 



Mr. E. Wilkinson read a paper on the Kalahari desert, at 

 the same meeting. It described a waggon drive through part 

 of the desert area in company with two others, whose names were 

 disguised under iniiials. Although great scarcity of surface- 

 water was found, and the draught oxen and horses had some- 

 times to be watered from "sucking holes," where natives sucked 

 up the water and filled the buckets from their months, the land 

 was fairly well grassed in mon parts, and Mr. Wilkinson 

 believes it possible that it may subsequemly become useful for 

 grazing. A rough geological survey of the district passed over 

 was made. Granite covered a large part of the surface, and 

 appears to be the bed-rock of the whole district examined. Hard 

 crystalline siliceo-calcareous beds and highly-altered ferruginous 

 shales, as well as quartzite were also found, but vast accumu- 

 lations of blown sand masked the true geological structure in 

 almost every place. 



The Geographical Society of California claims to have 

 achieved "an immense success." The Society was incorporated 

 on December 11, 1S91, for " the acquisition and dissemination 

 of scientific geographical knowledge," and has already achieved 

 a membership of 4C0. Monthly lectures have been given, and a 

 bulletin has been published. We hope that a society which has 

 begun so well will fulfil the Latin proverb which it has adopted 

 for its motto, " Vires arquiric eundo." 



THE ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF THE ROYAL 

 SOCIETY. 



T^HE anniversary dinner of the Royal Society was held on the 

 evening of St. Andrew's Day at the Hotel Metropole. It 

 was more largely attended than any previous anniversary dinner, 

 covers being laid for about 230. The chair was occupied by the 

 President, Lord Kelvin. O.i his right were Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, 

 M.P. , Sir James Paget, the Italian Ambassador, Prof. Raoult 

 (medallist), Sir 11. Rocoe, M.P., Sir James Lister, Lord 

 Justice Lindley, Sir B. Samuelson, Sir A. Moncrieff, Sir U. 

 Kay-Sbuttleworih, M.P., Sir C. E. Bernard, the Dean of St. 

 Paul's, Mr. John Hutton, and Sir H. Acland. On the left of 

 the chair were Mr. Arthur Acland. M,P., Prof. Huxley, Mr. 

 James Bryce, M.P., the Swedish Mini^ter, Lord Ashbourne, Sir 

 G. Stokes, the Treasurer of the Society (Sir John Evans), Mr. 

 Alma Tadema, Sir K. E. Welby, Mr. Herbert Gardner, M.P., 

 Sir GoJfiey Lushington, Mr. Bryant, and Dr. Mackenzie. The 

 vice-chairs were occupied by Sir B. Baker, Prof. Roberis-Austen, 

 Loid Raylei:^h, Prof. M. Foster, Sir A. Geikie, Mr. Norman 

 Lockyer, Dr. Pye-Smilh, Prof. Vines, and Mr. Rix (assistant 

 secretary). The fiist toasts were "The Queen and the Prince 

 and Princess of Wales," and " Her Majesty's Ministers and the 

 Members of the Legislature." 



Mr. Shaw-Lefevie, in the course of his reply to the latter, said 

 that men of science a^ a rule were unwilling to abandon the quiet 

 fields of research in order to launch on the stormy seas of 

 politics ; and if they were willing, they were too philosophical to 

 swallow the creeds of either political party. He thought that 

 the two older Universities might help in this matter, and do 

 more to justify their right of representation by emulating the 

 example of the London University in reluming men of .'-cience 

 to Parliament. If there was any man in the country whose 

 presence in the House of Commons would add to its quality and 

 power, it was Prof. Huxley. 



Mr. Acland, in jiroposing the next toast, said, — I have to 

 propose to those who are here present, and who do not bear the 

 title of " F.R.S.," the toast of "The Royal Society" — a 

 society ancient, independent, distinguished, and most beneficent 

 in its operations duiing a course of more than two centuries. 

