€-'ROCEE;DINGS OF THE INSTITU'I'E OF CHEMISTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND lRELAND, CHARLES E. GROVES, Secretary, PART 11. 1888. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, IL41,ANCE SHEET FOR' 1888, AND ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, Dr. JAMES BELL, F.R.S., &c. CONTENTS. LIBTOF OFFICERSAND COUNCIL ... ... ... ... REPoRr OF ANNUALGENERALMEETING ... ... . . REPORTOF COUNCIL ... ... ... ... ... ... BALANCESHEETFOR 1888 ... ,.. ..I ... PRESIDENT’SADD~~EW... ..* ... ... ... ... OBITUARIE~ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... FELLOWSAND AssocIAr Es BECXNTLY ‘\DHITTB 1) ... ... PAGE. 35 57 37 lo 41 51 an 35 LIST OF OFFICERS AND COUNCIL Elected MARCH lst, 1889. PRESIDENT. .JAMES BELL, Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.S., &c VICE-PRESIDENTS.H. E. ARMSTRONG, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. A. CRUM BROWN, M.D., D.Sc., F.R.S. SIR CHARLES A. CAMERON, M.D., &c W. ODLING, M.A., M.B., F.R.S., &c. T. STEVENSON, M.D., F.C.S., &c. C. M. TIDY, M.R., F.C.S., &c. TREASURER. DAVID HOWARD, F.C.S. R. BANNISTER, F.C.S. OTTO HEHNER, F.C.S. J. CARTER BELL, F.C.S. H. McLEOD, F.R.S. &c. A. J. BERNAYS, Ph.D., F.C.S. R. MELDOLA, F.R.S., &c. H. T. BROWN, F.C.S. B. E. R. NEWLANDS, F.C.S. J. CAMPBELL BROWN, DSc., F.C.S. C. O’SULLIVAN, F.R.S., &c. M. CARTEIGHE, F.C.S. J. PATTINSON, F.C.S. C. E. CASSAL, F.C.S. W. RAMSAY, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. F. CLOWES, D.Sc., F.C.S. €3. REDWOOD, F.C.S. R. H. DAVIES, F.C.S. E. RILEY, F.C.S.W. R. DUNSTAN, M.A., F.C.S. W. R. SMITH, M.D., D.Sc., &c. BERNARD DYER, B.Sc., F.C.S. R. R. TATLOCK, F.C.S. T. FAIRLEY, F.R.S.E., F.C.S. TV. THOMSON, F.C.S. A. E. FLETCHER, F.C.S. W. A. TILDEN, D.Sc., F.R.S.,&c. P. F. FRANKLAND, Ph.D., F.C.S, REGISTRAR AND SECRETARY. C. E. GROVES, F.R.S., &c. 37 OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. THE THIRDANNUALGENERALXEETINCof the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland incorporated by Royal Charter, was held at Burlington House, on Friday, the 1st JIarch, 1889. 'The BALANCESHEET(see p. 40) having been laid before the Meeting by the Treasurer, it was received and adopted. The PRESIDENTthen delivered his Bddress (see p. 41.) The REPORT OF THE COUSCILwas read hy the Secretary as follows :-At the diinual General Neeting held last Sear there mere 544 Fellows and 45 Associates on the Register.Since then, 162 Fellows and 4s Associates hare been admitted, whilst 2 Fellows have resigned. The names of 12 Fellows and 3 Associates have been removed from t'he Register for 11011-payment of subscriptions, and we have to lament the decease of seven of oiir Fellows-Professor J. S. Brazier, Mr. J. J. Coleman, Mr. W. F. Donkin, Mr. Holdsmorth Fisher, Ilr Peter Griess, IIr. James Taylor, and Dr. W. Wallace. The 38 ~iarneson the Register, therefore, are iio~685 Fellows, and 83 Associates ; a total increase of 1711 Ilembers during the past jear. Twenty-two Candidates were admitted to the Practical Exami- nation held by the Exaniiiiiug Board at London, Dublin, Glasgow, and 3Ianchester, and the 19 of these who passed nere snbseqnently elected as Associates of the Institute. In conducting these examinations, the Examiners no longer act' and report individnally, hit are constituted a Board of Examiners? coiisisting of five Examiners who act collectively ; the duties of the Board being to carry out the Regulations imde from time to time by the Couucil relating to the Exami- nation of Candidates for admission to the Associateship.X ~iewProspectus of Qualifications required of Candidates for admission to the Institute of Chemistry as Bssociates has also been issued, coutajning the evidence of qualifications requiretl of the Candidate before his admission to the Examination in Practical Chemistry, the regulations for this Exaniiuation, and a syllabus of the subjectsof Examination in Practical Chemistry both qualitative and quantitative.The Council also has to congratulate the Members on the present satisfactory financial position of the Institute ; 2500 Con-solidated 22 per Cent. Government Stock has been purchased this year, so that at the present time there is the slim of $5,000 Consols standing in the name of the Institute. The Institute is indehetl to the President and Council of the Chemical Society for the use of their rooms during the past, year. The Report of the Council having been received and adopted, the OFFICERSand COUNCIL for the crisuiny year were elected (see p.35,) Messrs. F. J. Montagne Page and *J. E. Saul acting as Scrutineers. The CENSORSelected weye Mr. David Homrd, Dr. W. Odling, Dr. W. J. Russell, and I)r. T. Stevenson. 