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THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. d 
has little cause for disquietude as regards the position of physics in this 
country. 
In the establishment of the National Physical Laboratory we have 
an approach to the ideal which my predecessors had so earnestly adyo- 
eated. Other Presidents, among whom I would specially name the late 
Sir Douglas Galton, have contributed to this consummation. The 
result is a remarkable testimony to the value of organised and continuous 
effort on the part of the British Association in forming public opinion 
and in influencing Departmental action. It would, however, be ungrate- 
ful not to recall the action of the late Lord Salisbury—himself a 
follower of science and in full sympathy with its objects—in taking 
the first practical steps towards the creation of this magnificent national 
institution. I may be allowed, perhaps, to refer to this matter, as 1 
have personal knowledge of the circumstances, being one of the few 
survivors of the Committee which Lord Salisbury caused to be formed, 
under the chairmanship of the late Lord Rayleigh, to inquire and report 
upon the expediency of establishing an institution in Great Britain 
upon the model of certain State-aided institutions already existing on 
the Continent, for the determination of physical constants of importance 
in the arts, for investigations in physical problems bearing upon 
industry, for the standardisation and verification of physical instru- 
ments, and for the general purposes of metrology. I do not profess 
to give the exact terms of the reference to the Committee, but, in sub- 
stance, these were recognised to be the general aims of the contemplated 
institute. The evidence we received from many men of science, from 
Departmental officers, and from representatives of engineering and other 
industrial establishments, was absolutely unanimous as to the great 
public utility of the projected laboratory. It need hardly be said that 
the opportunity called forth all the energy and power of advocacy of 
Lord Kelvin, and I well remember with what strength of conyiction he 
impressed his views upon the Committee. That the National Physical 
Laboratory has, under the ability, organising power, and business 
capacity of its first director, Sir Richard Glazebrook, abundantly justified 
its creation is recognised on all hands. Its services during the four 
years of war alone are sufficient proof of its national value. It has 
grown to be a large and rapidly increasing establishment, occupying 
itself with an extraordinary range of subjects, with a numerous and 
well-qualified staff, engaged in determinative and research work on 
practically every branch of pure and applied physics. The range 
of its activities has been further increased by the establishment since 
the war of co-ordinating research boards for physics, chemistry, 
engineering and radio-research. Government Departments have 
learned to appreciate its services. The photometry division, for 
example, has been busy on experiments on navigation lamps for the 
