TIIANSACTION.S OF 8i:(TI(l.N (i. 



883 



in tneiul)t'V9 wo sIioiiUl not liuvn liiul tliiit priictical U'ssmi in jjrtMijympIiy which wo 

 liiive n'lM'ivccl hy our viiil Ihtc, u lesson that no (ioiilil will ho coiitinnt'il and 

 ainplilii'd hy nmny of n.- bt'lon- wr roturn to our homes. Wlu-thor it Ikj by tlio ocfim 

 <ti'ftmer nr l<y till' railway train, tiie onforprising' gt'ojjra|)hical fxploriT is carried 

 loor tlirouph countries which now, thanks ti) tho ennrineer, arti well known and 

 i-Mtled.upto the iH'frinnin;: of the tniknown and notnetUed; and thus his labours are 

 linlitcncil, he Cdnsinnes his ener<.'ie.s only upon his true woik, brin^^s bick his report, 

 whicli i", as I have saiil, studied hy the eni,'ineer with a view to still i'lirther 

 (livelopinent, and thus turn by turn the ^reo^jraphcr and the eiij,rineer curry civili.su- 

 timi over tho face of tbe world. 



Xiiw to come to Section F, which treats of I'lcononiic Science. Tho matters 

 with wliich tlii.s section ileals- -l)irtb-rate, deutli-rate, the increasi? or tho diminution 

 (il pipulal ions, the development of particHihir industries in diU'ereiit localities, the 

 Viiniiii; rates of wajjes, tho extent an<l nature ol' taxation, the cost of production, 

 liifcest of transport, tho statistics of railway and of nnirine disasters, the con- 

 <iini])tiou of fuel, and many matters which (!ome within the purview of Section !•', 

 all' uf importance to tho enj^'ineer. (iuided by tho information f;iven him by tho 

 labdurs of this section, ho comes (o tlie conclusiijii that a woriv havinj^ a i)articidar 

 uliji'ct in view should or should not he undertaken. With tlie infornuitioii derived 

 from tlic past ho judp'S of tho fuiure; he sees what )»rovision should b(! made for 

 prospective increa.s<' of ])opidation or of industries ; he sees the chances of the com- 

 luereiid .--uccess of an undertakinfr or of its failure, and he advises accordiufrly. 



i (1(1 not propose to say anything,' about Section II, for I have dealt with it as 

 Icini.' s'till included witiun I). 



1 trust I have now established tho proposition with which I set out, viz., that 

 r.'it (iiily is Section (r the section of .Mechanical Scienci-, but it is iMnphatically 

 liii' section of all others that applies in eniiineerin^r to tho uses of nnm the several 

 sii'iices a]ipertaiuin<: to the other sections : an application most important in tho 

 pnyress of tho world, and an aitplicution not to bo lightly regaKbiil, even by tho 

 •'ridest votaries of pure scieiico, for it ,t;:'dd bo vain to ho|;e that ]inie science 

 wiiild continue to be pursued if i'roin time to ti.uo its discoveries were not brou^rbt 

 into practical use. 



Under ordinary circumstances I shouM have closed .ny address at this jioint, but 

 dure is a subject which at this, tho lirst meetinfj' of Section tt after the meetinjr at 

 >nitlip(ivt, must be tonclied upon. It is one of so sad a ciiarncter that I hav(! 

 avoided all allusion to it until this the very last nujinenl, but now 1 am compelled 

 tOj.Tapple with it. 



In the course of this address T have had occasion to mention several names of 

 eminent men, many of them happily still with us, some of them passed away : but 

 I'loiilit not you have been struck by tho absence of one name, which of all others 

 d'-umnds mention when considering physical science, and still more does it come 

 tividly before us when considering thi' application of science to industrial purposes. 

 Iiimsiire I need not tell you that this name, which I can hardly trust myself to 

 !i«:ik, is that of our dear friend William Siemens, whose contributions to science, 

 md whose ability in the application of science, have for years om-iched tho trans- 

 sctinns of this section, and of Sections A and B, Ibr in him were combined 

 ilie mechanic, the physicist, and the chennst. 



But a brief j'ear has elapsed since he quitted the Presidential chair of the 

 A'jociation, and, with us at Southport, was taking his accustomed part in the 

 '^oikof this and of other .sections, apparently in g. oil iiealtli, and with a reasonable 

 pospect of being further useful to science for many valuable years to conu;. But 

 i' WHS not to be ; ho is lost to us, and in lo.sing him wo are dei)rived of a man 

 'iiose electrical work has been second to none, wiioso thermic work has been 

 ^m\ to none, and whoso enlarged views justilied him in embarking in scientitic 

 'pciilat ions of the grande-st and most prolbimd character. Wliether or not his 

 iliwy of the conservation of the energy of the sun s all prove to be correct, it 

 faiiiiot be denied that it was a bold t.ud original conception, and one thoroughly 

 *dl reasoned out from tirst to last. 



I feel that were I to attempt anything like the barest summary of his discoveriea 



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