1890 - 91 .] 
Chairman's Opening Address. 
13 
finally. He had made up his mind to return to South Africa with 
the purpose of residing there permanently, when he caught a chill, 
which led to acute inflammation ; and to this he succumbed on the 
9th of November last, at the early age of thirty- three. 
One of the objects that absorbed a very large amount of Mr 
Fraser’s attention during the last eight years of his life was the 
Edinburgh Mathematical Society. This Society may be said to owe 
its existence mainly to him. The idea of starting such a Society- 
originated with him ; and as its Secretary during the first four or five 
years of its existence, he had all the trouble connected with the 
arrangements necessary to put such an institution upon a firm 
basis. This Society is now in its 9th Session, has about 150 
members, and publishes a volume of Proceedings annually. Mr 
Fraser has made contributions to nearly every volume of the 
Proceedings. A subject that interested him from the time of his 
student days was the history of the controversy on the foundations 
of the Differential Calculus. Till within three weeks of his death 
he 'had hoped to he able to give an address to the Mathematical 
Society on this subject at the meeting held on the 14th of November. 
It is still hoped that it may he possible to put the notes he left 
on this subject into a form that will prove useful. Mr Fraser also 
contributed several articles to the edition of Chambers's Encyclopaedia 
which is now being issued. The mathematicians that interested 
him most were De Morgan and Clifford. Of Clifford’s hook On 
the Common Sense of the Exact Sciences , he wrote a review which 
appeared in the pages of the Academy. In poetry Mr Fraser had a 
great fondness for the works of Matthew Arnold. 
Mr Fraser was remarkable, among other things, for the activity of 
his intellect, an intellect that could never he idle ; and for the 
energy with which he devoted himself to any work he undertook. 
His friends always found a talk with him to have a stimulating 
effect, and many will find in the future want of this stimulus a loss 
which it will not he easy to make good. 
I had intended to have said a few words to the Society, chiefly 
by way of contrast, regarding the various distinguished men who 
have occupied this Chair since its foundation in 1783, but I have 
already too much tried your patience, and have exceeded the time 
which I had assigned to myself for the delivery of this address. 
