Proceedings of the British Association. 87 



before the breaking up of this meeting. The second term of three 

 years, for which the British Government and the East India Com- 

 pany have granted their establishments — nine in number — will ter- 

 minate with the expiration of the current year, at which period, if no 

 provision be made for their continuance, the observations at those 

 establishments will of course cease, and with them, beyond a doubt, 

 those at a great many — probably the great majority — of the foreign 

 establishments, both national and local, which have been called into 

 existence by the example of England, and depend on that example 

 for their continuance or adandonment. Now, under these circum- 

 stances, it becomes a very grave subject for the consideration of our 

 committee of recommendations, whether to suffer this term to expire 

 without an effort on the part of this association to influence the 

 Government for its continuance, or whether, on the other hand, we 

 ought to make such an effort, and endeavour to secure either the 

 continuance of these establishments for a further limited term, or the 

 perpetuity of this or some equivalent system of observation in the 

 same or different localities, according to the present and future exigen- 

 cies of science. I term this a grave subject of deliberation, and one 

 which will call for the exercise of their soundest judgment ; because, 

 in the first place, this system of combined observation is by far the 

 greatest and most prolonged effort of scientific co-operation which the 

 world has ever witnessed ; because, moreover, the spirit in which the 

 demands of science have been met on this occasion by our own 

 Government, by the Company, and by the other governments who 

 have taken part in the matter, has been, in the largest sense of the 

 words, munificent and unstinting ; and because the existence of such 

 a spirit throws upon us a solemn responsibility to recommend nothing 

 but upon the most entire conviction of very great evils consequent on 

 the interruption, and very great benefits to accrue to science from 

 the continuance of the observations. 



Happily we are not left without the means of forming a sound judg- 

 ment on this tremendous question. It is a case in which, connected 

 as the science of Britain is with that of the other co-operating nations, 

 we cannot and ought not to come to any conclusion without taking 

 into our counsels the most eminent magnetists and meteorologists of 

 other countries who have either taken a direct part in the observations, 



