the ancient city of York, I will ask your attention to 

 a few particulars of our actual operations. 



Time was when the Royal Societies of London and 

 Edin])urgh and the Royal Irish Academy were the only 

 representative bodies of British Science and the only 

 receptacles of memoirs relating thereto. But latterly, 

 the division of labour, so general in industrial life, has 

 operated in giving rise to special Societies, such as the 

 Astronomical, the Linnaean, the Chemical, the Geological, 

 the Geographical, the Statistical, the Mathematical, the 

 Physical, and many others. To both the earlier or 

 more general, and the later or more special societies 

 alike, the British Association shows resemblance and 

 affinity. We are general in our comprehensiveness ; we 

 are special in our sectional arrangement ; and in this 

 respect we offer not only a counterpart, but to some 

 extent a counterpoise, to the general tendency to sub- 

 division in Science. Further still, while maintaining 

 in their integrity all the elements of a strictly scientific 

 body, we also include, in our character of a microcosm, 

 and under our more social aspect, a certain freedom 

 of treatment, and interaction of our various branches, 

 which is scarcely possible among separate and inde- 

 pendent societies. 



The general business of our meetings consists first, in 

 receiving and discussing communications upon scientific 

 subjects at the various sections into which our body is 

 divided, with discussions thereon ; secondly, in distri- 

 buting, under the advice of our Committee of Recom- 

 mendations, the funds arising from the subscriptions of 

 members and associates ; and thirdly, in electing a 

 Council upon whom devolves the conduct of our affairs 

 until the next meeting. 



