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motion/** just as Bruno did. Mayer, however, in 1760, after 
careful observations of the proper motions of 80 stars, and com- 
paring the observations of Roemer in 1706 with his own and 
Lacaille*s in 1750 and 1756, came to the conclusion that the 
observed proper motions “ of the stars did not afford evidence 
of motion of the solar system towards any particular region of 
the heavens.**f But the first Herschel, in 1783, arrived at a 
conclusion diametrically opposed to that of Mayer; J and since 
then, till now or till very recently, our orthodox astronomers 
appear to have left the region of doubt upon the subject of 
solar motion in space, for a region of absolute and I must add 
of blind unreasoning faith in its certainty. 
23. I have alluded (§ 2) to the Paper I sent to the British 
Association at Newcastle in 1863, controverting this theory. 
That Paper I published in September, 1863, with an appendix, 
in both thoroughly exhibiting the illogical reasoning and 
absurdities involved in the theory, — and with what result ? 
The Members of Section A of the British Association, and 
Fellows of the Royal Society and of the Royal Astronomical 
Society, to whom I sent copies of my Paper, were, without 
exception, dumb ! But I quote the following from the Annual 
Report of the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society, 
laid before the Forty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Society on 
the 12th of February, 1864, — the Reverend R. Main, Vice- 
President (the Radcliffe Observer), being in the chair : — 
“ Astronomers will regard with especial interest the Astronomer-Royal’s 
renewed attempt to determine the magnitude and direction of the motion of 
the solar system in space. Sir W. Herschel, in 1783, by a graphical method 
of great simplicity, showed that the proper motion of a few stars might be 
tolerably well accounted for by assigning to the sun a motion of his own 
directed towards X Herculis. Other astronomers, starting with this as an 
approximate apex of solar motion, have sought to correct it by combining 
together a far greater number of stars than could be taken into account by 
the elder Herschel. The Astronomer-Royal, by the independent method of 
referring all the motions to three rectangular co-ordinates, as applied to 
1,167 stars, falls again very nearly upon Sir W. Herschel’s original position of 
the solar apex. And yet, strange to say, notwithstanding the near coincidence 
of all the results of the before-mentioned independent methods of investigation, 
the inevitable logical inference deduced by Mr. Airy is, that the whole question 
of solar motion in space — so far, at least, as accounting for the proper motion 
of the stars is concerned, — appears to remain at this moment in doubt and 
abeyance .” § 
* Grant, p. 555. f lb. ; Vide, also, Note B. J Grant, p. 555. 
§ Monthly Notices of the Roy. Ast. Soc., 12th Feb. 1864, vol. xxiv., No. 4, 
p. 104. 
