NATURE 



157 



THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1872 



THE TIDES AND THE TREASURY 



OUR readers may have heard that England is a "sea- 

 girt isle," and that we arc a maritime nation, pos- 

 sessing a very powerful navy and an extensive commerce. 

 They also know that the ocean to which we owe these 

 peculiarities is a veryrestless lluid,its surface being ruffled 

 by the wind, and its entire mass uplifted and depressed 

 from time to time, in what we call tides, by the attractive 

 power of the sun and moon. Tliey know, too, that the 

 theory of the tides has been investigated by the most pro- 

 found mathematicians, particularly by Laplace, Lubbock, 

 /\ir)-, and Whewell. And they are, no doubt, aware that 

 the theoretical laws deduced by these learned men, 

 though indispensable as a foundation of our knowledge, 

 are entirely insufficient, by themselves, for the wants of 

 man, the conformation of the coast-line and of the sea 

 bottom powerfully modifying tidal facts. Hence it be- 

 comes necessary to resort to observations and surveys in 

 order to know what will be the course of the tides as to 

 heights and times in particular localities frequented by 

 ships, such as roadsteads, harbours, and the mouths of 

 rivers. All this, perhaps, every one of our readers knows ; 

 but it may not, perhaps, be so generally known that the 

 study of the tides throws light on various high cosmical, 

 gravitational, and physico-geographical problems. 



The importance of this study is unquestionable, and, 

 indeed, unquestioned ; and it has been pursued to a limi- 

 ted extent by ourselves and all civilised nations at the 

 public cost. But as yet the observations have been in- 

 sufficient both as to character and as to the number of 

 localities at which they have been taken, and also as to 

 the reduction of them, and the deductions from them, that 

 have been made. 



Sir William Thomson accordingly brought the subject 

 before the British Association, and obtained from that 

 body the aid of a Committee and of small sums of money 

 from year to year, to enable him to supply, so far as 

 might be possible, these deficiencies. The Committee 

 was designated " for the purpose of promoting the exten- 

 sion, improvement, and harmonic analysis of tidal obser- 

 vations ; " and, having regard to the object with which 

 we now address the scientific public, we must also give 

 its composition, namely. Sir W. Thomson, Prof. J. C. 

 Adams, the Astronomer Royal, Mr. J. F. Bateman, C.E., 

 Admiral Sir E. Belcher, Mr. T. G. Bunt, Staff-Commander 

 Burwood, R.N., Mr. Warren De La Rue, Prof. Fischer, 

 Mr. J. P. Gassiot, Prof. Haughton, Mr. J. R. Hind, Prof. 

 Kelland, Staff-Captain Moriarly, Mr. J. Oldham, C.E.", 

 Mr. W. Parkes, C.E., Prof. Bartholomew Price, Prof. 

 Rev. C. Pritchard, Prof. Rankine, Captain Richards, 

 Hydrographer to the Navy, Dr. Robinson, Sir E. Sabine, 

 Mr. W. Sissons, Prof. Stokes, General Strachey, Mr. T. 

 Webster, Profs. Fuller and Iselin (secretaries), and Sir 

 W. Thomson (reporter). Every gentleman here named 

 is favourably known, and the majority are highly distin- 

 guished, in those branches of the sciences with which 

 the tides are connected. 



The Committee has made three reports, namely, in 

 1868, 1870, and 1S71, the two first prepared by Sir W. 

 Thomson, and the third by Mr. E. Roberts of the Nauti- 

 cal Alliance Office, under whoso able superintendence 

 the computations and deductions were placed. The 

 three reports have been published in cxtenso by the 

 British Association in the volumes of the above-mentioned 

 years. They bring fully under view the theoretical basis 

 of the investigation, an account of observations made by 

 the Committee and by the authorities, some of the con- 

 clusions deduced therefrom, and a statement of the mea- 

 sures recommended in order to extend and perfect our 

 knowledge of the subject. It is impossible to exaggerate 

 the value of these documents. They clearly define the 

 present position of the problem, and the course which any 

 future researches must take. 



At the meeting of the Council of the Association on 

 on November 11, 1871, the following resolutions were 

 passed : — 



(i.) That it is desirable that the British Association 

 apply to the Treasury for funds to enable the 

 Tidal Committee to continue their calculations and 

 observations. 



(2.) That it is desirable that the British Association 

 should urge upon the Government of India the 

 importance for navigation and other practical pur- 

 poses and for science, of making accurate and 

 continued observations on the tides at several 

 points on the Coast of India. 



The second of these resolutions has already been pro- 

 ductive of fruit. Colonel Walker, R.E., the distinguished 

 superintendent of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of 

 India, has, under the authority of the Indian Government, 

 established self-registering tide-gauges at several points 

 in India, and has made adequate arrangements for the 

 reduction of the results. 



It is with Resolution (i) that we are concerned to-day, 

 the official correspondence relating to it having been 

 placed at our disposal for review. This consists of only 

 two documents— a Memorial of the British Association to 

 the Lords of the Treasury, signed by the President, and 

 dated May 21, 1872 ; and the reply thereto. 



The main points dwelt on in the memorial may be thus 

 summarised : — That the primary object which the Com- 

 mittee have uniformly kept in view is " the practical appli- 

 cation of their results to Physical Geography, Meteorology, 

 Coast and Harbour Engineering, and Navigation ;" that 

 they have undertaken the reduction of twenty years' ob- 

 servations made with self-registering tide-gauges — "a 

 most laborious work ;" that 600/. has been granted by the 

 British Association in four successive annual sums of 

 100/. and one of 200/., "to pay the calculators, and to 

 print and prepare tables, forms for calculations, &c. ; that 

 the last grant barely sufficed for the work actually in 

 hand ;'' and that they now apply to the Government for 

 the sum of 150/., "to secure the continuance of the 

 investigation." 



The reply to this memorial is such that, unless printed 

 in cxknso, many persons would, we feel certain, refuse to 

 believe that such a document could have been issued with 

 the sanction of a civilised Government. We therefore 

 now append it : — 



