THE MA NIL A OBSER VA TOR Y 431 



In jMarch, 1886, the observatory was transferred from the walled 

 city to the liandsome blocU of buildings it now occu[)ies in the suburb 

 of Erniita. This change of location was for tlie better, as every in- 

 strument is now in its proper i)]ace, and the surrounding gardens 

 afibrd })lenty of space for outdoor observations. The geographical 

 coordinates of the })hice are hititude 14° 34' 41" north, longitude 120° 

 58' 33" east. 



With the removal a new era dawned also on the work of the ob- 

 servatory, for it had gained a much v/ider field for investigation by 

 the addition of two new departments, namely, the seismical depart- 

 ment and the magnetic observator}'. These two sections were offi- 

 cially recognized b}^ the Si)anish government Octol)er 28, 1888. The 

 work accomplished b}' the two new departments of the observatory 

 covers too wide a field to be considered in this brief account, but any 

 one who desires s})ecial knowledge on tlie subject will find plenty of 

 information in the monthl}' publications and in the sjjecial work on 

 *' Magnetism in the Philippines," by Rev. Father Civera, and on ''The 

 Juirthquakes of the Philip[)ines," b}' Rev. Father Sadena Maso. 



Various scientific expeditions were successfully carried out b}' the 

 observatory in different parts of the islands with no small amount 

 of labor and even occasional danger. The most interesting of these 

 expeditions were those of Rev. Father Martin Juan and Juan Doyle to 

 Sulu. Palawan Island, and the southern part of Mindanao; the jour- 

 ney' of Rev. Father Ricardo Civera to northern Mindanao and Bisayas, 

 and the voyage of Rev. Father Miguel Saderra Mata, then director 

 of the observatory', to China and Japan. The result of these expe- 

 ditions is the magnetic chart of the Far East published in January 

 of 1892. 



The director of the Manila Observatory, Father Miguel Saderra 

 Mata, was officially invited to the Meteorological Congress of the 

 Chicago P]xi)Osition. This invitation was accei)ted, and two Jesuit 

 fathers, Father Frederic Fauraand the writer, were commissioned to 

 assist at the exposition as official representatives of the Spanish gov- 

 ernment. Father Alguc had already l>een two years in the United 

 States, and in his travels through America and Cuba had had many 

 opportunities of becoming acquainted with the distinguished meteor- 

 ologists of the New World. The results of this scientific mission 

 can be read in the memoir, L<i MdroroUxjid en la Krixtsirion Colom- 

 hlna de Chicayo, published by the two fathers soon after their return 

 to S{)ain. Another official invitation was sent ti) tlu- director of the 



