6 
of the community. During the last quarter of a century 
education has made great advances in Manchester, and an 
undertaking which was deemed feasible in 1785, we may 
naturally expect with increased facilities to be carried on with 
renewed vigour in 1885. Greater Manchester, as it is called, 
is said to contain over eight hundred thousand inhabitants, 
the intelligence of so great a community unleavened with 
the spirit of the inventor, is likely to become dull and 
unproductive. In connection with the enterprise of the 
founders of the Society it will be well to compare the 
utterances of scientific men a century later. In his recent 
address to the members of the British Association, the 
President laid great stress on the importance of maintaining 
science in the provinces and the national decay likely to be 
the result of a neglect to do so. This opinion is expressed 
no less emphatically by Professor Chrystal in his address 
to the Physical and Mathematical section. In his address 
he states “ the concentration of scientific activity in Metro- 
politan centres is beginning to have a depressing effect in 
Great Britain.” And in continuance of the same subject, 
he remarks : “ The result is that local effort languishes, and 
men of energy finding that nothing can be done apart from 
certain centres, naturally gravitate thither, leaving provincial 
desolation to become more desolate.” 
That the founders of this Society intended that its in- 
fluence should be more than local is plainly indicated in 
the following minute: ‘^Annual Meeting, April 28th, 1884. 
Ordered that a medal of £5 5s. be given to the author of the 
best experimental paper on any subject relative to the arts 
employed in Manchester, which shall have been delivered to 
the Secretaries and read at the Ordinary Meetings of the 
Society before the last Wednesday of March, 1785. Ordered 
that the adjudication of the premium be referred to the Com- 
mittee of Papers, and that their decision shall be made by 
