November 2, 1905] 



NA TURE 



those whose names are given in the provisional list as 

 vice-presidents and officers of the British Science Guild 

 be elected in those capacities and asked to serve." 



This list is as follows : — 



Vice-presidents : The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor oi 

 London, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M.,. R.A., the 

 Right Hon. Lord Alverstone, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., Lord 

 Balcarres, M.P., the Right Hon. the Earl of Berkeley, 

 Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, G.C.B., Sir William 

 Broadbent, Bart., K.C.V.O., F.R.S., Sir Walter Buller, 

 K.C.M.G., F.R.S., Sir J. Burdon-Sanderson, Bart., 

 F.R.S., Major-General Sir Owen Tudor Burne, G.C.I.E., 

 K.C.S.I., the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., 

 F.R.S., Sir William Church, Bart., K.C.B., Sir George 

 Sydenham Clarke, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., Sir John Colomb, 

 K.C.M.G., M.P., the Right Hon. the Earl of Donough- 

 more, the Right Hon. Earl Egerton of Tatton, Sir John 

 Eliot, K.C.I.E., F.R.S., Sir Michael Foster, K.C.B., 

 M.P., F.R.S., the Right Hon. Sir Edward Fry, F.R.S., 

 Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S., Mr. F. Du Cane Godman, 

 F.R.S., the Right Hon. Sir John Gorst, K.C., M.P., 

 F.R.S., the Right Hon. Lord Haliburton, G.C.B., Sir 

 Joseph Hooker, G.C.S.I., F.R.S., Sir Alfred Jones, 

 K.C...1.G., the Right Hon. Viscount Knutsford, G.C.M.G., 

 Prof. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S., Mr. 

 C. W. Macara (president of Federation of Master Cotton 

 Spinners' Associations), Sir Charles McLaren. Bart., 

 K.C., M.P., the Right Hon. Sir Horace Plunkett, 

 K.C.V.O., F.R.S., the Right Hon. Lord Ravleigh, O.M., 

 F.R.S., Prof. Rhys, the Lord Bishop of Ripon. Mr. E. 

 Robertson, K.C., M.P., the Right Hon. Lord Tennyson, 

 P.C., G.C.M.G., Sir Philip Walts, K.C.B., F.R.S., His 

 Grace the Duke of Wellington, K.G., G.C.V.O.. Sir John 

 Wolfe-Barry, K.C.B., F.R.S.; chairman of committees: 

 Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. ; vice-chairmen: Sir 

 William Abney, K.C.B., F.R.S., Sir Lauder Brunton, 

 F.R.S., the Right Hon. Sir John Cockburn, K.C.M.G., 

 Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P. ; trustees: the Right Hon. Lord 

 Strathcona and Mount Royal, G.C.M.G., Sir Henry 

 Roscoe, F.R.S.; Hon. treasurer: the Right Hon. Lord 

 Avebury, F.R.S.; Hon. assist, treasurer: Lady Lockyer, 

 ifi Penywern Road, S.W. ; hon. secretary : Mr. C. 

 Cuthbertson, pro tern. 



Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge seconded the motion. In 

 doing so he said that the officers of the Japanese navy 

 had frequently mentioned to him the satisfaction it was 

 to them, and the benefit it had been to them, to have 

 been brought up by officers of the British Navy. 



The resolution was agreed to. 



Sir J. Wolfe Barry moved : — " That the president, vice- 

 presidents, and officers and the other members of the 

 Guild mentioned in the provisional list be elected members 

 ..I the general committee of the Guild." He said that 

 the movement must be looked upon as an educational 

 movement, to educate the people at large and the Govern- 

 ment and political parties not to undervalue the great 

 resources of science in the development of the kingdom. 

 Much had been done, and he had only to look back on the 

 progress of the nineteenth century to see how leading a 

 part science had taken in the development of the nation. 

