600 REPOET— 1891. 



iiient that tbe ' number of Quakeresses who attended the meetin£rs of the Sections 

 •was not a little remnrkable.' Compare the slender record of the ' Times ' of 1849 

 with its careful chronicle of the proceedings at any recent meeting of the 

 Association. 



In drawing this address to a close, I would point to the great importance of 

 extending the use of the less known metals. Attention is at present concentrated 

 on the production of aluminium, and reference has already been made to the 

 Cowles process, in which, as in that of Ileroult, the reduction of alumina is effected 

 by carbon, at the very high temperature of the electric arc ; while, on the other 

 hand, in the Kleiner and similar processes, the electric current acts less as a source 

 of heat than by decomposing a fluid bath, the aluminium being isolated by electro- 

 lytic action ; and doubtless, in the immediate future, there will be a rapid increase 

 in the number of metallurgical processes that depend on reactions which are set up 

 by submitting chemical systems to electric stress. Incidental reference should be 

 made to the growing importance of sodium, not only in cheapening the production 

 of aluminium, but as a powerful weapon of research. In 1849, when Percy was 

 president of this Section, magnesium was a curiosity ; now its production consti- 

 tutes a considerable industry. We may confidently expect to see barium and 

 calcium produced on a large scale as soon as their utility has been demonstrated by 

 research. Minerals containing molybdenum are not rare ; and the metal could 

 probably be produced as cheaply as tin if a use were to be found for it. The 

 quantities of vanadium and thallium which are available are also far from incon- 

 siderable ; but we, as yet, know little of the action of any of these metals when 

 alloyed with others which are in daily use. The field for investigation is vast 

 indeed, for it must be remembered that valuable qualities may be conferred on a 

 mass of metal by a very small quantity of another element. The useful qualities 

 imparted to platinum by iridium are well known. A small quantity of 

 tellurium obliterates the crystalline structure of bismuth ; but we have lost an 

 ancient art, which enabled brittle antimony to be cast into useful vessels. Two- 

 tenths per cent, of zirconium increases the strength of gold enormously, while the 

 same amount of bismuth reduces the tenacity to a very low point. Chromium, 

 cobalt, tungsten, titanium, cadmium, zirconium, and lithium are already well 

 known in the arts, and the valuable properties which metallic chromium and 

 tungsten confer upon steel are beginning to be generally recognised, as the last 

 Exhibition at Paris abundantly showed ; but as isolated metals we know but 

 little of them. Is the development of the I'arer metals to be left to other 

 countries ? Means for the prosecution of research are forthcoming, and a rich 

 reward awaits the labours of chemists who could bring themselves to divert their 

 attention, for even a brief period, from the investigation of organic compounds, 

 in order to raise alloys from the obscurity in which they are at present left. 



It must not be forgotten that metallurgical enterprise rests on (1) scientific know- 

 ledge, (2) capital, and (.3) labour, and that if the results of industrial operations are 

 to prove remunerative, much mu.st depend on the relation of these three elements, 

 though it is difficult to determine accurately their relative importance. A modern 

 ironworks may have an army of ten thousand workmen, and commercial success or 

 failure will depend in no small measure on the method adopted in organising the 

 labour. The relations between capital and labour are of so much interest at the 

 present time that I do not liesitate to ofler a few words on the subject. 



Many examples might be borrowed from metallurgical enterprises in this and 

 other countries to show that their nature is often precarious, and that failure is easily 

 induced by what appear to be comparatively slight causes. Capitalists might 

 consequently tend to select Government securities for investment in preference to 

 metallurgical works, and the labouring population would then severely suffer. It is 

 only reasonable, therefore, that if capitalists are exposed to great risks, they should, 

 in the event of success, receive the greater part of the profits. There is a widespread 

 feeling that the interests of capital and labour must be antagonistic, and as it is 

 impossible to ignore the fact that the conflict between them is giving rise to grave 



