2 THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 
recollections, especially by the recollection of the great men whom 
it had fostered, or to whom it had given birth.’ Ina few brief sentences 
Professor Sedgwick indicated the great power which this Association 
is able to apply towards the advancement of science by combination and 
united action, and he supported his argument by pointing to the results 
which it had already achieved during the three short years of its 
existence. Professor Sedgwick’s words are no less true to-day. His 
contention that one of the most important functions of this philosophical 
union is to further what he termed the ‘ commerce of ideas’ by joint 
discussions on subjects of kindred interest, has been endorsed by the 
recent action of the Council in bringing the various sections into still 
closer touch with each other with a view to the discussion of common 
problems of general interest. This slight reorganisation of the work 
of the Sections, which is in entire accord with the spirit and aims of the 
Association, as defined by its progenitors and formulated in its consti- 
tution, will take effect during the present meeting. Strictly speaking, 
such joint sectional discussions are not unknown in our history, and 
their utility and influence have been freely recognised. But hitherto 
the occasions have been more or less informal. They are now, it is 
hoped, to be part of the regular official procedure of the meetings, 
to which it is anticipated they will afford additional interest and value. 
Another noteworthy change in our procedure is the introduction of 
discussions on the addresses of the Presidents of Sections. Hitherto 
these addresses have been formally read and never discussed. To the 
extent that they have been brief chronicles of the progress of the special 
departments of science with which the section is concerned they have 
given but little opportunity for discussion. With the greatly increased 
facilities which now exist for every worker to keep himself informed 
of the development of the branch of knowledge in which he is more 
particularly interested, such résumés have in great measure lost their 
true purpose, and there has, consequently, been a growing tendency of 
late years for such presidential addresses to deal with contemporary 
topics of general interest and of fundamental importance, affording ample 
opportunity for a free exchange of opinion. The experiment will cer- 
tainly conduce to the interest of the proceedings of the sections, and will 
contribute to the permanent value of their work. We see in these several 
changes the development of ideas connected with the working of the 
. Association which may be said to have had their birth at its first meeting 
in Edinburgh, eighty-seven years ago. 
Sixteen years later, that is on July 21, 1850, Edinburgh again 
extended her hospitality to the British Association, which then honoured 
itself by electing the learned Principal of the United Colleges of St. 
Salvator and St. Leonard, St. Andrews, to the presidential chair—at 
once a tribute to Sir David Brewster’s eminence as a natural philo- 
