3882 REPORT—1904. 
considered satisfactory when we contemplate the elaborate machinery by 
which they have been obtained and the labours of those who have kept 
the machinery in action. I trust the Delegates will not suppose that I 
am endeavouring to belittle the importance of these Conferences. I 
believe that, rightly directed, we have here a body which may become an 
immense power for good, and that this child, which I am afraid is regarded 
by some as the Cinderella of the family, may grow to be one of the greatest 
of the daughters of the Association. 
Whatever may be our opinion on the fiscal question, or the extent to 
which we are suffering from the competition of other nations, men of all 
parties will, I trust, be at one in the belief that, whatever remedies may 
be suggested, there is urgent need of better education in science, as well as 
of more scientific education. Not only is the comparative pace of our 
competitors increasing, but unfortunately they have, as pointed out by 
Sir N. Lockyer, gained upon us at the start. Our immediate duty is to 
place the needs of higher scientific education before the people of this 
kingdom. Once convince ‘the man in the street’ that his business pro- 
sperity, nay, his very wages, are adversely affected by our inadequate 
system of higher education, and our difficulties will speedily vanish ! 
Consider a somewhat parallel case. You may remember how some 
fifteen to twenty-five years ago a number of able and enthusiastic men suc- 
ceeded in convincing the British voter that his safety and prosperity 
depended upon an eflicient Navy, and how, since the time that this convic- 
tion was brought home to the minds of our countrymen, no difficulty has 
been experienced in obtaining the funds necessary to create a Navy com- 
mensurate with our needs. 
Let us profit by this example. Our rulers are, I believe, already 
convinced of the advisability of rendering increased assistance to the 
cause of scientific investigation, but they cannot loosen the Imperial 
purse-stripgs until they know that the country is prepared to acquiesce in 
a liberal policy. 
Our task is that of ‘spade work,’ and should be even a less heavy one 
than that undertaken by our naval reformers, for we can show that, once 
established, a satisfactory system of high scientific education, so far from 
being a cause of continual outlay, will add to the wealth and prosperity of 
our country. 
But it may be asked, ‘What has all this to do with the constitution of 
this body?’ I think the connection is evident. If we could supply the 
links which would bind together all the Scientific Societies of this kingdom, 
so that in matters of national importance they would move as a united 
body, it would be difficult to overestimate the influence which could be 
thus exerted, for it is certain that amongst the members of these local 
Societies are included many of the most intelligent and influential men in 
their respective districts. At present, however, apart from their interest 
in natural science, these local Societies have little in common. We may 
picture them as a scattered heap of iron filings, and we want the British 
Association to be the magnet which, placed in their midst, will transform 
the confused assemblage into a field of symmetry and beauty. 
The work of local Societies is of two kinds: one may be termed educa- 
tional, the other technical. In the latter I include actual observational 
and investigational work. I confess that, at the present time, I regard 
the former as the more important branch. The work is educational, not 
only in arousing intelligent interest in the facts of natural science and 