 But everybody must admit that we must not rest and be 

 thankful for what had been done. An immense amount 

 remained. This country must not stand still. It had 

 the most vigorous competitors, who brought all the pro- 

 duct of science into the contest which they waged against 

 us in so many industrial and social ways. The business 

 of that guild would be, he thought, to urge everybody to 

 go forward in hope, and we must not suffer ourselves to 

 be left behind by the development of other nations from 

 whom we might learn much. At the same time, he firmly 

 believed that this country had nothing to fear if only it 

 were true to itself. 



Major-General Sir J. F. Maurice seconded the resolu- 

 tion, which was passed. 



Sir W. Ramsay moved a vote of thanks to the Lord 

 Mayor. In doing so he said that in England we had 

 a great deal of scientific ability. Much of it was 

 organised, but its application to the affairs of the State, 

 to the Army, to the Navy, to the service of the nation 



NO 1879, VOL - 73] 



at large, could be very much better organised than it 

 was. The object of that guild was to attempt to effect 

 that organisation, which was so much required. If that 

 was so he was sure they would all agree that to promote 

 the object of that guild was one of the most important 

 tasks which the nation could undertake. He hoped they 

 would all unite to promote that object and gain adherents 

 for the guild, with the result that before many years we 

 should be less of a disorganised rabble and more of an 

 organised army than we were now. 



Dr. Robert Caird seconded the motion, which was 

 heartilv carried. 



NOTES. 



We regret to announce that Prof. Ralph Copeland, 

 Astronomer-Royal for Scotland and professor of astronomy 

 in the University of Edinburgh, died on October 27, at 

 sixty-eight years of age. 



Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S., curator of the Canter- 

 bury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand, and president 

 of the New Zealand Institute, died on October 27 while 

 returning home by the R.M.S. Rimutaka at the con- 

 clusion of a visit to England. He was sixty-eight years 

 of age, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 

 1892. 



An interesting gathering of the old pupils of Mr. Francis 

 Darwin, F.R.S., formerly reader in botany, was held in 

 the botany school of the University of Cambridge on 

 October 28, when his portrait, by Mr. W. Rothenstein, 

 was presented to the botanical department by a body of 

 subscribers, all formerly his pupils. To Mr. Darwin him- 

 self was presented a handsome book containing autographs 

 of his pupils. Speeches were made by members of the 

 staff and by other botanists regretting the severance, after 

 twenty-one years, of Mr. Darwin's connection with the 

 botanical department. 



At a meeting of the general committee of the British 

 Association held on Tuesday, Leicester was adopted as 

 the place of meeting of the association in 1907 'by the 

 following resolution, which was passed unanimously ; — 

 " That having regard to the fact that no meeting of the 

 Association has as yet been held in Leicester, the general 

 committee decides to accept the cordial invitation from that 

 town, and at the same time expresses its most hearty 

 appreciation of the kind and courteous invitation from the 

 city of Dublin, and ventures to express the hope that the 

 invitation may be renewed at an early date." 



On Monday, October 30, a strong earthquake shock, 

 lasting four seconds, was recorded at Catanzaro in the 

 afternoon ; and two earthquake shocks, one rather marked 

 and the other slight, were observed at Monteleone in the 

 evening. 



We have received a letter from Dr. Faulds in which he 

 replies to the review of his book on October 19 (supple- 

 ment, p. iv). The more important part of his letter lies 

 in the assertion that he had devised a method of classify- 

 ing finger-prints. Where can an exact description of his 

 method be found? His book contains only generalities 

 about it, and his present letter goes no further. 



At the annual general meeting of the Royal Society of 

 Edinburgh, held on October 23, the following officers and 

 members of council were elected : — President, the Right 

 Hon. Lord Kelvin, G.C.V.O., F.R.S. ; vice-presidents, 

 Hon. Lord M'Laren, Prof. Flint, Dr. R. Munro, Sir 

 John Murray, K.C.B., F.R.S., Dr. R. H. Traquair, 

 F.R.S., Prof. Crum Brown, F.R.S.; general secretary, 

 Prof. George Chrystal ; secretaries to ordinary meetings. 



