Reports of Committees. 9 



of the inventions wliicli have been brought to our notice during the 

 year, which, however, would have been done had your committee 

 found any decidedly novel and commendable feature that seemed of 

 sufficient importance. 



Your committee have little of importance to communicate, further 

 than the increase and heretofore unprecedented success of the weekly 

 meetings of the Polytechnic Association, for the conduct of which 

 your committee is responsible. It organized the society for the year 

 by reappointing Prof. S. D. Tillman as chairman, and selecting C. E. 

 Emery to fill the place of the former secretary, who is still in Europe. 



The interest of its meetings has been largely due to the faithful and 

 regular attendance of a few members of the Institute, and to the zeal 

 and discretion of the chairman, who has presided with imj)artiality, 

 and endeavored to give ample opportunities to all who have desii-ed 

 to present before the association new inventions and new tlioughts on 

 mechanical and chemical subjects. 



The society has devoted a number of evenings to the discussion of 

 the best means of rapid transit through the city of Kew^ York, in 

 which the advantages and disadvantages of tunnels, deep cuts, elevated 

 railways and railways on the street level were very fully set forth. 

 It has also given great consideration to the question of uniting the 

 cities of Brooklyn and New York by means of bridges, causeways 

 and tunnels. Many other questions of general interest have been dis- 

 cussed and many new inventions examined. 



A prominent feature of the Polytechnic has been the usual sum- 

 mary of foreign scientific news presented by the chairman, which has 

 afforded topics for many interesting debates. 



THOMAS D. STETSOiS", 



HAMILTON E. TOWLE, 



MIEKS CORYELL, 



CHARLES E. EMERY. 

 New Yokk, February 3, 1869. 



ADMISSION OF MEMBERS. 



The Committee on the Admission of Members beg leave to submit 

 the following report : 



The committee have held ten meetings during the past year, and 

 have made reports at each monthly meeting of the Institute, giving 

 the names, occupations and residences of the candidates, and by whom 

 proposed. 



