Rayleigtis Address to the British Association. S9 



this visit. We Englishmen ought to know more than we do of 

 matters relating to the colonies, and anything which tends to 

 bring the various parts of the empire into closer contact can 

 hardly be overvalued. It is pleasant to think that this Associa- 

 tion is the means of furthering an object which should be dear 

 to the hearts of all of us; and I venture to say that a large 

 proportion of the visitors to this country will be astonished by 

 what they see, and will carry home an impression which time will 

 not readily efface. 



To be connected with this meeting is, to me, a great honour, 

 but also a great responsibility. In one respect, especially, I feel 

 that the Association might have done well to choose another 

 President. My own tastes have led me to study mathematics 

 and physics rather than geology and biology, to which naturally 

 more attention turns in a new country, presenting, as it does, a 

 fresh field for investigation. A chronicle of achievements in these 

 departments by workers from among yourselves would have been 

 suitable to the occasion, but could not come from me. If you 

 would have preferred a different subject for this address, I hope, 

 at least, that you will not hold me entirely responsible. 



At annual gatherings like ours, the pleasure with which friends 

 meet friends again is sadly marred by the absence of those who can 

 never more take their part in our proceedings. Last year my prede- 

 cessor in this office had to lament the untimely loss of Spottis- 

 woode and Henry Smith, dear friends of many of us, and promi- 

 nent members of our Association. And now again, a well-known 

 form is missing. For many years Sir W. Siemens has been a regular 

 attendant at our meetings, and to few, indeed, have they been 

 more indebted for success. Whatever the occasion, in his presi- 

 dential address of two years ago, or in communications to th e 

 Physical and Mechanical Sections, he had always new and interest-, 

 ing ideas, put forward in language which a child could under 

 stand, so great a master was he of the art of lucid statement in hi s 

 adopted tongue. " Practice with Science" was his motto. Deeply 

 engaged in industry, and conversant, all his life, with engineering 

 operations, his opinion was never that of a mere theorist. n 

 the other hand, he abhorred rule of thumb, striving always to 

 master the scientific principles which underlie rational design and 

 invention. 



