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which they had given to science and education the speaker referred to the outstanding contribution which, over the past century, The Royal Institution, of which he was the present Director, had made to scientific research. From a careful examination of the ‘books’ he found that the total cost of the maintenance of The Royal Institution was £100,620, and when one recalls the scientific achievements of even four such leaders as Young, Davy, Faraday and Tyndall “you will come to the conclusion that the exceptional man is the cheapest of natural products – the average cost being some £1200 per annum. But the exceptional man is a rare phenomenon. What is needed are more men of the Ph.D. standard who can understand, interpret and use the discoveries made by the men of genius, a field in which the continental nations are outstripping Britain as we shall one day find to our cost industrially and economically.” Having made these preliminary points, Professor Dewar turned to the main theme of his address – “the development of that branch of study with which his own labours were most intimately concerned”. Mentioning that ‘heat and cold’ must have engaged the thinking of men from the dawn of history he went on to discuss the nature of cold recounting in a masterly survey the long story of human investigations into “the problem of cold” and related matters. Touching briefly and modestly on his own magnificent contribution to these studies he concluded his Address with the following sentences: “In a legitimate sense all genuine scientific workers feel that they are the inheritors of unfulfilled renown. The battlefields of science are the centres of perpetual warfare in which there is no hope of final victory. But each generation can push the curtain of man’s ignorance a little bit further back. To serve in the scientific army, to have shown some initiative and to be rewarded by the consciousness that in the eyes of his comrades he bears the accredited accolade of successful endeavour is enough to satisfy the legitimate ambition of every earnest student of nature. The real warranty that the march of progress in the future will be as glorious as in the past lies in the perpetual reinforcement of the scientific ranks by recruits animated by such a spirit and proud to obtain such a reward.” It was a long Address and the reading of it did not end until after 10.30 p.m. but on all sides it was acclaimed as a masterpiece. In seconding the vote of thanks, Professor Sir Frederick Bramwell said that “the only thing that was wanting was any adequate mention of what Professor Dewar himself had done. His innate modesty forbade that.” The conference – or rather the series of group discussion which embrace the entire field of scientific study – lasted for a week and was a period of hectic busyness for the president who, besides paying courtesy visits to each of the groups, participated in the discussions in the chemistry section which was his own particular field of interest. The conference was not all work and no play. Saturday was devoted to recreation when the City Council and local societies hosted special events, the most popular of which was a visit to the Giant’s Causeway. On Sunday there were two Services of Divine Worship in the Ulster Hall, morning and afternoon, which accommodated three thousand five hundred and whose seating on both occasions was taxed to the utmost. In the evening there was a lecture for working men in the Grosvenor Hall where there was an audience of fifteen hundred who listened with wrapt attention to Professor Miall whose theme, illustrated with lantern slides, was ‘Gnats and Mosquitoes’. In moving a vote of thanks to the lecture Professor Dewar, who presided, said that what they had heard would bring home to all how long and how laborious was the work that lay behind scientific achievement. Monday – which alas! was the only day on which rain fell – was the day chosen for a Garden Party at the Botanic Gardens, and in the evening Professor Dewar presided at a public lecture by Professor Weldon whom he described as “one of the most promising of the young school of zoologists”. The title of the lecture was “Inheritance”. The concluding meeting on Wednesday night took place in the library of The Queen’s Hall. It was an historic occasion in that there was read an invitation from their American counterpart, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, to attend their conference at Washington during the Christmas season. Commending acceptance of it and urging as many of his fellow scientists as possible to attend, Professor Dewar gave it as his opinion that “the great blunder that Englishmen have been perpetuating for many years past was thorough ignorance of what was being done on the other side of the Atlantic. He had over and over again urged on manufacturers that if they would only subsidise their chief officials by a donation which would enable them to spend their holidays in the United States and make themselves acquainted with their great international... NEXT PAGE
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