Proceedings. 93 



its noble Collegiate institutions, the reason for the existence of this 

 Society appears to me as great, if not greater than it ever was. 

 Numbers of men of high attainments and great mental ability are 

 gathered round this great centre of industry, whose love of litera- 

 ture and science is unquenched by the absorbing business of life, 

 and for whom the problems of nature are an ever-abiding interest. 

 It is for such amateurs in various departments of knowledge, and 

 the professors of academic institutions, that this Society affords a 

 common ground for literary and philosophical research, as well as 

 for pleasant social intercourse. While the aims and objects of 

 the Society are sufficiently high to prevent its seeking any kind of 

 patronage from men in high public or social positions, it has 

 always given a welcome to such as desire to be enrolled among its 

 members. It may be of interest for some of these to know that 

 the Society's roll of ordinary members contains, with few exceptions, 

 the names of all the noblest and best of those who have been 

 identified with the public life and development of Manchester for 

 more than a century ; and its honorary members during the same 

 period have made the world famous by their discoveries in every 

 department of science. With the object of maintaining the high 

 character which the Society has so long held in the estimation of 

 the scientific world, and to increase still further its means of 

 usefulness, I now propose to endow the Society with the sum of 

 eight thousand pounds (^8,000) for investment, the annual income 

 arising therefrom to be devoted to the furtherance of the purposes 

 of the Society. 



(Signed) Henry Wilde. 



Alder ley Edge, February 2nd, i8g^. 



It was announced that the Council had gratefully 

 accepted Mr. Wilde's proposal, and 



It was moved by Mr. Mark Stirrup, F.G.S., seconded 

 by Mr. William Thomson, F.R.S. Ed., and resolved, 

 " That the grateful thanks of the members present be 

 accorded to Mr. Wilde for his munificent gift." 



Professor H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., gave an account of an 

 examination of the spectrum of the newly discovered 

 atmospheric substance, argon, at the Owens College. 



