30 REPORT — 1900. 



reacted on each other, on the atmosphere which surrounded them and on 

 the earth on which they dwelt, the surface of which became modified in 

 character and aspect. At last Man came into existence. His nerve-energy, 

 in addition to regulating the processes in his economy which he possesses 

 in common with animals, was endowed with higher powers. When trans- 

 lated into psychical activity it has enabled him throughout the ages 

 to progress from the condition of a rude savage to an advanced stage 

 of civilisation ; to produce works in literature, art, and philosophy which 

 have exerted, and must continue to exert, a lasting influence on the 

 development of his higher Being ; to make discoveries in natural and 

 physical science ; to acquire a knowledge of the structure of the earth, 

 of the ocean in its changing aspects, of the atmosphere and the stellar 

 universe, of the chemical composition and physical properties of matter 

 in its various forms, and to analyse, comprehend, and subdue the forces 

 of nature. 



By the application of these discoveries to his own purposes Man has, to 

 a large extent, overcome time and space ; he has studded the ocean with 

 steamships, girdled the earth with the electric wire, tunnelled the lofty 

 Alps, spanned the Forth with a bridge of steel, invented machines and 

 founded industries of all kinds for the promotion of his material welfare, 

 elaborated systems of government fitted for the management of great 

 communities, foi'mulated economic principles, obtained an insight into 

 the laws of health, the causes of infective diseases, and the means of 

 controlling and preventing them. 



When we reflect that many of the most important discoveries in abs- 

 tract science and in its applications have been made during the present 

 century, and indeed since the British Association held its first meeting in 

 the ancient capital of your county sixty-nine years ago, we may look 

 forward with confidence to the future. Every advance in science provides 

 a fresh platform from which a new start can be made. The human intel- 

 lect is still in process of evolution. The power of application and of 

 concentration of thought for the elucidation of scientific problems is by 

 no means exhausted. In science is no hereditary aristocracy. The army 

 of workers is recruited from all classes. The natural ambition of even 

 the private in the ranks to maintain and increase the reputation of the 

 branch of knowledge which he cultivates affords an ample guarantee 

 that the march of science is ever onwards, and justifies us in proclaiming 

 for the next century, as in the one fast ebbing to a close, that Great is 

 Science, and it will prevail. 



