C)98 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



the crisis passed. This was by a large increase in the 

 number of Fellows ; and this he kept before him and tried 

 to press persistently on others, throughout the period of his 

 busy, painstaking, enthusiastic, and consequently, as far as 

 numbers went, successful efforts. This seems to me to be 

 one lesson to be learned from his work qua Secretary. But 

 there is another side to this. Several years ago I took 

 occasion, when congratulating him on the appearance of a 

 billet containing an unusually large number of names of 

 candidates, to point out that several of these were names of 

 men who were hastening to win their spurs in a noble race, 

 and would no doubt favour us with papers of much scientific 

 value, but would expect them printed in extenso, and even, 

 perhaps, illustrated at the Society's expense. " Do you as a 

 banker," I said, " think that the comparatively small annual 

 fee will suffice for this ? " ''I hardly think so," was his 

 reply, " but we must try and get more, and hope the best ! " 

 Now here we have the very men of whose Fellowship this 

 or any learned Society might be proud, by their accession to 

 our numbers either doubling our publishing account, or 

 coming to entertain feelings of disappointment in not having 

 their Papers fully and speedily printed. Is there a remedy? 

 I have said we have no endowments. When honoured 

 recently by Dr Gunning, a Fellow and former President of 

 the Society, to take a chief part in the arrangements con- 

 nected with his magnificent jubilee gifts, T had some hope 

 that ultimately he might see his way to let some crumbs of 

 his large liberality and noble gifts fall to the Physical, and 

 I have still hope. But the present is for us to deal with. 

 We have no endowments, and we have no share in State aid. 

 Now if State aid to Scottish Scientific Societies is to be 

 increased, why should not we make our claims known ? 

 They are very strong. As a Society we do much in behalf 

 of the natural sciences, which but for us would be left 

 undone. Our Proceedings bear witness to this. And there 

 is one aspect of our work whose value cannot be over-estim- 

 ated. I refer to the opportunities afforded young workers 

 here for showing what they are thinking, what they are 

 doing, and what they are ambitious to do, in their special 



