Miscellaneous. 37 1 



ventured to notice them, but have drawn their reports only in the 

 spirit of commendation. 



Our first fault is with the manner in which the tickets of admis- 

 sion were distributed ; far too much bustle and confusion prevailed in 

 the rooms devoted for this purpose, and from half an hour to three 

 quarters were spent before an individual could make his way through 

 the crowd, and gain the presence of the Secretary ; and by the irre- 

 gularity of the manner in which those issued to the General Com- 

 mittee were marked, several gentlemen were subjected to the incon- 

 venience of being refused admittance to meetings where they only 

 had a right to be present. We know that Mr Taylor did his utmost 

 in the rooms to prevent this, but, as the forms to be gone through 

 had been previously arranged, it became no easy matter to keep 

 things in order. The points which we think should be attended to 

 at another meeting, and which we are sure our friends in Newcastle 

 will amend, are the assistance of one or two additional clerks, — to dis- 

 pense with so much signing and counter-signing, which prevailed at 

 Liverpool before the ticket could be finally given, — and to make some 

 separation between the tickets which are given to life members, and 

 those which are only taken out on the occasion. 



On Friday, which nearly terminated the debating meetings of the 

 various sections, it was arranged that the President of each should de- 

 liver at the amphitheatre in the evening, a comprehensive report of 

 the whole proceedings during the week, — an arrangement at once both 

 useful and important, as laying before the public the manner in which 

 the sections had been employed, and allowing it to judge of the 

 importance of the subjects which had thus occupied them. These 

 gentlemen or their delegates (for we regret to say that one or two 

 were confined by indisposition,) certainly appeared when called on by 

 the President, to deliver their reports ; but, with the exception of Dr 

 Faraday and Professor Henslow, we looked in vain for any thing in 

 accordance with the task which had been entrusted to them. The 

 gentlemen whom we have mentioned devoted their twenty-five mi- 

 nutes * to the reading of plain intelligible statements of the transac- 

 tions of the week, giving a concise analysis of the most important 

 papers, or offering remarks upon them, couched in simple and ap- 

 propriate, yet eloquent and classical language. The exhibitions of the 

 others were rambling discourses, — a lecture on the stethoscope, and a 

 rant on the benefits which the Association would confer on a com- 

 mercial community,— all totally foreign to the expected purpose ; and 



* Fiotn the time which the first specimen occupied, Lord Burlington allotted 

 to each the space of twenty -five minutes. 



