498 REPORT— 1873. 



kingdom. It is clearly understood, aud distinctly stated in the circular, that 

 neither your Committee nor the Association can be iu any way responsible 

 for the pecuniary arrangements which must in each case be made between 

 the Lecturer and the Institution or persons engaging nis services. It is also 

 not intended to publish the list of Lecturers, but simply to send the same to 

 the various Institutions who may apply for information. The Subcommittee 

 have received many promises of assistance from many eminent and well- 

 qualified lecturers; the list is, ho\vever, not yet completed, and, owing to the 

 difficulty of getting the several members resident in the country to meet 

 together, it has not been possible as yet to open any communication with the 

 various towns or institutions as to the further spread of the Science-Lectures 

 throughout the country ; it is, however, hoped that speedy action in this 

 direction may be taken. Your President, Dr. Carpenter, has taken special 

 interest in this branch of your Committee's proceedings ; and he writes that 

 he is sure, from applications which he is continually receiving, that an organ- 

 ization for the promotion of Science-Lectures would do great service by 

 facilitating arrangements between such as want them and such as can effi- 

 ciently supply the want, and by making known what experience shows to be 

 the best method. 



Subcommittee B. — On Science-Organization as regards Meteorology. 



The following statements from Professor Balfour Stewart [embodying 

 certain remarks of Mr. Baxendell] and from Mr. Lockyer, containing their 

 opinion as to the present condition of Meteorological Science, have been 

 received by your Committee. 



Prof. Stewart's Statement, 



The subject under the consideration of the Subcommittee is a very exten- 

 sive one, and I am not prepared at this moment to present any thing like a 

 complete statement of the subject ; nevciliicless there are two very pressing 

 wants of observational science to which 1 tiiiuk attention ought to be directed 

 without delay, and which I therefore beg to bring before the Subcommittee. 

 The first of these refers to aid in meteorological investigations. There is 

 probably no science which depends more for its progress upon the patient 

 and laborious reduction and discussion of numerous and extensive series 

 of observed facts than that of meteorology. Hundreds of valuable series of 

 meteorological observations, some of them extending over long periods of 

 years, have been made and published, at a great cost of both time and 

 money ; but hitherto no results have been obtained from them at all pro- 

 portionate to the enormous outlay they have involved, the reason being that 

 the close application and labour and expenditure of time required to carry 

 out meteorological investigations are usually much greater than private indi- 

 viduals can afford to devote to them. It is therefore absolutely necessary 

 for the interests of the science that State aid should be given to scientific 

 men who are willing to undertake meteorological investigations of the nature 

 of reductions, provided they can show that the objects they have in view are 

 of sufficient importance to justify a moderate expenditure in endeavours to 

 attain them — this aid to be given in the form of pecuniary grants, to defray 

 the expense of engaging assistants to make such reductions and tabulations 

 of observations aud results and such computations as the nature of the 

 investigations may require. If proper representations were made to Govern- 

 ment on this subject, there is little doubt that something would be done; 



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