 Why I, a mere ])olitician, have been selected to propose this 

 toast I do not know. In looking over a list of the late proceed- 

 ings of your society a day or two ago, I tried to discover some 

 links betwcn yourselves and the Education Department, over 



which I preside. I came across the words, '* On character and 

 behaviour," and I thought that that looked like the kind of 

 language which we employ in our instructions to her Mnjesty's 

 inspectors of schools. But it was not so. The subject to 

 which the words had reference was "on the character and 

 behaviour of the wandering cells of the frog, especially in 

 relation to micro-organisms." I feel that I must fall back upon 

 some more substantial links than that, and I fall back upon the 

 fact that I have the honour to preside over certain institutions 

 in which members of your society are engaged. There is the 

 Dean of the Royal College of Science at Kensington, Prof. 

 Huxley ; and your foreign secretary. Sir Archibald Geikie ; 

 and, altogether, including those who examine for us from time 

 to lime, there are something like thirty members of the Royal 

 Society who are connected with those in^iiiuiions, and I con- 

 sider it a very high honour to he linked with institutions with 

 which they are connected. Whether some of my friends at 

 Kensington look on their connection with the State in the same 

 light, I do not know. When I have the honour of going over 

 the laboratories of my friends. Prof. Thorpe and Prof Riicker, 

 I am inclined to doubt it. But as far as the present connection 

 with the State goes, the Royal Society do most admirable service. 

 They act as unpaid judges for the administration of a sum of 

 /4,ooo, which the State would find it very difficult to 

 administer on its own account ;' and they do the work in 

 so impartial and admirable a manner that no man in his 

 senses could complain. There is one other link between us. 

 There are present here a large number of men who are 

 interested in the work of education ; and I think they will 

 agree with me that we have one great task before us. Between 

 the Universities and the University Colleges with which most 

 of them are connected and the great sphere of elementary edu- 

 cation there lies a large region, at present unorganized and 

 chaotic, which we want lo organize and bring into working 

 order as soon as possible. There are many men of science in 

 these colleges who often greatly regret to find willing lads, with 

 the highest scientific capacity, brought under their notice and 

 care, whose only lack is a lackof adequate educational prepara- 

 tion for their work. It is that which we want to remedy, and if I 

 am enabled to lake however humble a share in remedying it, I 

 shall be proud of the task. We want to engage in the ta^k of 

 the reclamation of waste ; and one of the most serious of all 

 wastes is the waste of intellect. For those lads who go to our 

 colleges in every part of Great Britain and Ireland we want 

 to hold out one great possible goal— the blue riband of science — 

 the title of Fellow of the Royal Society. You at any rate in 

 your scientific honours have no distinction of class, and, as your 

 medallists to-day will testify, no distinction between one country 

 and another. You regard all as equal when you adjudge your 

 honours to the fittest men to bear them. I connect with this 

 toast the name of your distinguished President, Lord Kelvin. It 

 was tiuly said some nine years ago. when his claims were urged 

 for the Copley Medal, "there is scarcely a branch of physical 

 science to the substantive advantage of which he has not con- 

 tributed " ; and I understand that while he has touched both the 

 highest and the most abstruse subjects, he has not failed to con- 

 descend even to humble matters like the domestic water-tap. 

 Among those of you who know far better than I do what Lord 

 Kelvin has done, both for abstruse science and for the welfare of 

 mankind, there can be no limit as to the value of his work to 

 future generations. I am sure that he himself cannot possibly 

 say how great the value of what he has done may be in the far- 

 off future. But I understand from Sir Archibald Geikie that 

 your president has attempted to put a limit to the in- 

 quiries of the geologists, when they look into the 

 iiackward past. He has definitely said that in looking back- 

 wards they must not go beyond the moderate limit of twenty 

 million years. I understand that this is a grievance on the part 

 of the geologists, but I hope that the President will not give 

 unnecessary pain to his geological friends. In the draft of the 

 preamble of your charter — it was drafted by Sir Christopher 

 Wren — it was said Fellows of the Royal Society, by "their 

 labours in the disqui.-ition of nature, would try to prove them- 

 selves real benefactors of mankind." I give you the toast of 

 " The Royal Society," coupled with the name of Lord Kelvin, 

 and I assert that your pre^^ent President has done his part in 

 proving himself a benefactor of mankind. 



The Chairman, in replying, said, — I thank you very heartily 

 for the kind manner in which you have received this toast. I 

 feel the honouryoudo me, but I also feel my incapacity to say 



NO. 1206, VOL. 47] 



