NATURE 
409 
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1870 
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE ECLIPSE 
EXPEDITION 
~ EVERAL of the correspondents who have been lately 
so busily engaged in chronicling the scenes of the 
present terrible war have wound up their descriptions by 
the remark that they could scarcely get rid of the impres- 
sion that they have been all the time the sport of horrid 
dreams—that the carnage has existed only in their 
imagination, and that civilised Europe has been uninter- 
ruptedly pursuing the arts of peace. 
Similarly it is difficult for an English man of science, 
proud of his nation’s past achievements in many of the 
most noble problems, and among them those which have 
necessitated voyages to various parts of the world—now to 
witness a transit of Venus—now to make magnetic obser- 
vations—now to survey the Polar Regions—and now to 
observe an eclipse of the sun; to realise the fact that in 
this present year of grace, 1870, there exists a British 
Government which in the curtest possible manner has 
put a stop to an expedition which promised to add as 
much to our renown in the present as the expeditions to 
which we have referred, and many others that we might 
have mentioned, have done in the past. 
The proposed expedition now in question had for its 
object the observation of the approaching Eclipse of the 
Sun. A brief statement will suffice to show its import- 
ance, and how naturally it followed other similar expe- 
Citions, 
It is now more than a century and a half ago since cer- 
tain things called ved flames were seen round the edge of 
the eclipsed sun; another appearance called the corona, 
sometimes of great irregularity and magnitude, having 
been noticed from the highest antiquity. Time went on, 
however, till only as lately as ten years ago a British expe- 
dition to Spain determined, to the satisfaction of every- 
body, that these red flames belonged to the sun, and not 
to the moon, as had been suggested. Here, then, was 
one great point gained by the help of the British Govern- 
ment—other European Governments, let us add, assisting. 
This was in 1860. In 1868 there was another eclipse, 
this time in India. The Indian side of the Government 
nobly assisted again by telling off officers, granting money, 
and affording the use of a ship to a distinguished French- 
man whe chose India for his standpoint of observation, 
the French and German Government expeditions prefer- 
ring other stations. It is seen, therefore, that the work 
‘done at the eclipse of 1868 was Government work, and it 
was admirable. The nature of the red flames, which had 
been localised in 1860, was now roughly determined. 
There was still another eclipse in 1869, visible in 
America. Here Government help was not needed at all, 
as the eclipse swept right over the land ; s¢¢// 7¢ was nobly 
given, and one of the most important recent contribu- 
tions to astronomy is the American Government Report, 
of the observations made by its officers. The American 
observers fairly broke ground in another branch of the 
research, the nature—not of the red flames this time but— 
of the corona; but they did not settle the question, and it 
VOL, Il. 
now remained for astronomers to “ crown the edifice” of 
all our eclipse work by settling it at the eclipse next 
December. 
Thanks to the Janssen-Lockyer discovery, we can now 
study the red flames day by day; and, although the 
corona resists the new method, the discovery, taken in 
connection with Frankland and Lockyer’s observations 
of the hydrogen spectrum, has yet thrown much light on 
its possible nature, so that the new method makes obser- 
vations next December more precious. 
Having shown, then, both the importance of the obser- 
vations of the next eclipse, and the fact that they are the 
natural sequel of the work which “has been done by 
Government aid, and which, it is not too much to say, 
could nct have been done without it, let us next state 
some facts with regard to the proposed Expedition. It 
was first proposed by the council of the Royal Astro- 
nomical Society, who appointed a committee of council 
to take the necessary steps. The Royal Society followed 
suit, and next a joint committee was formed. To this 
joint committee were committed the whole of the arrange- 
ments. Here, shortly, is the programme agreed upon :— 
1. At least two expeditions would be necessary—one to 
Spain, the other to Sicily. 
. At least 1,000/. would be required for instruments 
and observatory-building expenses, &c. 
3. The presidents of the Royal and Royal Astronomi- 
cal Societies and the Astronomer Royal were to 
form a deputation to the Government to ask for 
two ships and 500/., the remainder being subscribed 
by the societies themselves. 
4. The observers were to be carefully organised, and 
competent persons placed in charge of each 
branch of the research in each expedition. 
It is clear from this that our scientific bodies have done 
allin their power. 
Unofficial ourparlers having led to the belief that 
the Government would not be found wanting on its part, 
those interested in the work spared no pains to organise 
the expedition as minutely as possible, and all the best 
observers came forward to make it second to none of its 
predecessors. 
Here is the official list of those who were prepared to 
take part in the observations :— 
Spectroscopy.—Mr. Lockyer, Dr. Gladstone, Mr. Buck- 
ingham, Licut. Brown, Mr. T. W. Backhouse, Lieut. 
Collins, Rev. A. W. Deey, Lieut. Davies, Mr. G. Griffith, 
Mr. W. B. Gibbs, Rev. H. A. Goodwin, Mr. S. Hunter, 
Mr. W. A. Harris, Rev. F. Howlett, Mr. W. Ladd, Capt. 
J. P. Maclear, Rev. S. J. Perry, Mr. A. C. Ranyard, Mr. 
G. M. Seabroke, Mr. H. Tomlinson, Mr. Pedler. 
Polarisation.—Prof. Pritchard, Mr. R. Abbatt, Mr. 
Bushell, Mr. Chambers, Mr. G. Griffith, Mr. W. B. Gibbs, 
Rev. F. Howlett, Mr. W. Ladd. 
Photography.—Mr. Browning, Mr. Brothers, Lieut. 
Abney, Mr. Buckingham, Lieut. Brown, Mr. Chambers, 
Mr. Clodd, Mr. R. Sedgfield. 
General Objects.—Mr. Lassell, Col. Strange, Mr. Dall- 
meyer, Mr. J. Bonomi, Mr. E. J. Lowe, Prof. J. Phillips, 
Prof. H. E. Roscoe, Mr. G. J. Stoney, Mr. C. G. Talmage, 
Mr. C. B. Vignoles. 
General Assistance —Mr. R. Abbay, Mr. R. Inwards, 
Lord Lindsay, Mr. W, J. Lewis, Rev. W. Monk, Mr. R. 
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