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qualifications for it than I can pretend to possess. I have long 

 entertained the opinion that it was not desirable that an individual 

 should hold it for life, as has been the case with some of my prede- 

 cessors, though I do not quite agree with those who think that its 

 tenure should be limited to a very short period. You are probably 

 aware that it is the intention of your Council to recommend as my 

 successor a nobleman who has displayed for a long series of years the 

 greatest zeal for the progress of Astronomy. You must all be aware, 

 Gentlemen, of the wonderful telescope made by Lord Rosse, the great 

 ingenuity displayed in its construction, and the labour and expense 

 that it must have cost its constructor. These are strong claims on 

 the Royal Society, and strong guarantees for his future zeal in your 

 service, and in that of science in general. I do not hesitate to add, 

 and the more so as some seem inclined to demur to my opinion, that 

 it is clear to my own mind that his rank and station are additional 

 reasons in his favour. I am not, indeed, one of those who hold that 

 any rank or position, however exalted, can confer honour on science : 

 on the contrary, I shall always maintain that science confers honour 

 on them : it is, however, not less clear that the possession of wealth, 

 of rank, and of station, gives to their possessors the power of aiding 

 science in various ways ; and this is the real point to be considered. 

 On the question, however, of my successor, which is one for your 

 decision, I feel that it would be indelicate and improper for me to 

 say more. 



In retiring from the office of your President, whatever may have 

 been my other deficiencies, J trust no one can justly reproach me 

 with want of zeal for your interests and your honour. To my col- 

 leagues in the diff'erent Councils, who have been elected by the gene-* 

 ral body, I must attribute whatever prosperity may have attended the 

 Society during the last ten years. In looking back to that period, there 

 are three circumstances that give me unmixed pleasure. The first 

 of these is the very important series of papers on Electro-Magnetism, 

 for which we are indebted to a philosopher, of whose presence among 

 us we have especial reason to be proud : I need hardly name to you 

 Professor Faraday. The second point to which I refer is the prompt 

 attention that was paid by the British Government to the joint re- 

 commendation of the Royal Society and the British Association to 

 send an expedition for scientific purposes to the southern regions 

 of the globe. The glory which has attended the successful exer- 

 tions of Sir James Ross and his brave comrades is reflected not only 

 on his country, bat also on the Societies that recommended, and the 

 Government that sent out the expedition. 



The third subject that claims my attention, and to which I have 

 already alluded, is the great conjoint inquiry on Terrestrial Mag* 

 netisra, still going on, and owing its origin to the united recommen-' 

 dations of the British Association and the Royal Society. 



It is true that this object had been brought before the notice of 

 the Royal Society some years before by one of the most illustrious 

 of modern travellers and philosophers, the author of ' Cosmos,' M* 

 Humboldt ; but the immediate origin of the undertaking was the 



