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philosopher who has discovered them ; he knows, indeed, t hei r high va'ue and 
permanent importarice, but Ibis convietion does not as»uage ihe thirsl of philosophy, 
and Ihe mind inslincliveiy seeks to delermine Ihe relation of the facts which il has 
discovered, and turns to some point, some pole of convergenee, or some general 
pjinciple to which they seem directed, and by whicli they may be explained. This 
state of the philosophtc mind. is the locus stand i of the present time; and it was 
this state t ha l generated t he noble plan, whicli emboiied itsetf in the «Bnlish Asso- 
ciation for the advancement of Science. » The parent idea may be altibuied to 
Professor Oken ofJena, who in 1822 opened the (irst memotable assemblage at Leipsic. 
These meetings soon spread through the towns of the Germanic Confederal ion, and in 
4828 a splendid rennion was formed at Berlin, wilh the celebrated Baron Humboldt 
for President, and this meeimg was also graced by the presenceofan equally scieniiüc 
Englishman, Ile well known Mr. Bahbage. In England the idea was caughl up by 
the ktndred minds of Brewsler, üavy, and Herschell, and like a gleam of light 
reflected from a luminous surface, it radiaied through all ranks of the scientific 
World Cambridge and Oxford rallied round the unfurled Standard of this new 
philosophical Convention ; the Scottish and Irish Uuiversities swelled its importance 
by their adhesion ; and willi a noble concession to religious feeling, the great eccle- 
siastical Ui iversity of Oxford conferred ihe lionour of degrees upon four philosophers, 
all dissenting, under vurious forrns of failh, from the Church of England. In 4831 
the ti ist A sociaiioa met at Yoik, and has each successive year assembled at different 
places in the United Kingdom. How vast bave been the addilions to the Stores ot Scien- 
ce from the labours of its members ! How cooducive to the advancement of every 
brauch of the arts, and the ullim.ue amelioration of mankind ! In their meeting was dis- 
cussed one of ihe grandest discoveries of modern times, Üie fokmüla of the Law of 
Sturms, which is no donbt well known to all present, by the excellent work of Colo- 
nel R ed, and which has received such iriesistible force from ihe recent observatious 
öf Mr. Redfieid of New York and Mr. Espy of Washington, froua Mr J. Marshall and 
Mr. Piddington of India. I will tberefore, witb this slight. sketch of the origin of an 
Association, which has called forth into brigter day the distinguished and universal 
talents of Professor Wheweli of Trinity College Cambridge, a sketch which I thought 
necessary for more clearly understanding the question proceed at once to the subject 
of the present paper.» 
M. J. Morris fait alors connaitre le resultaf des recherches da 
Professeur Wheweli en ce qui touche le phenömene des marees, 
travail auquel ce Professeur s’etait. occupe depu-is plusieurs an- 
nees et qui avait ete amionce en 1836 daus une reunion de The 
British Association Celle question, chose assez etonnante. n’avait 
eie jusqu’alors consideree que sous un point de vue purement 
theorique et comme abstraclion mathematique, et se rattachait 
attx lois qni regissent la force de gravile. Gräce a la theorie du 
Professeur de Cambridge, les faits furent presentes sous un jour 
nouveau, et on en put deduire de nombreux principes : l’attrac- 
tion de la Ittne, la supposition de ce qui arriverait ä la Terre en 
adrnetlanl lameine force d’aUraction agissant surtoule sa masse, 
la periurbation des eaux de l’oeean, l’altraction du soleil relati- 
vement ä l’elevation des Hots comparee ä l’attraction de la lütte, 
l’origine desgrandes et des petites marees constituerent alors autaut 
de questions cj ui furent soumises u la discussion et ä l’analyse Aprcs 
avoir parle de la non-coincidence qui existe ent re les marees et 
Ses phases de la lune, M Morris continue ainsi : 
i In order to arrive at a full and satisfactory solulion of the phenomina, Mr. Whe- 
well has begun by causing io be imliluted regulär series of tidal observations in va- 
rious parts of the vorld. To accomplish this, the co-operation of the Engüsh Govern- 
irieni was necessary, and was of course gladly afforded for so important an inquiry,. 
Sinailar observations had previously been aiteuipled in England, under Ihe direction 