111.. H. J. Helm, Dr. F. L. Teed, and Mr. \Ir. Thorp ivere appoiiited Auditors. INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. INCORPORATEDROYAL CHARTER.BY -STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT AND BALANCE SHEET, F~to>l1s.l. JANUARY 1885.TO 31ST DECEMBER, % x. (1. Balance in liand, 1st January, 1st January, 1888 ...... Entrance Fees,, ...... 183 15 0 Life Compositions ...... ‘36 12 0 656 Fel!ows’ Subscription3 .... 701 8 0 S1 .4ssociates’ ,, .... s5 1 0 Jilterest on Consols ...... I’xamination Fees ,, ., .. % s. d. ::02 14 ti ‘280 7 0 7R(i 9 0 17.5 7 4 46 4 0 %1,5‘31 1 9 &mi$.Decemker 31st,1888, Cash at Eank ....CSSl 1.5. 9 ,, $5,000 29 0 Consols. Audited and found correct, Jan. 16th, 1889. € s. d. Printing, Statiouery, and Postage .... 170 0 1 Advertisements .......... 26 2 10 Bent, Office, and i\Iiscellaneous Expenses .. 87 10 1 Corporatioil Duty .......... 615 0 Examiners’ Fees .......... 91 19 6 Salaries and Wages ........ 165 0 0 Parliamentary Agc nts ........ 330 Purcliase of $500 2f:“I,, Consols .... 488 15 6 Balance in London and Westminster Eank, 31stDecember, 1888.. ...... 551 15 9 $1,591 1 9 Xinbilitits. Deceiiibcr 31st, 1888 ........ Xone. CHARLES E. CASSAL. H. J, HELM. BERNARD DYER. 41 THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS.K accordance with the usnal custom, it is now my privilege I to make a few observations on the position and prospects of our Association. You have heard the Financial Statement of our Treasurer, and all, I think, will agree that it is highly satisfactory and encouraging. With regard to our accumulated property, when it became known that it was the intention of the Got-ern-ment to redeem, if necessary, and convert all Government Three per Cent. Stock into Two and Three-quarters per Cent., the Council considered it advisable to accept the terms offered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the matter of Consols, and resolved to convert the $4,500 Consols belonging to the Institute into the New Consolidated Stock of Two and Three- quarters per Cent.This has been done, and the new Stock duly inscribed in the Bank books in the names of our Trustees. Since then ve have been able, owing to the comparatively large sum we have received during the past year for entrance fees and life compositions, to invest a further siim of 2,500, thus making up our accumulated capital to 35,000. We have on the year an increase of 38 Associates and 141 Fellows; and our income, including $280 7s. received for Entrance Fees and Life Compositions, notwithstanding the small amount of our annual contribution, has exceeded our expenditure hp 273’7 16s. l0d. PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. At our First Annual General Meeting, held in the year 18i8,the number of Fellows on the Register was 225, whereas to-day, it nil1 be seen by the report of the Council, we have an aggregate of 768 iiieinbers, cousisting of G85 Fellows and 83 Associates. This is a remarkable result to liave achieved witliin a period of about eleven jears, especially wlieii it is borne in mind, that a strict iiir.estiga- tioii of the qualifications of candidates for admission has, been esercised aiid iiiaiiitained tliroaghout from the foulidation of the Tustit ute.The Fcllows are aware, that after we obtaiiied our Charter, tlie (louncil decided to adopt a generous course tomrds our profes-sioiial bretlireii wlio had iiot previously joined the Inst,itute, aiid to give all those who liad a distinct claim to be included within our raiiks an opportii ni ty of becoiiiing Members of our Associatioii within a certain fixed period, up011 fair and reasonable conditions, and witliout the exaction of r2 fine.In respoiise to the in~itatioii, wliicli was published in several scientific: jounials, the Council recei\.ed a ~e1.ylarge iiuiiiber of applications for admission fro111 professional cliemists in different parts of the Kingdom, and also from ;I few gentleineii in tlie Colonies. The claims of eacli applicant for admission were most patiently and carefully con- sidered by tlie Komiiiations’ Committee, and a large proportion of tlie candidates were i.ecommended for election, either as Felloms or Associates, accoiding to their position and standing. 111 some cabes, where the evidence of qualific21 t‘1011was some-what donbtful, and the age of the candidate did not render it discourteous to call upon him to undergo au examination, tlie Committee recommended that he should be admitted to an examinatioii in practical chemistry.