TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION B. 39 



o 



a Committee, whi<h would co ordinate and give authority to the researches 

 undertaken in various localities, of which they had heard so much during the 

 discussion. No better w'ork for the nation could be undertaken by the British 

 Association than this, and it would certainly grow in importance from year to 

 year. 



Mr. Arthur Bennett (Warrington) said that, much as he approved of 

 persuasion as a means of solving the smoke problem, he felt that they ought 

 not to lose sight of compulsion, for he was afi'aid that there were many 

 manufacturers (a minority, he hoped) who would not make any serious attempt 

 to abate their smoke until they were compelled to do so. Persuasion and educa- 

 tion were all very well up to a point, but behind the velvet glove they wanted 

 the iron hand ; and, in his opinion, the true solution of the question would 

 be to transfer the administration of the Smoke Acts from the municipalities 

 and the magistrates to the Local Government Board. 



The President of the Section (Professor Bone), referring to the desirability 

 of an extended use of coal-gas as a domestic fuel, and for small-scale industrial 

 operations, severely criticised the policy adopted by many municipal gas under- 

 takings, including that of Manchester, of taxing the gas-consumer by making 

 the gas-works pay large sums annually in relief of rates. He understood that 

 the Manchester Corporation taxed its gas-consumers to the tune of 50,000Z. per 

 annum. A municipal gas-supply should be sold at cost price, after allowing, of 

 course, a reasonable sum for repairs and depreciation of plant as well as 

 interest and redemption in respect of capital outlay. To extract a greater profit 

 by an enhanced price of gas not only penalises unfairly the gas-consumer, thus 

 discouraging the use of gas for domestic purposes, but involves also the pay- 

 ment of income-tax at a high rate on the said ' profits,' thus diverting money 

 quite unnecessarily from the pockets of the local gas-consumers to the Imperial 

 Treasury. 



He was decidedly of opinion that the time was both ripe and opportune 

 for a crusade on the question of fuel economy and smoke abatement as a means 

 of national saving in the trying years to come, and he hoped that the Associa- 

 tion would lead the way by appointing a strong Committee of representative 

 men to consider the whole question in its national aspects. 



The following Paper was then read : — 



FjTperimenlal DemonRtralion of Liquid Cryafals. 

 By Professor W. J. Pope, F.E.S. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10. 

 The following Papers and Discussion were heard : — 



1. Ruthe.nkim, Di-carboinjl. By Eobeet Mond, M.A. 



The author submitted specimens of ruthenium carbonyl and the new ruthe- 

 nium dicarbonyl, which latter has been obtained by submitting finely divided 

 ruthenium and carbon monoxide to a pressure of 400 atmospheres at a tempera- 

 ture of 300° C. The dicarbonyl was extracted from the powder by solution 

 in alcohol. It is non-volatile, in contradistinction to the other carbonyls. In 

 common with the other metallic carbonyls it is insoluble in benzene. 



The Bone-Callendar-Yates Bolomrler. 

 By Professor W. A. Bonr, F.R.S. 



