6 
PROPOSED NATIONAL FARADAY MEMORIAL. 
Society, who in a very appropriate manner introduced M. Dumas, and at the 
same time presented him with the Faraday medal, the possession of which is 
associated with the lectureship. 
The lecture, which occupied an hour and twenty minutes, was delivered with 
great fluency and apparent ease. Without once faltering or failing for a word, 
and without any reference to notes, the distinguished chemist and orator, who 
we are informed (for we needed to be so informed) has passed his 70th year, 
delivered an address which may be pronounced a masterpiece of elocution. It 
is not easy to give a satisfactory summary of this oration, which must have been 
heard to be fully appreciated, and it certainly will not be readily forgotten by 
those who had the good fortune to be present. After expressing an eloquent 
eulogium on his late friend Faraday, and referring to the important labours 
and discoveries of the great philosopher, he reviewed the work of other eminent 
chemists of the past and of some of those then present, including among the 
former Lavoisier, Priestley, Dalton, Prout, etc., and among the latter Frank- 
land, Williamson, Tyndall, and, above all, Graham. Tracing back to remote an¬ 
tiquity the early dawnings of science, he brought before his hearers a brief state¬ 
ment of some of the most important steps made in the progress of chemical 
knowledge. He thus compared the knowledge now possessed of the nature of 
matter and force with that of the ancient Greek philosophers, and showed how 
little we have really advanced in our knowledge on these points, notwithstand¬ 
ing the progress made in other respects, and especially in the power possessed 
by modern chemists of producing an infinite number of combinations of chemical 
atoms. The distinction between organic and inorganic chemistry, he observed, 
must soon end, as far as related to the productions of the chemist, but in one 
respect organic chemistry as the chemistry of organic nature would remain dis¬ 
tinguished, as that which is associated with vitality. Numerous as were the 
productions of the chemist, and he predicted that they would become as nume¬ 
rous as the sands of the sea, yet none of these were endowed with life, nor was 
it within the power of mortal man to produce such. He concluded by referring 
to the limited extent of our real knowledge upon many points, and consequently 
the wide field still open for investigation and the discovery of truth. 
PROPOSED NATIONAL FARADAY MEMORIAL. 
A public meeting was held on Monday, the 21st of June, in the theatre of 
the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, for the purpose of organizing the ne¬ 
cessary arrangements for providing a fitting national memorial of the late Pro¬ 
fessor Faraday. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales presided, and having 
expressed his high appreciation, not only of the services rendered by Faraday in 
the cause of science, but also of his character in all the relations of life, he de¬ 
scribed the steps which had already been taken in furtherance of the proposed 
object. The result of an application to the Government for the means of rais¬ 
ing a natioDal monument had been that, whilst it was admitted that the erection 
of a monument to Faraday was an object presenting strong claims upon the 
public, it would not be consistent with the established rule in such cases to 
apply the public funds of the country for such a purpose in reference to any 
private citizen, however eminent. It had, therefore, been decided to call this 
meeting, and to appeal directly to the public. General Sabine, President of the 
Royal Society, moved, and M. Dumas, of Paris, seconded, the first resolution, 
“ That it is desirable that measures should be taken to provide a public memo¬ 
rial to Faraday.” A committee was then appointed for carrying the resolution 
into effect, consisting of the Presidents and other representatives of all the lead¬ 
ing scientific institutions and societies. 