‘L‘he privilege conceded by the Council of direct admission to the Fellowship ceased on the 1st of l\larcIi last, and thenceforth admission to our Fellowship will only he granted to those who hare receit-ed the requisite course of gcntral scientific training, have passed the PEES1UES’l”S ADDRESS. examination for the hssociateship, and have held the grade of Associate for the prescribed period of three Fears. The large number of applications which sere received from professional clieniists and othem for adiiiissioii to our Fellowship, is an i’lnstration of the high estimation in which the Institute is dreatcly lield ; but it should be borne in mind that it has not attained to its present satisfactory position without the expendi- ture of a large :imonrit of valuable time and labonr by the NemLers of jour successive Councils, and I feel sure you Fill agree that it is only right that IVB shoiild record our appreci?tion of the services wliich they ],are individndly aiid collectiwly ren- dered to the Institute.While, hoKever, fully recognising the services rendered by the Coiiiicil in furtherance of tlie interests of the Institute, we must not overlook liow largely we are indebted for its prosperity and proniising condition to the special efforts iind loyalty of illy three distinguished predecessors.It n-ould be difficult to say to which of these three eminent chemists, Re are under the greatest obligation for the great labour and pains that they have respectirely bestowed upon the affairs of the Institute. As oiie who took part in our first Incorporation under tlie Corn-paniea’ Act of 1867, and who has been associated more or less with the Conncii from the beginning, I am able to speak-with some authority as regards the services which they haye rendered, and I can affirm that on every occasion on which the furtherance of the interests of the Institute was inrolred, all three were found in the forefront, ready to advocate its claims and to support their argu- ments by their personal influence.In additioii to their united services, each has established for himself R special claim for our gratitude. With the original movement for bringing about our organisation, Dr. Frankland’s name will always be associated, as practically having been the PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. leader, pioneer, and founder of tlie Institute; while to Sir Frederick Abel the utmost credit will always be accorded for having skilfully and successfully steered the Institute over a most difficult and uncertain period of its history, when a certain measure of apathy and dissatisfaction threatened to cause serious. defection anzong its members. As regards the special services rendered by my predecessor, Dr. Odling, it is needless to say that his name will ever be justly associated with the attainment of our incorporation by Royal Charter in lieu of Articles of Association.It Fill readily be admitted that the task, which he undertook in obtaining our Charter, was one surrounded with no little difficulty, and it was only by the earnestness with which he laboured, and his uncetising efforts, that eventually the much-coveted prize was gained for us. It will thus be seen, that mhen last year you elected me to the office of President, the Institute was established on a satisfactory basis under a Royal Charter, and its success was fully assured by the efforts of my three predecessors and your succcessive Councils ; bnt from my lengthened experience in the management of its affairs, 1was amre that difficult questions, at least for scnie time, would be likely to occasionally arise for Eolution by the Coun-cil ; and, indeed, at the time of our last anniversary meeting, a questioii of this description and of vital importance to the objects and interests of the Institute, aas pressing for settlement.In dealing with matters of this kind, especially when there are certain class-interests inyolred, and strong views are entertained on the one side and on the other, it is necessary to seek for a solution of the inatter by arriving at a fair and reasonable compromise, and this is generally practicable by a patient and exhaustive discussion of the subject, conducted in aspirit of loyalty to the Institute, and with an earnest desire to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion.As a result of the discussions and deliberations of the Kominntions Committee, conducted cn the basis indicated, T am liappy to be PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. able to announce that they arrived at a unanimous decision, which was subsequently endorsed and accepted by the Council. I allude, as you will doubtless anticipate, to the subject of the general scientific training of candidates necessary for the purpose of qualifying for admission to the practical examination for the Associateship. In the Prospectus, which has now become superseded by the adoption of a new one, the general course of scientific training of candidates for admission as Acsociates to the Institute vas laid down as follon-s :-“That he (the candidate) has passed satisfactorily through a