141 
Ordinary Meeting, April 2nd, 1878. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., President, in the Chair. 
The President said that he had come into possession of 
three interesting letters from the late Sir W. Fairbairn, 
Bart., F.R.S., a former President of the Society, to the late 
Professor Hodgkinson, F.B.S., also a former President. As 
both paities have left this world there can be no harm in 
giving the letters to the public. My friend Professor 
Hodgkinson, as is well known to the older members of 
this Society, devoted his whole life to science for its own 
sake, and gave nearly fifty years’ labour to the world with- 
out fee or reward. His formulae for the construction of 
cast iion beams and pillars are known and used wherever 
that metal is employed ; and this is the only reward he 
received, either at home or abroad, with the exception of a 
couple of medals and a marble bust in this hall. The 
letters speak for themselves, and are as follows : 
My dear Sir, 
Rotterdam, Aug. 6th, 1836. 
I have no doubt you have already deemed me a lame 
assistant in preparing the report for the approaching meet- 
ing of the British Association, a mere sleeping partner : 
ready to share honours due to your exclusive labours. I 
have tried in vain to make something of the experiments 
you were kind enough to hand to me in London. I have 
examined them with great care, but unless I had all the 
facts and subsequent experiments before me I find it would 
be worse than useless to attempt, or rather spoil, a much 
more accurate and satisfactory description from Mr. Hodg- 
kinson. The fact is, I must confine my enquiries to an 
examination of the metals experimented upon ; investigate 
the mixtures and make such experiments during the winter 
as will lead to pretty correct results tending to show the 
Proceedings-Lit. & Phil. Soc.-Vol. XVII.- No. H.-Sessick 1877-8 
