1876.] Report of the Meteorological Committee. 209 



opinions of others, and that their power of producing useful results 

 would have been seriously impaired if they had in any way departed 

 from the purely neutral attitude of accumulating a faithful record of 

 facts destined to furnish materials for scientific discussion. 



Although there exists a large quantity both of published and unpub- 

 lished data in the possession of the Office, which places their staff in an 

 exceptional position for conducting elaborate investigations into the con- 

 ditions of the weather, nevertheless the Committee have found it im- 

 possible to provide for the adequate carrying on of such investigations by 

 means of their own staff, the time of their chief executive officers being 

 so much occupied by the heavy current business of the Office as to leave 

 them no leisure for the purpose ; nor have the Committee been able to 

 assign out of the funds at their disposal enough to secure additional as- 

 sistance of a proper scientific character. If they had diverted any of 

 these funds to purely scientific discussions it would have crippled other 

 parts of their work, which appeared to them, under the existing condi- 

 tions and for the time being, to be still more important and to be, in a 

 measure, obligatory on them. 



It will readily be understood that the Committee holding such views 

 makes no claim to having given an independent impetus to the progress 

 of any special branch of meteorological science, though they feel satisfied 

 that their operations have in an important manner facilitated the natural 

 development of accurate meteorological conceptions. All conversant 

 with the facts will agree that a very great advance has been made in 

 this respect since the Committee was formed. The Committee will not 

 attempt to distinguish all the various causes that have conduced to this 

 advance ; but among them are certainly to be recognized the organization 

 of the system of continuously self-recording observatories and the publi- 

 cation in the ' Quarterly "Weather Eeports,' with a remarkable degree of 

 accuracy, of a graphical reproduction of the records thus obtained ; the 

 constantly increasing attention paid by the officers of the Meteorological 

 Office to the accurate and prompt preparation and distribution of the 

 lithographed Daily Weather Charts, their intelligent study of the facts 

 recorded under their direction, and their cordial cooperation with other 

 bodies interested in similar objects, whether in this country or abroad. 

 The experience gained in the preparation of the Daily Morning Weather 

 Charts has enabled the Office to prepare smaller charts, which are sup- 

 plied for publication in several daily papers inLondon'and the provinces. 

 This indication that such information is appreciated by the public is fur- 

 ther corroborated by the fact that similar Charts containing information 

 for the evening have been asked for, and are now furnished by the Office 

 to the 'Times.' 



The Committee being aware that the G-overnment has entrusted to 

 another body the duty of inquiring how the functions they have per- 

 formed may best be discharged in the future, they will only permit 



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