course of three years’ study in any one or more of the Universities or chartered or j ncorporated colleges or fchoo1s, pre- viously approved by the Council, in the subjects of Theoretical and Analytical Chemistry, Physics, and Elementary Mathematics.” To this prescribed course of training there is an alternative in the new Prospectus, and in future it will lie sufficient if the caudidate can produce evidence ‘‘that he has been engaged for four years in the practice of Chemistry in the laboratory of a Fellow of the Insti- tute, during at least two years of which time, he has been entered as a Student of the Institute, and lias regularly attended systematic courses of instruction in the said subjects at such uniyersity, college, or school.” The alternatirc coiirse of train ng provided in this new Pro- spectus will, it is believed, be fully adequate to maintain the requisite standard of qualifications, and the practice in the laboratory of a Fellow of the Institute may reasonably be expected to exercise an important and beneficial influence upon the progress of the studell t during lris two years’ systematic trailling at one of the recognised colleges or schools.The Council have also had under consideration the important subject of the practical exiiiniiiatioiis lield i ti connection with 46 PEENDEET'S ADDRESS. the Institute, and they have made soine f'iindamental changes i 11 the system preyiously followed. Formerly each Examiner acted individually, and examined the Candidates on the general lines of the syllabus approved by the Council, and at the completion of the examination, lie reported to the Examination Committee, giying full details as to the results arrived at by the Candidates, with an opinion as to rlie imnner in which each had esecntecl his work.The Committee then, after carefully con-sidering the reports of the different Examiners, decided whether the several Candidates had dune their work satisfactorily, and were entitled to be recoiniiieniled for election, Under this system, the exercises gireii were practicallg left to the independent judgment of the Examiner, as he was merely limited by the general terms of the syllabns, and in the absence of mutual con- sultation and co-operation between the Examiners, it was found that theie was a want of uniformity in the test applied, and consequently that the method of conducting the practical examination was not satisfactory.After long and careful consideration, it was decided that the Esaminers should cease to act independently, and that, in future, the Examinations should be conducted by a Board of five Examiners iinder fresh regulations prepared by the Council, and subject to modifications from time to tiinc as occasion might require. The Boiird of Examiners thus constituted have to set the exercises for the Candidates, and the Examiner at each centre is required to furnish the Board with a detailed account of the work performed by each Candidate.The July Examinations, last year, were carried out under the control and supervision of'tlie iiew Board, and, from the experience gained, there is no doiibt tliat with some slight modification of the present regulations, the system will -sorl: satisfactorily . An important feature in the new regulations is an arrangeinent by which the practical' Examination is supplemented by certified PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. records of the work that t1,e Candidate has done in the laboratory duriiig his studentship. This ,has to be attested, both hy himself and his professor or teacher, and a careful scrutiny of the records of his work by the Board of Examiners will enable them to form a general ideaof the efficiency, or utlierwise, of the course of training tlirough which the Candidate has passed.Altogether, it may be confidently felt that the examinational and other requirements of Candidates for admission to the Asso-ciateship, as now formulated by the Council, will serve to establish and maintain a satisfactory standard of scientific and practical proficiency, and, at the same time, fnlfil one of' the priniary objects of the Institute, by successfully promoting the elevation of '' tlie profession of consulting and analytical chemistry.)) The afhirs of the Institnte are now so hopeful and promising, that it only remains for tlie Fellows to turn it to good account, and to raise it to such a position of power and influence as to enforce a general recognition of' the importance and value of lioldirig the license of the only incorporated body in the Kiiigdom, representatik-e of pro-fessional chemists.The accomplishment of this is probably, not so remote as might be supposed. for the Institute, as at present constitued, is a union of great scientific strength. It practically includes erery chemist