Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edmburgli. 193 
LITERARY CLASS. 
Henry Mackenzie, Esq. President. Sir William Hamilton, Bart. Secretaiy 
> Counsellors from the Literary Class. 
Reverend Dr Brunton. Hon. Baron Clerk Rattray. 
Dr David Ritchie. Right Hon. Lord Chief-Baron, 
Sir John Hay, Bart. Reverend Mr Alison. 
At this mieeting, the following resolution, moved by Dr Hope, 
and seconded by Sir George Mackenzie, Bart, was unanimously 
adopted, and ordered to be transmitted to Sir James Hall, Bart. 
The Royal Society having, in compliance with the wish of 
Sir James Hall, Bart, refrained from again placing him at their 
head, beg to avail themselves of this opportunity to offer him 
their best thanks, both for his long and zealous services as their 
President, and for the mimerous valuable communications with 
which he has enriched their Transactions, and contributed ma- 
terially to maintain the reputation of the Society.’' 
Dec. 4.-— Sir Walter Scott laid before the Society a letter, ad-^ 
dressed to the President and Council, by Sir Alexander Keith, Mr 
Keith, and Dr Brewster, the trustees on Mr Keith’s legacy (See 
this Journal, vol. i. p. SI 9.), offering to that Body the principal 
sum of L.600, the interest of which is to form a biennial prize,, foi: 
the most important discoveries in science, made in any part of 
the world, and published for the first time in the Transactions 
of the Society. The prize is to be given in the form of a gold 
medal, not exceeding L. 15, 15s. in value, and a piece of plate, 
bearing the inscription and device upon the medal. 
A notice by Dr Brewster was read, on the Distribution of 
Heat in tlie Arctic Regions. This notice was a continua- 
tion of his former paper on the Mean Temperature of the- 
Earth; and the object of it was, to point out the remarkable 
agreement between the formula which he had formerly given 
and the observations of Captain Parry. He shewed that the' 
pole of the globe was not the coldest point, but that there were 
two poles of maximum cold, situated at a distance from the 
pole, and in the meridians passing through North America and 
Siberia. He pointed out the agreement of this view of the dis- 
tribution of heat, with the fine series of observations reduced by 
VOL. IV. NO. 7. JANUARY 1821. N 
