CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES 425 



Conference of Delegates, Friday, July 26, 1929. 



At the conference, Dr. F. A. Bather, F.R.S., occupied the chair as 

 president thereof, Mr. T. Sheppard was present as acting-secretary, and 

 Delegates representing fifteen Corresponding Societies of the British 

 Association, and other members of the British and French Associations 

 for the Advancement of Science, to the total number of about eighty, also 

 attended. 



Dr. Bather expressed his deep regret that death had deprived the 

 Conference of the presence of Sir George Fordham, who was well known 

 in Havre, and had been appointed to preside over the present meeting. 

 Sir George Fordham bad devoted himself generously to the cause of 

 science, and had interested himself for many years in the work of the 

 Conference, his own special interest being in cartography. 



The chairman then called upon Mr. T. Sheppard, who voiced the sense 

 of indebtedness to Dr. A. Loir, the local secretary of the Association 

 fran9aise for the Havre meeting, which was felt by members of the 

 visiting party from England. He • recalled the occasion at the British 

 Association meeting in 1928 upon which the honorary degree of LL.D. 

 of Glasgow University was conferred upon Dr. Loir, and asked Dr. Loir 

 to accept as a present from some of his friends in the British Association 

 a gown signalising this honour. Dr. Loir accepted the gown and expressed 

 his appreciation. 



A paper, with lantern illustrations, was read by Mr. E. 0. Forster 

 Brown, M.Inst. C.E., on ' Scientific Aspects of the Channel Tunnel,' the 

 subject being approached mainly from the geological and engineering 

 viewpoints. The paper, which emphasised the necessity of ascertaining 

 all possible facts before beginning tunnelling operations, even at very 

 considerable cost, has been published in the Colliery Guardian, August 

 16 and 23, 1929. 



A brief discussion followed the paper, and a vote of thanks was then 

 accorded to Mr. Forster Brown. 



A written contribution by Prof. P. F. Kendall, F.R.S., on ' The Pro- 

 posed Tunnel under La Manche,' intended for communication to the 

 Conference, was received, and was published in The Naturalist for October 

 1929 (pp. 327 seqq.), in which also an account of these transactions will 

 be found. 



Dr. Bather, addressing Delegates of Corresponding Societies, raised the 

 question of the proper function of the Conference of Delegates, and referred 

 to the frequent difficulty of finding suitable subjects for discussion, bearing 

 directly upon the common interests of local scientific societies of all kinds. 

 He outlined the possibility, which he personally foresaw, of ensuring more 

 complete co-operation of the societies through the agency of the existing 

 regional associations of societies, co-ordinated under the auspices of the 

 Conference of Delegates. 



Mr. T. Sheppard explained the co-operation among societies achieved 

 through the medium of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, and the publica- 

 tion in The Naturalist from month to month of the results obtained by 

 scientific workers He invited suggestions from delegates for the more 

 effectual working of the Conference. 



