121 



Solar System/ which was published in the Philosophical Transactions 

 for 1847; and for which the Royal Medal was awarded to him. 

 This interesting- discussion was occasioned by Professor Argelander's 

 having published an opinion on the probable situation in space 

 towards which the sun is at present advancing. The inference thus 

 drawn, was from an investigation of the proper motions of stars in 

 the northern hemisphere ; and iNIr. Galloway was induced to inquire 

 into the same question by a direct comparison of the positions of 

 stars determined by Lacaille, with the recent Catalogues of IMessrs. 

 Johnson and Henderson, in the Southern hemisphere; — a consider- 

 able number of which appear to have very appreciable proper 

 motions. This argument he entered into thoroughly, and with a 

 neat and expressive mathematical computation ; but he concluded, 

 that the data were not yet sufficiently numerous to warrant any 

 speculation with respect to the nature of the path vvhich the sun 

 describes in space. 



Mr. Galloway was also the author of tv\'0 valuable papers which 

 were communicated to the Royal Astronomical Society, of which 

 he was for some years a distinguished Secretary. The first of these, 

 on the Application of the Method of Least Squares to the determi- 

 nation of the most probable errors of observation in a portion of the 

 Ordnance Survey of England, was published in the Astronomical 

 Memoirs for 1846 : the second vras on the present state of our 

 knowledge relative to Shooting Stars, and on the determinations of 

 dilFerences of longitude from observations of those meteors, — a 

 subject which he treated with his usual research and accuracy. 



On the motion of Sir R. H. Inglis, Bart., seconded by Sir R. I. 

 Murchison, the best thanks of the Society were tendered to the 

 President for his excellent Address, and his Lordship was requested 

 to permit the same to be printed and circulated among the Society. 



The Statutes relating to the election of Officers and Council 

 having been read, and Mr. G. R. Porter and Mr. S. P. Pratt having, 

 with the consent of the Society, been nominated Scrutators, the 

 votes of the Fellows present Avere collected. 



The folloA\dng Noblemen and Gentlemen were reported duly 

 elected Officers and Council for the following year : — 



President — The Earl of Rosse. 



Treasurer — Lieut. -Colonel Sabine, R.A. 



^ , . r Samuel Hunter Christie, Esq. 

 "S^"'^'""^^-! Thomas BeU, Esq. 



Foreign Secretary — Captain W. H. Smyth, R.N. 



Other Memlers of the Council. — W. Bowman, Esq. ; B. C. Bro- 

 die, Esq. ; Professor Challis ; Dr. W. Clark ; Dr. Daubeny ; Sir 



