[ 2 3 + ] 
in other famous obfervatories. The attention paid to 
the opinion of an Englifh aftronomer, by the moil! 
renowned Princes, more particularly by his late Ma- 
jefty, at the requeft of your Lordfhip, and the Royal 
Society, will reflett the greateft honour upon their 
names, to the lateft pofterity. But as the tables, 
which Dr. Halley made ufe of, were very imperfect, 
his own not being then conftrudted, and did not re- 
prefent the place of Venus on the fun with that ac- 
curacy, which the method, in this cafe, required : 
and as that eminent philofopher committed a fmalf 
miftake in his calculations, by placing the axis of 
Venus’s path, and the axis of the equator, on the 
feme fide of the axis of the ecliptic ; a miftake which 
the moft accurate calculator might eafily fall into : 
from thefe confiderations, I fay, the honour of de- 
termining the fun’s true parallax is, probably, referved 
for the reign of his prefent Majefty j from whom, as 
a patron of fcience, and every ufeful art, we have 
the greateft reafon to promife ourfelves every poflible- 
encouragement and afiiftance. 
I have already had the honour of prefenting to> 
your Lordfhip, and the Royal Society, an account of 
the obfervations of the conta&s of the fun’s and Ve- 
nus’s limbs, made at Greenwich, and at your Lord- 
fhip’s own obfervatory. As the time would not then 
permit me to examine the obfervations made with 
the micrometer, I could only feledt a few particulars, 
relating to the diameters of the fun and Venus, as 
meafured by different obfervers. I have fince had 
Jeifure to examine all the obfervations made upon the 
day of the tranfit, both at Shirburn caftle, and at the 
Royal Obfervatory at Greenwich j and fhall now beg 
leave 