of repute or recognised standing in the Kingdom, whether professional or professorial, and with the maintenance of such it combination, the continued prosperity OF the Institute is not only assured, but its moral influence must rapidly gain great ascendancy among the professic n. The professorial element has, from the Isegining, been an important factor in our success, and it is to be hoped that as in the past, so in the future, professors and teachers of chemistry, to whom we are already 80 largely indebted, mill continue to work t.ordii\lly with us, and earnestly assist in the furtherance of the cause of scientific: education.PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. There is still much room for devising and adopting means for promoting the interests of the Institute, arid for increasing its use-fulness. It is generally admitted that considerable advantages would result to the Institute if more frequent oppoitunities were afforded to the members for meeting each other to discuss Tarions topics, and to exchange their views 011 different subjects of interest to professional chemists. It scarcely seem enough, in the case of a qualifying Institute which cannot enforce inem hership before the profession of chemistry can be legally practised, to rest solely on its power of conferring a degree to win the confidence and attachment of its members.I believe it would tend greatly to enhance the feeling of good-fellon.ship and gire a stirnulus to scientific work, if an outlet were provided for what appears to be a strong lateut desire, which might be found to be very general, to bring before the whole body of Fellows, in some public manner, questions of liigh scientific interest or public utility. Tt might be that in this way, the Institnte would attain a degree of visibility in a short time which it would otherwise take years to accom-plish. I would not suggest that frequent meetings should be held; but that a yearly gathering of the members should be convened, lasting two or more days, according to the necessity of the case, when papers mould be read and discussed, and appropriate reports of the same published in the form of ‘‘ Proceedings.” Speaking with rill respect for other associations of a kiudred character, it C~Uscarcely be denied that no other society could bring to bear upon questions of applied chemical science so much knowledge and experience as the collective Fellowship of the Institute of Chemistry.It seems to me, therefore, a pity that with materials so abundant and a platform so broad that facilities should not be afforded for that interchange of view and comparison of results w11i~h would tend nltiiiiately to the mutual benefit of the Fellows. PRESIDENT‘S ADDRESS.It seems unwise to close the mouth of the Institute as a con-sultative body, and we are not without encouragement in the experience of the results of the Conferences held a few years ago, to iiiduce the Fellows to farourably entertain the suggestion thrown out. What I would propose is, that a set and con\-enient time for holding a meeting every year should be approved, to which the Fellows mould be able to look forward, and at the same time prepare for rendering useful service by bringing matters of special interest and of importance before the meeting, and taking part in the discussions. It has been suggested by a proiiiiaeiit member of the Council that it might be desirable to found a Widow’ Fund in con-nection with the Institute, and it would certainly be a most useful thing to undertake if we could see our way to successfully do so, but our income, owing to the smallness of the annual contribution, is so limited, that I am afraid we should not have sufficient money to draw upon to enable us to found snch a Fund on a satisfactory basis.The proposition, however, is oiie well deserving serious consideration, as the establishment of any useful f und-either a Widon-s’ or a Benevolent Fund-in coiinec-tioii with the Institute, would tend to exercise a beneficial influence upon our futiire position, by drawing the Fellows niore closely together and establishing a community of interest. The Fellows, I think, will agree that it would be desirable to pursue the matter farther, and to appoint a Committee to carefully inrcstigate the subject, to see if any scheme of the kind indicated would be practicable.During the past year the Couiicil hare issued three parts of ‘‘ Proceedings ” of the Institute. The Register, which forms a separate part of the ‘‘ Proceedings,” was not printed last year until the month of May, but this year it will be issued much earlier, as it was sent to press on the 31st January. It miglit PRESIDENT’S ADDRESY. haw been printed even earlier than the date named, but it w;ts thought desirable to hold it back in