701 



Council the award of the Copley Medal, which, before I sit down, I 

 shall have the satisfaction of bestowing on its author. The latter 

 work is still more directly connected with ourselves, inasmuch as 

 your Council, in conjunction with the British Association, brought 

 before the Government the advantage of exploring the antarctic 

 portion of the globe at the time that great simultaneous inquiries 

 were carried on into terrestrial magnetism. 



Moreover, as the instructions on scientific subjects were drawn up 

 for Sir James Ross by us, at the request of Government, we cannot 

 but consider the expedition of the Erebus and Terror as, if not the 

 child, at least the nurseling of the Royal Society. 



It is true that by the labours of Colonel Sabine a considerable 

 portion of the magnetic results of the expedition of Captain Ross 

 has been already laid before the world ; it is true also that we have 

 long known that under the auspices of Sir James Ross the British 

 flag has waved where it never waved before ; or at least that no 

 mortal who had seen the flaming but snow-covered Hecla of the 

 Southern Pole had ever before returned to tell the tale ; but we had 

 not the interesting history of all that had been achieved, and at what 

 peril, until now. 



Though we have no tidings from Sir John Franklin, and cannot 

 now expect any for some time, I rejoice that northern discovery has 

 not stood still. By the energy of Mr. Ray, under the patronage of 

 the Hudson Bay Company, it has been ascertained beyond a doubt 

 that Boothia Felix is a peninsula ; and other additions have been 

 made to our acquaintance with that remote portion of the globe. 



Though not directly connected with the Royal Society or its pro- 

 ceedings, yet I think. Gentlemen, you will excuse my alluding for 

 an instant to the two remarkable chemical and medical discoveries, 

 by means of whieh the most severe operations are performed with- 

 out pain to the patient — a saving of human suffering, which must 

 extend also to the humane and sympathising surgeon. This is in- 

 deed a great and . noble achievement of modern science -—an achieve- 

 ment for which we cannot be too grateful to Him who has thus 

 graciously permitted philosophy to lighten the ills mortality is heir 

 to. You will allow me to add a hope that mankind, and especially 

 civilized nations and civilized Governments who gave their rewards 

 to a Jenner, will not forget what is owing to the new benefactors of 

 their species. 



I regret to have to state that there are three vacancies among our 

 Foreign Members. We should before this have requested you to 

 fill them up, but for the unavoidable absence of your Foreign Se- 

 cretary from our recent Councils on account of illness. This has 

 induced us to postpone the question; as we felt that it would not be 

 right for us to act in that matter without the benefit of his advice. 

 I trust however soon to have to propose three foreign gentlemen to 

 you for election. 



I now come to the most grateful part of my address — that of the 

 presentation of the Royal and Copley Medals. The two subjects 

 proposed for the former this year were the sciences of Chemistry 



