1870.] 



President's Address. 



125 



" and for establishing the relative value of the kilogramme, will long be 

 " cited as a model of accuracy. To this, however, I refer at the present 

 " time as introductory to the strict subject of this Medal. 



"At length the principal object for which the successive Commissions 

 "(and none of the Members more strongly than Professor Miller) had for 

 " so many years so earnestly contended, namely the establishment of a De- 

 " partment of Standards as a substantive branch of the Government (subor- 

 " dinate to the Board of Trade), was attained. And, nearly at the same 

 " time, a new Royal Commission, of which Professor Miller was a member, 

 " was appointed for examining and reporting on the state of the Secondary 

 " Standards, and for considering every question which could affect the Pri- 

 " mary, Secondary, and Local Standards. As Head of the new Department, 

 " the Government were most fortunate in being able to avail themselves of 

 "the talent and energy of Mr. H. W. Chisholm ; and to the cordial co- 

 " operation of Professor Miller and Mr. Chisholm, principally in regard to 

 " the questions of Weights, but also on many points applying to lengths 

 " and capacities, is to be ascribed in great measure a result which (in the 

 " hope of Professor Miller's colleagues) will prove to be an important legis- 

 " lative success. Without the extensive knowledge and the long experience 

 " of Professor Miller this result could not have been expected. The field of 

 " labour was very wide ; not only were the state of Standards of all degrees 

 " of subordination, and the legislation respecting them, to be considered, but 

 " the Commission and Professor Miller, in a high degree, had the serious 

 " and responsible charge of offering to the Government their matured opi- 

 nions on the grave questions of introduction of Metric System, abrogation 

 " of Troy Weight, and future arrangement of the entire system of British 

 " Standards. It is believed that the fruits of these labours may be correctly 

 " stated as : — the establishment of an office which for accuracy of standards 

 "and perfection in the methods of using them, may compare favourably 

 " with any in the world ; the indication of the best direction of legislation 

 "in establishment of regulations for their national utility; and the expo- 

 " sition of the broad views which may advantageously be adopted by nations, 

 " especially by Britain, in deciding on the course to be followed under the 

 " competing claims of different systems. For this presumed success the 

 " country is greatly indebted to the ability, the science, and the incessant 

 "attention of Professor Miller." 



Though in awarding the Royal Medal to Professor Miller it was natu- 

 rally impossible not to advert to them, I am not prepared to give you any 

 corresponding account of those researches in Mineralogy and Crystallo- 

 graphy which, having been prosecuted for more than thirty years, have 

 gained for him the highest reputation wherever those departments of 

 knowledge are cultivated throughout the world, and have accordingly been 

 translated into different European languages. 



Professor Miller, 

 It is with very great pleasure that I present you with this Medal, in 



VOL. XIX. L 