order that tlie names of sonip, recently elected, whose clainis for admission had been under con-sideration for a considerable period, niight be included.If the suggestion which I have ventured to make with regard to the holding of an Aiinual Coni-ention of the Fellows of the Institute be adopted, the reports of our “Proceedings ” ail1 be greatly increased. lTntil recently, considerable latitude has been allowed to mem- bers who mere behind in the payment of their subscriptions, and no action was taken until they Fere considerably in arrear, to put in force the bye-law which renders any member liable to be excluded or suspended from membership, in tlie event of his annual subscription being in arrear for one year. The Council had the subject under tlieir consideration in tlie month of h’ovember last, hen they came to the conclusion that it was to the interests of the Institute to adopt a more stringent coIirse with regard to the payment of the annual subscriptions, and a resolution mas passed as follow :-‘* That, if the rnembers whose subscriptions are in arrear do not pay them before the first daj-of Jari~iary,188!), their names be removed from the Register, in accordance with Bye-law 72 ; and that the Secretary he instructed to seud them iioticc to that effect.” This resolution will form a precedent for the adoption of a similar course each year ; and, seeing that the annual subscription is now so small, there does not appear to be any feasible excuse for any inember being a defaulter.In concluding these few obserrations, I desire to refel. to the pleasure which it gave me in the month of June last to arrarigc for a Coiir-ersazione in connection with the I nstitutc, and to express my gratitude to tlie members of Counzil and fell on.^, nho so PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS.cordially assisted me in my labour of lev. I hare great faith in bhe effects which usually accrue from occasional personal intercourse between the Fellow, and it was a great satisfaction to me to find so much interest taken by the iucmbers of tlie Institute generally in our eyening social gathering. OBITUARIES. It will be seen from tlie Report of Council that tlie Institute has lost seven Fellows during the past year. The names of the deceased Fellows are- J. J. Coleman, W.F. Donkin, J. H. Fisher, P. Griess, J. Taylor, W. Wallace, and J. S. Brazier.JOSEPH COLEMAR’,F.R.S.E., F.C.S., who died on 18th JAMES December last, was born in 1838, in Lincolnshire. His youth as passed with a pharmaceutical chemist in Halifax, where he attended the Mechanics’ Institute, and soon gave evidence of scientific attainments of a high order, for in ISGO he contributed a paper to tlie proceedings of the Eritish Aseociation on important rehtions between the atomic weights and the atoniic volumes of the elements. For several years after this he was science teacher in Chester Training College, but the discovery of rich bituminous material in Wales turned his attention to mineral oil manufacture, in which his success ma as so great that he Kas offered the post of research chemist in Young’s paraffin tt.orks. Here he made marked improvements in lubricants ; and, in dealing with tlie uncon-densed gases from the shale retorts, invented an apparatus for the production of the necessary low temperatures and great pressure by meclianical means.This led Mr. J. Bell, the n-ell-known ship- owner and importer of fresh meat, to request liim to devise some trustworthy method of refrigeration for the meat chambers in the holds of steamers. A satisfactory solution of the problem was soon forthcoming, and ten years ago the first Bell-Coleman mechanical dry-air refrigerator was fitted up in one of the Anchor PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. Line steamships. About 1884, Mr. Coleman retired from business and settled down at Bearsden, near Glasgow, whence from time to time he contributed valuable papers to the various societies.WILLIAMWALLACE,Ph.D., F.R.S.E., F.C.S., began his pro- fessional career as assistant in Anderson’s University at Glasgow. He was nest appointed lecturer in the College of Science and Arts, in the same town, and in 1874 the office of Public Analyst for the City of Glasgow was conferred upon him. He was joint author of papers on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, and on Sewage Disposal, and has further written well-known works on the Analysis of the Gas-yielding Coals of Scotland. Dr. Wallace was for many years an active member of the Philosophical Society OP Glasgow, of which he was at one time President, an office which lie filled with conspicuous ability.His skill and invariable courtesy gained for him the esteem of a wide circle of friends. His death occurred on 5th November