TRANSACTION.S OF SEOTIOiN B. — PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 649 



Section B,— CHEMISTRY. 



PUESIDKNT OV THE SECTION. — ProfeS80r F. S, KiPPING, 



D.Sc, Ph.D., F.R.S. 



THURSDA Y, SEPTEMBER 3. 



The President delivered the following Address : — 



On taking the Chair of this Sect'on my first duty is to express my personal 

 1 hanks to the Council of the British Association for having chosen me to fill 

 this position of honour. 



At this meeting the Association is enjoying, not for the first, but for the fourth 

 time, the generous and genial hospitality of the citizens of Dublin ; it is my 

 privilege, on behalf of all the members of this Section, to tender our cordial 

 thanks to our hosts for giving us this opportunity of meeting again in the capital 

 of Ireland. 



During the past few months we have read in the daily journals — and we 

 sincerely hope it may be true — that there are signs of the commencement of a 

 great development of the resources of this Island ; as such a desirable event must 

 be closely connected with, and, indeed, may even be dependent on, the vitality of 

 the chemical industries of the country, the moment seems opportune for the 

 consideration of a subject which has a direct bearing on both commerce and 

 chemistry. 



Although this Section is chiefly occupied with matters relating to pure 

 science, the discussion of industrial questions is also regarded as one of its 

 important functions ; it does not attempt to distinguish pure from applied 

 chemistry, and any problem which concerns either is deemed worthy of its 

 attention. 



From this point of view I propose to consider whether any steps can be taken 

 to place the chemical industries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 

 Ireland in a more prominent position than that which they now occupy in the 

 world of commerce. 



The subject is uot new ; it has been dealt with by many, but principally by 

 those more directly interested- — prominent members of the Society of Chemical 

 Industry, who are far better qualified to express opinions on commercial matters 

 than am I. It is perhaps presumption ou my part to attempt to add anything to 

 what has been said by such leaders of industrial chemistry, but I propose to deal 

 with the subject from a very dift'erent standpoint — namely, from that of the 

 teacher in the class-room and laboratory. Even if I fail to make a single 

 suggestion of immediate practical value, the question is one of such magnitude 

 and so many-sided that I feel justified in bringing it under the notice of this 

 Section. It is not merely a matter of money, of a few millions or of a few tens 

 of millions sterling. There ai-e few branches of industry to which chemistry, in 

 one way or another, is not of supreme importance. Whether we look to the 

 greftt shrpbuildiug interests, dependent on the progress of metfiUurgy ; to our 



