1867.] 



President's Address. 



167 



information already in the office and that which may hereafter be obtained, 

 has been resumed under the general superintendence of the Meteorological 

 Committee of the Royal Society, profiting by the valuable suggestions 

 contained in the Report of the Committee of the Board of Trade. This 

 forms the second portion of the duties which they have taken upon them- 

 selves. A third portion consists in the endeavour to make available for 

 the benefit of mariners the information which reaches the office by tele- 

 graph early in the day as to the state of the weather at different points of 

 the coast. 



A copy of this information is transmitted, by the first post after its 

 reception, to any port which desires to receive it. 



If the authorities at any port require any special telegraphic intelli- 

 gence, it is furnished to them without unnecessary delay, on their agree- 

 ing to defray half the cost of transmission of the message, and stating the 

 precise nature of the information required. 



Lastly, the Committee are prepared to convey, free of cost, telegraphic 

 inteUigence of the existence of any serious atmospherical disturbance which 

 may have come to their knowledge, to all ports to which it appears to 

 them that such information would be of importance. Such a telegram 

 may be, for example : — 



" Storm from West at Penzance and South coast." 



On the receipt of such a message the local authorities are expected to 

 hoist a drum as a general warning, on seeing which masters of vessels or 

 other interested persons may learn by inquiry at the local office (or by 

 other arrangements) the precise nature of the information received, toge- 

 ther with any additional particulars which may have been transmitted 

 from the central office. 



It is clearly understood by all parties that any telegraphic message of a 

 warning nature (like the example here mentioned) is merely meant to 

 imply that t/iere is a se/'ious atmospherical disturbance existing along a 

 certain region of coast, and consequently that there is, or mag be, danger 

 impending in other districts. 



Some such arrangement as that which has been now described was the 

 subject of early discussion between the Board of Trade and the Committee 

 of the Royal Society. The arrangement as adopted was proposed by the 

 Committee in a letter dated the 8th of June, being some weeks before the 

 estimates had passed, and consequently before they were authorized to 

 incur any expenditure whatever on the public account. It has been since 

 approved by the Board of Trade, and is now in operation. 



The telegraphic messages, which are now limited to a notice of exist- 

 i'i^g facts,'' are obviously capable of extension hereafter, in proportion as 

 the basis upon which sound meteorological anticipations may rest shall be 

 enlarged ; and this we may reasonably hope for, as one of the fruits of the 

 establishment and action of the Land Meteorological Observatories." 



Meantime a not unimportant preliminary measure has received its due 

 consideration. From an early period the attention of the Committee had 



p 2 