last. JAMESs. BRAZIER, F.C.S., Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in Aberdeen University, who died on 14th January 11889, was a native of Rye, in Sussex. Entering the Lsboratory of the Royal College of Chemistry, he soon, by his reinarkable experimental skill, attracted the notice OF Prof. Hofinann. Proin this laboratory lie went to assist Dr. ,4ndre~vs, at Queen’s College, Belfast, and in 1852, he became assistant to Dr. Clark, at Marischal College. In 1862 lie was appointed to the chair of Cheinistry in the Aberdeen University, where his practical chemistry classes quickly became famous. Apart from his duties as a teacher, Professor Brazier did other important work for the University.For many years he acted as Secretary to the Medicti1 Faculty aud for examinations for the Degree ; aud he succeeded to the ofice of Dean on the retirement of Dr. Ogston. PETERGBIESS,Ph.D., F.R.S., F.C.S., was born in 1829, in Hesse Cassel, and studied under Kolbe, at Marburg University. PRESIDENT‘S ADL)RE:SH. Abouc 1856 he came to Loiiitun. and Lecame otic of L)r. Hofmaiin’s prirate assistants at the Royal College of Chemistry, where he commenced those investigations which in after times led to his great discoveries in the azo-and diazo-compounds. His first resenrcll appeared in ‘‘ Liebig’s Snnalen ” in 1858, and in 1859 tlie discovery of the first diazo-compound was made kiiown.Yincc that time, his published papers have been very numerotis, as the Yroceedings of the various societies devoted to chemistry testify. It may be noted that he was the originator of the metapheuylenediamine test, for the detection of iri trates in water, n inetliod which has since been perfected by Yreusse and Tiemann. Messrs. Bllsopp, in 1859, offered liiiii the post of scientific adviser to their firin, which position lie filled till his death, although in the meantime he liad inure than one call to professorial chairs in German Unirersities. His strikingly sudden d&h occurred in August last during a holiday trip to Bourne-mouth. \\-ILLIAX FREDERICKDONKIN,M.A.,F.C.S., was born at Oxford, in 1855. He was educated at Eton, and in 1864, having obtained a scholarship, was elected a Demy of Magdalen College, Oxford.He specially devoted himself to the study of chemistry, and became in 1875 lecturer in Natural Science in Keble College, and in 1877 tutor of the same College. In 1859-80 he served as one of the Examiners in the Final Honours School of Katural Science. For some time he was assistant to the late Sir B. C. Brodie, and he also held the position of County Analyst for Oxfordshire. Coming to London in 1880, he mas appointed Lecturer on Chemistry at St. George’s Hospital. Professor Donkin was Honorary Secretary to the Photographic Society, and one of the most distinguished members of the Alpine Club ; indeed, it was during a mountaineering expedition in the Caucasus in August last that the sad accident occurred which cost him his life.His photographs of Alpine scenery, which mark a distinct advance in the art, are full of artistic excellence. PRESIDEXT’S ADDRESS. JANESTAYLOR,F.C.S., was a native of Scotland. He spent some time in a lawyer’s office, but preferring chemistry to law he went to Glasgow University, where he was for some time assistant in the chemical laboratory. Next he became chemist to a London chemical works, and mas among the first to suggest and carry out the revivification of the oxide of iron used in purifying gas. After this he devoted himself chiefly to the study of practical Agricultural Chemistry, and with the view of carrying out certain ideas on the value OF fish as a manure, he went to New York and was engaged largely in the manufacture of the new preparation. Returning to England, he accepted an appointment in a large copper smelting works.From this he went back to America and spent some years there in erecting plant for copper works and in acting as general manager. His health becoming bad he gave up active duties, and passed the remainder of his life in travel. He died in London last spring, after a short but severe illness. PROFESSOR FISHER,J. HOLDSWORTH B. A., and Physical Science Exhibitioner of Christ Church, Oxford; Ellerton Scholar, Durham; and Open Scholar of St. Mary’s Hospital, London, was appointed to the Bengal Educa,tional Department in 1882. He occupied the position of Professor of Chemistry in Patna College in 1883, and in Hooghly College, Lower Bengal in 1884.He died in 18%. 55 FELLOWS RECENTLY ADMITTED. Since the Register went to Press, two Fellows and one Associate have been admitted to the Institute. FELLOWS. Mackenzie, George S., c/o Malcolm Brus., Capes ~‘timbers. Houd Street, Sydney, N.S.W. Quayle, Edwin, Texteth Road, Glebe Point, Sydney. ASSOCIATE. Moore, C. H. B,, 17, Great Tower Street. I3.C’.