for the year 1874. xv 



motion can be readily conceived from his 3rd proposition and 

 the figures I have quoted. Mr. Deverell expects to be in a 

 position in a few months to detail his method of putting his 

 propositions into practice, and promises to bring it before 

 this Society immediately it is matured. In the mean time 

 the subject is attracting a good deal of attention among 

 naval architects and nautical men in Europe and Americ?, 

 and its further development will be watched with great 

 interest, not only by members of our Society, but the world 

 generally, for any reasonable proposition for the utilization 

 of any of nature's redundant forces must be among the 

 highest aims of scientific workers. I may mention, before 

 leaving this subject, that Mr. Bessemer has purchased from 

 Mr. Deverell the instrument the Norfolk voyage observations 

 were made with, for his famous saloon ship, and that this 

 fact has probably led to a report which appeared in print 

 some time ago that Mr. Bessemer and the Admiralty were 

 building ships on Mr. Deverell's principle, but which is 

 entirely without foundation. 



There is no instance I believe in the annals of science, 

 where there has been such a general co-operation among the 

 various nations, and such a liberal expenditure of state 

 funds for a single and purely scientific purpose as has taken 

 place with regard to the forthcoming Transit of Yenus. 

 True, the phenomenon is one of the rarest and most im- 

 portant of all astronomical events, the proper observation of 

 which would be cheaply purchased at even a greater outlay 

 than will be made on this occasion. The simple result that 

 it is desired to obtain is the Sun's distance from the Earth ; 

 its distance is probably known within a million miles or 

 two, but these limits are too wide in the present state of 

 astronomy ; therefore, by universal consent, the civilized 

 communities have entered on a great scientific alliance, and 

 granted money from their treasuries to enable their 



