494 
NATURE 
[SEPTEMBER 21, 1899 
« 
MEETING OF THE BRITISH 
ASSOCIATION. 
Dover, September 19. 
qpee meeting of the British Association at Dover, 
which concludes this week, has been on the whole 
a great success, especially when the size of the town 
and the fact that it is the most ambitious effort the town 
has ever made are considered. The number of members 
and associates present falls little short of 1400, and 
amongst these are included an unusually large number 
of the chief representatives of science. The proceedings 
at the various Sections have been interesting, though 
there has been no very startling announcement made 
at any of them, but very good work has been done. 
Though there is, perhaps, no longer as great a necessity 
as formerly for the missionary side of the Association’s 
work, yet its usefulness as a common meeting ground for 
representatives of science in every branch can never be 
overrated. The necessity for some such central gather- 
ing point as the Association affords becomes the greater 
as science becomes more and more specialised. 
The Presidential Addresses in the various Sections 
have reached a very high standard of excellence. Prof. 
Poynting’s address in Section A was a masterpiece of 
exposition ; that of Mr. Horace Brown in Section B was 
remarkable for the light it throws on many of the obscure 
problems so interesting alike to botanists and chemists, 
and contained much original work. The Mechanical 
Science Section had a most interesting address from its 
President, Sir W. H. White. The Geological Section 
arranged to have its address on Saturday, September 16, 
when the French Association paid its visit to Dover. A 
very large gathering of a cosmopolitan character 
assembled to hear Prof. Geikie discourse on geological 
time. The vote of thanks was moved by Lord Lister 
and seconded by the President of the French Geological 
Society. 
The Presidential Addresses to which reference has just 
been made were delivered for the most part on Thursday 
and Friday, arrangements being made so that no two 
addresses were appointed for the same time. Thus all 
the Sectional meetings at the time of the Presidential 
Addresses were well filled. 
On Thursday afternoon the first social function took 
place in the College grounds, where the Chairman of the 
College Council, headmaster and master entertained 
over one thousand guests. The band of the Royal 
Artillery and the Westminster Glee Singers enlivened 
the proceedings. The balloon ascent did not take place 
owing to a high N.E. wind prevailing, which would have 
taken the balloon into the North Sea. On Friday, how- 
ever, the wind had fallen a little, and a non-scientific 
balloon ascent took place. The balloon descended later on 
at Gravelines, anda message of greeting from the Head- 
master of Dover College was delivered to the Mayor on 
behalf of the President of the British Association. On 
Friday evening a most interesting though short address 
was delivered by Prof. Richet, of Paris, who proved him- 
self to be an adept both in oratory and in the art of 
scientific exposition. The vote of thanks was moved by 
Lord Lister and seconded by Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer 
in most appropriate terms. A smoking concert followed 
which reflected great credit on its organisers. 
The reception of the members of the French Associa- 
tion took place on Saturday. About 280 members 
arrived at the Admiralty Pier about 9.30, and were re- 
ceived by the President of the British Association and 
those members who were Correspondents and Associates 
of the Academy of Sciences. The military were also 
represented at the landing on the pier. Some disappoint- 
ment seems to have been felt by the spectators that a 
larger number of members of the British Association 
were not present, but this feeling was not experienced by 
NO. 1560, VOL. 60] 
THE DOVER 
the French visitors, who were delighted with the warmth 
and cordial nature of their greeting, especially when Sir 
Michael Foster kissed Dr. Brouardel on both cheeks. 
Sir Michael Foster in his speech at the luncheon wittily 
referred to this act as the embracing of the daughter by 
the mother. Seven tram cars then conveyed the members 
off to the Town Hall, where the Mayor of Dover, accom- 
panied by the Corporation, officially received the visitors, 
and various speeches were delivered. The gathering 
then broke up, and various Sections were visited. At two 
o'clock some 800 guests sat down to an elaborate luncheon 
in a marquee near the reception-room. After the lunch 
speeches were delivered, and toasts of a most cordial 
nature were proposed. The Presidents of the two Asso- 
ciations, the Mayors of Dover and Boulogne, the Under- 
Secretary for War (Mr. G. Wyndham), the member for 
Dover, being amongst the chief speakers. Everything 
passed off with great cordiality and enthusiasm. After 
the lunch the whole assembly was photographed in the 
College grounds. The French visitors then paid a visit 
to the Castle, where they were shown the chief objects of 
interest by the Rev. S. P. H. Statham, Senior Chaplain 
to the Forces, and author of a recently published history 
of Dover. The visitors were taken back to Boulogne by 
a special steamer (the Ayzfress) at six o’clock. In the 
evening an interesting military tattoo took place on the 
sea-front, which was lavishly illuminated for the occasion. 
On Sunday there were services at most of the Dover 
churches, and a large number of members of the Asso- 
ciation visited Canterbury, where an organ recital was 
given in the afternoon, in addition to the special services 
and sermons announced for the occasion. In Dover 
College Chapel, the Rey. A. H. Stevens gave a very in- 
teresting and well-arranged organ recital in the afternoon 
also. 
On Monday there was a garden-party at the Park, 
which attracted a large gathering of people and was a 
perfect success in every way. ‘The feature of the even- 
ing was the lecture by Prof. Fleming on the centenary 
of the electric current, which was illustrated by numerous 
exceedingly interesting experiments. Prof. Fleming for 
a couple of hours kept his iarge audience listening in 
rapt attention to the masterly exposition of his subject. 
To the general public, perhaps the most interesting part 
was the demonstration of the Marconi wireless telegraphy, 
by which messages were exchanged with Dr. Brouardel 
and with the Goodwin Lightship. 
On Wednesday there is to be a visit to Canterbury 
to meet one hundred members of the French Associ- 
ation. There will be a lunch, which will be attended by 
about one hundred of the leading members of the British 
Association, in addition to the French visitors. Pre- 
viously to the visit to Canterbury, the concluding general 
meeting will be held, when a vote of thanks to the Mayor 
and Corporation for their reception of the Association 
will be moved by Lord Lister, and seconded by Sir 
Frederick Bramwell. The vote will be acknowledged by 
the Town Clerk on behalf of the Mayor, and by Mr. W. 
H. Pendlebury, who is local secretary jointly with Colonel 
Knocker. A second vote of thanks will be proposed to 
the Council and Headmaster of Dover College for their 
kindness in allowing the use of their rooms and the 
College grounds, which have added so much to the 
interest of the meeting. Votes of thanks will also be 
given to those who have offered hospitality to members 
of the Association, and especially to the naval and 
military authorities who have in various ways helped to 
make the meeting a success. ‘ ee 
On Thursday, if the weather is propitious, a large 
number of members, including the chief representatives 
of the various branches of science, are expected to visit 
Boulogne. This will conclude the Dover meeting of the 
British Association, which will be looked back upon with 
great interest by most of those who have attended it. 
