248 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IV., No. 84. 



The constitution of our fathers provided for rep- 

 resentation in congress and in the electoral college 

 according to population. This has led to vast re- 

 sults. A magnificent world of data is now spread 

 before us by the census. Every man, woman, and 

 child, and their interests, enter into it, and it has its 

 lesson for each in all their various capacities and 

 relations; but not more than a hundred thousand 

 can possess it, and few can master the whole of it. 

 It would be too much to come annually, and there- 

 fore cannot be frequent enough to meet every con- 

 dition. Many statements should be annual. Our 

 system of government affords an excellent opportu- 

 nity to perfect a system of statistics parallel to the 

 decennial census, and fitted to meet all demands. 



Publicists have said much of the importance of 

 the town-meeting as found in New England. An 

 important characteristic of it is the bringing of all 

 questions of public taxation and expenditure and 

 policy to the consideration of all the citizens. This 

 attention of all the citizens to the details of muni- 

 cipal action in large cities is impossible: therefore 

 there are public reports and manifold statements. 

 But should the town system of reports be every- 

 where adopted, and these be followed by county and 

 state summaries, the nation could group these so as 



to give a variety of form and result sufficient for 

 each according to his interest. The student and 

 statesman would find them falling into appropriate 

 classes, of sufficient frequency, and in connection 

 with our decennial census of the nation would 

 discover us in the very front rank with respect to 

 knowledge of ourselves as a people. This is now 

 done measurably for the subject of education. Each 

 institution publishes its report or catalogue, most 

 towns and cities their reports; many states gather 

 up the data; and the national bureau, carefully 

 avoiding improper complications, and solely for the 

 purposes of information, issues an annual volume. 

 Tbe result is unique in the history of voluntary 

 statistics. Were this system carried into every other 

 great field, and the whole distilled into a single vol- 

 ume, and should each nation do the same, we should 

 see the beginning of a solid foundation for inter- 

 nationalism, and the scientific method at last per- 

 vading the world of thought. It would determine 

 the most far-reaching generalizations, and have an 

 effect upon common life not now possible. Child- 

 hood would be ushered into new conditions, and 

 alike the humblest and the highest would more 

 easily find the truth. 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MA THE MA TICAL 

 AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE SECTION. 



The session of the British association in Montreal 

 might be fairly designated as a ' section A ' meet- 

 ing, in view of the leading position in British science 

 occupied by the representatives of that section, and 

 the prominence which was accorded them and their 

 section in the general meetings of the association. 

 The retiring president of the association, who was to 

 have been present, but was not, was a distinguished 

 member of the section. His few duties were grace- 

 fully performed by another distinguished member of 

 the section, Sir William Thomson, who also presided 

 over the sittings of the section during the meeting. 

 As representing the retiring president he introduced 

 his successor, the president for 1884, in the person of 

 Lord Rayleigh, another of the ' strong ' men of sec- 

 tion A. Two of the three evening lectures were 

 given by members of the section, on subjects con- 

 nected with physics and astronomy. 



When it is remarked that the place of meeting 

 offers no especial attractions to students of mathe- 

 matical and physical science, it will be admitted that 

 the roll of the section presented an unusual array of 

 great names, including as it did such as Sir William 

 Thomson, Lord Rayleigh, J. C. Adams, J. W. L. 

 Glaisher, Henrici, Dewar, Preece, James Glaisher, 

 Lodge, Kev. S. J. Perry, Osborne Reynolds, and 

 many others. 



As might be easily inferred from a glance at the 



above list, a large majority of the papers presented 

 had to do with physics rather than with astronomy or 

 pure mathematics. By a judicious action of the 

 sectional committee, and one worthy of imitation, 

 the papers were very fairly ' bunched ' by subjects so 

 that one was not required to remain during the 

 entire week in order to listen to the treatment of a 

 particular topic. 



The first notable physical paper to be presented 

 was, of course, the address of Lord Rayleigh as 

 president of the association. 



This address has already been placed before the 

 readers of this journal, and no extended reference to 

 it will be necessary. Although historical in the 

 main, it was rich in valuable and timely suggestions 

 such as could come only from one as thoroughly 

 familiar with the topics referred to as its author. As 

 a sample of these, may be quoted the remarks con- 

 cerning the theory of the action of the telephone, 

 which was declared to be ''still in some respects ob- 

 scure, as is shown by the comparative failure of the 

 many attempts to improve it;" and in considering 

 some of the explanations that have been offered, 

 Lord Rayleigh said, "We do well to remember that 

 molecular changes in solid masses are inaudible in 

 themselves, and can only be manifested to our ears 

 by the generation of a to-and-fro motion of the 

 external surface extending over a considerable area. 

 If the surface of a solid remains undisturbed, our 

 ears can tell us nothing of what goes on in the 

 interior." 



