122 



ECmNCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 265. 



With this view, the Eoyal Society has com- 

 municated with the leading scientific Acade- 

 mies of Europe, whose replies give much encour- 

 agement to the idea that it may be possible to 

 establish an organization, under which formal 

 and regular meetings of representatives of all 

 leading scientific Academies may be held for the 

 purpose of discussing scientific matters call- 

 ing for international cooperation, and by this 

 means preparing the way for international ac- 

 tion. The Council of the Royal Society regard 

 this question as one of great importance, and I 

 am to request you to bring it before your Acad- 

 emy, and to ask whether that body would be pre- 

 pared to join such an organization if established, 

 and to cooperate in arranging the details for in- 

 augurating it upon a practical working basis. 



I have the honor to be 



Very faithfully yours, 

 (Signed) Listee, 



President, R. S. 

 The President of The National Academy of 



Sciences, Washington, D. C, TJ. S. A. 



The National Academy of Sciences, 



Washington, May 12, 1899. 



Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the 

 receipt of your communication of April the 14th 

 last asking me to bring before the National 

 Academy of Sciences a plan to establish an 

 organization under which formal and regular 

 meetings of representatives of all leading scien- 

 tific academies may be held for the purpose of 

 discussing scientific matters calling for inter- 

 national cooperation and by this means prepar- 

 ing the way for international action. 



There is no meeting of the National Academy 

 of Sciences until the 14th of November next, 

 but I will lay the matter at once before the 

 Council of the Academy for consideration. 



I cannot doubt that the subject will receive 

 its warm approval and that the Academy, on 

 the recommendation of the Council, will accept 

 and cordially join in carrying out the plan pro- 

 posed. I have the honor to be 



Your obedient servant, 

 (Signed) Wolcott Gibes, 



President of the National Academy of Sciences. 

 The President of The Eoyal Society, 

 London, England. 



The Eoyal Society, 

 buelington house, london, w., 



May 31, 1899. 



Sir : On the 17th November of last year the 

 President of the Royal Society addressed a let- 

 ter to the Academic des Sciences of Paris, the 

 Reale Accademia dei Lincei of Rome, and the 

 Academic Imperiale des Sciences of St. Peters- 

 burg, In reference to a proposal that the leading 

 Academies should meet at intervals to discuss 

 matters which might demand international co- 

 operation ; and a similar letter was subse- 

 quently addressed to the National Academy of 

 Sciences of Washington. 



The letter was written in consequence of 

 what had taken place at a meeting of German 

 Academies at Gottingen in June of that year, 

 at which representatives of the Royal Society 

 were present ; and we have communicated to 

 a meeting of the same Academies which has 

 just been held at Munich the favorable replies 

 which we have received from each of the Acad- 

 emies whom we had addressed. 



We have now the pleasure to inform you that 

 the invitation to a meeting at Wiesbaden, on 

 October 9 and 10, which this letter accom- 

 panies, is a step towards carrying out the pro- 

 posal in question, and we sincerely hope that 

 your Academy will be able to take part in the 

 meeting, which is intended to be a preliminary 

 one for the purpose of discussing the mode in 

 which such an Association of Academies can be 

 best organized. 



We are, sir, 



Your obedient servants, 

 (Signed) M. Foster, 



Arthur W. Rdckee. 



Secretaries, B. S. 

 The President of the National Academy of 



Sciences, Washington, D. C, U. S. A. 



Konigliche Akademie dee 

 Wissenschaften. 

 Beelin, den 13, Juni, 1899. 

 Die Koniglich Preussische Akademie der 

 Wissenschaften in Berlin beehrt sich im Verfolg 

 ihres am 1. ds. Mts. abgesandten Einladungs- 

 schreibens zu einer Conferenz in Wiesbaden am 

 9 und 10 October ds. Js. behufs Grundung einer 



