The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-20 00:00:00

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS.

The first meeting of the 109th session of this su-
ciety was held last night at its house, Sohn-street,
Adelphi.

Sir THOS. PHILLIPS, F.G.S., chairman of the
council, presided, and the list of proposed new nienr
hers (200 in number) having been taken as read,
he proceeded to read the annual address—a docu-
ment of great length—which, after referring to the
loss the society had sustained by the death of their
piesident, the late Prince Consort, and the steps
which had been taken to provide a memorial of the
Prince in the shape of a marble bust to be placed
on a pedestal in the large room, expressed a hope
that the Prince of Wales would consent to the re-
quest which had been made, that he would honour
the society by accepting the office of president'
Among other members of the society deceased
dur-
ing the past year were Mr. James Walker, ell!,
engineer; Mr. J. Errington, civil engineer; on'
Dr. Hamel, of St. Petersburg, Conseiller
Actuel de S. M. l'Empereur de Russie, correspoun‘
ing member. A brief obituary notice of each was
given, and the next topic treated of was the 01,
bition of 1862, as compared with that of 1851 an
a
1855. It might be confidently expected that the
recent Exhibition would not be less fruitful than
its predecessors in those lessons which contribute
to beauty of design, to an appropriate selection
of material, to excellence of workmanship
and to economy of labour—all of which enlist the
aid of science and art in the pursuits of industrl-
The number of visits paid to the Exhibition, he'
tween the Ist of May and the Ist of November,
6,200,000 ; an approximate estimate of the ineutne
gave money paid for admission £400,000, as again%
£423,792. The claim on the commissioners for the
services of the police force exceeded £19,000, a
subject which ought to be brought under the at
.
tention of the Home Secretary. In other Ennr.
pean countries industrial exhibitions have been 55
dertaken at the risk of the Liovernment, and with.
out asking any Government aid or public subscrir
tions it might be fairly asked that police autburit
ties should undertake the preservation of Phil°
order, (Hear.) Sir Thomas thought the connuiP
sioners had experienced but scant justice from selll6,
of the organs of public opinion. The final 100'
examinations, conducted by the council in institil;
tions connected with the society, were conducted!
81 different places, and the reports of the 001;
ners indicated an improvement in the quality of tai
papers worked on some important subjects; hu
the number of artisan and handicraftsmen studenti
presented no substantial increase. The endeavae
which had been made to prolong the school-life et
the children of the labouring poor had met with ttla
partial and limited success ; and it might be rlen.e-,0
whether the tendency of late years had not been "I
accelerate the removal of such children from sell°:‘
to work. After referring to the exertions made by
the society to obtain copyrights in works of floe
the success which had attended these effect,
by the passing of the act of last session, the °bailie
man referred to the cotton manufactures, and ti),
distress caused by the failure of the cotton suPPer
from the States of America. The society had a°-t,
since 1845 laboured earnestly to awaken publiu ant
tention to the danger of relying upon one source :8
supply, and had perseveringly directed it to 04
capabilities of India, Egypt, South Africa, 11111/
South America to grow cotton for the Engl,l,
market. Our colonial possessions had attractwe'r-
large share of the attention of the society. 'r°„4
many years the council Lad collected and diffused
'sources of countries, many of which are
-accurate information on the products Ind P
peopled
men of our own race and language spread ovens,
large surface of the globe. The
growth of the;
colonies during the last ten years, in every element
of prosperity, was remarkably illustrated duo;
the late Exhibition. The lease of the house 14
which the meetings of the society had been be
h,
for the last 100 years had been renewed for 35 Yet..so
on favourable terms, and the council suggested tler
alterations must be made in the building to ran it
it more adequate to the wants of the society than t
has recently been found. After noticing otbenr
points, the address thus concluded :--46 May e
labours be directed to the advancement of scieljma
.
in
and its extended employment in the pursuits ii
industry, and to the cultivation of the arts whit
minister to human happiness, and thus, in the lane
guage of Lord Bacon, we shall best advance the
glory of God and the welfare of man's estate'
(Loud cheers.)
aloa
The CHAIRMAN then presented the m°
dal''
at the close of last session, as follows •
.4.
To Dr. F. Crace Calvert, F.R.S., for his paid"
On Improvements and Progress in Dyeing flicer
Calico Printing since 1851." The Society's el
medal.
To E. C. C. Stanford, for his paper "„ Thtor
Economic Uses of Seaweed." The Society's f3l-
medal.
;dug I
To James Morris, for his paper ,‘ On Mato': tc'.
its Commercial and Social Bearings." The Sonic"
silver medal.
t°
Vice-Chancellor Sir PAGE WOOD moped
thanks of the meeting to the chairman for bleed
cellent address. It was the fourth he had delic.tior
flom that chair, and at a period of such act,,losla
in the history of the society most thankful 5-o„gr
they be that they had a chairman of such un t itr
ing energy and perseverance in diffusing °tilts o 1
telligence throughout the country, the reelli3ooo
which were so beautifully described by Lord
ers.)
in the closing passage of that address. Pleof the
Some discussion took place as to the policyw- 110
society with reference to the Albert memorial'
mot
terminated in the unanimous adoption of the