The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-15 00:00:00

RITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. _

MONDAY.—This being the day se-
ated by his Royal Highness Prince Albert for his visit
the several sections into which the association every
)ruing resolves itself, the town was in no small stir
)m an early hour. Flags were waving in all directions,
Ld a number of the neighbouring gentry came into the
wn. At half-past ten o'clock the Mayor, Aldermen,
id Common Council, assembled in their robes in the
ading-room at the utmost extremity of the pier, close
the principal landing-place. They were soon after-
Ards joined by Sir R. Murchison, to whom the Mayor
troduced the several members of the corporation. The
.om had been handsomely fitted up and decorated, and
carpet was laid down to the water's edge. His Royal
.ighness had fixed to arrive at eleven o'clock, and pre-
sely at that hour the Fairy was within 100 yards of
Le pier, and the Prince stepped into her barge, and was
,wed to the landing steps. He was attended by the
:on. G. E. Anson and Colonel Bouverie, ,and was re-
Aired on landing, under a salute, by the Mayor and
)rporation, Sir R. Murchison, and Captain Ellice, R.N.,
id conducted to the reading-room, where the Mayor
resented the following address, agreed to by the corpo-
ttion:—

TO FIELD-MARSHAL HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS FRANCIS
ALBERT AUGUSTUS CHARLES EMANUEL, DUKE OF SAXE
COBURG AND GOTHA.
" May it please your Royal Highness,—
" We, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the
Icient and loyal town of Southampton, beg respectfully
approach and welcome your Royal Highness, and to
Fer our sincere and cordial congratulations on the aus-
cious event of the visit of your Royal Highness to our
wn at the time when it is honoured by receiving the
ritish Association for the Advancement of Science, and
.at here for the first time your Royal Highness has
ten pleased to testify by your presence at its meeting
te interest which your Royal Highness is well known
take in all that tends to the progress of science, and
) the general and permanent well-being of the corn-
tunity. That your Royal Highness may long continue
t the enjoyment of uninterrupted health, and in the
sneficial exercise of that patronage which your Royal
Eighness has ever afforded to objects of national utility
ad importance, and that it may please Divine Provi-
lence' long to spare her most Gracious Majesty to rule
,ver her loyal and devoted subjects, and that the royal
hildren may continue a blessing to her Majesty, as well
s to your Royal Highness, is our fervent and anxious
ever."
The MAYOR having read the address,
His ROYAL HIGHNESS bowed and said—Mr. Mayor,
and gentlemen, I return you my best thanks for this
oyal address. It gives me great satisfaction to revisit
Southampton on the occasion of this great scientific
teeting.
His Royal Highness then stepped into the Mayor's
trriage, accompanied by that functionary and Sir R.
furchison. The carriage was driven first to section A,
hich was sitting in the Bugle-hall, where about 150
arsons were waiting to listen to a report by Mr.
'hillips, of York, the assistant-general secretary of the
ssociation, on anemometry. The section rose to receive
is Royal Highness, who took a seat on the right of the
resident of the section, Sir J. Herschel. The report
'as then immediately read. It detailed what had been
lone by Mr. Whewell and others to arrive at an accurate
wocess of ascertaining the velocity of the wind. Mr.
Whewell also explained the mode adopted for ascertain-
ng the height of the clouds—an ingredient in the in-
restigation into the wind's velocity.
The Prince paid great attention to these statements,
so much, indeed, that he did not for some moments ob-
serve the entrance of Lord Palmerston, who came upon
the platform during the reading of the report. When
Mr. Whewell had concluded, Sir J. Herschel addressed
the Prince, and solicited his acceptance of a geological
coloured drawing of the Isle of Wight, done with ex-
treme care by Mr. Drew, of Southampton, one of the
secretaries of section A; the strata were all distin-
guished upon the drawing. His Royal Highness ac-
cepted it with the utmost courtesy, and listened atten-
tively to Mr. Drew's explanation of it, in answer to
questions put to him by the Prince.
His Royal Highness having remained in this section
for nearly half an hour, drove off, accompanied by Lord
Palmerston and also by Sir J. Clark, to the sub-section
of ethnology, which was sittinc, in the Long Rooms, a
place appropriated to section f(physiology)—a section
which on Friday adjourned till to-morrow. Here Dr.
Latham was found detailing to about 70 persons the re-
searches of Professor Von Middendorf in Siberia. Dr.
Latham made a detailed statement respecting the dif-
ferent tribes met with by the Professor, their dialects
and their physical conformation. The Prince listened
with much apparent interest to this account, and also to
a further explanation which the Professor himself added
in the German language. His Royal Highness remained
about a quarter of an hour here.
The next place visited was section G (mechanics),
held in a large house in the High-street, late the South-
ampton Club-house. Here Mr. Fairbairn stated " the
results as obtained from the experiments in connexion
with the proposed tubular bridges across the Con-
way and Menai Straits," of the latter of which a
model was exhibited to the audience. Here also the
Prince seemed much interested. Mr. Fairbairn re-
marked that the application of wrought iron to bridges
of a peculiar form was perfectly novel, and originated,
as he believed, with Mr. Robert Stephenson. In the
case of the Menai Straits, the extent of the span, and
the determination arrived at by the Lords of toe
Admiralty, with a view to prevent the interruption of
the navigation, rendered the construction of arches
text to impossible ; a chain-bridge would not carry
a railway train across, because of the undulations; Mr.
Stephenson, therefore, conceived the idea of a large
cylindrical tube of wrought iron. The span would be
400 feet from tower to tower; and the tube would be
made of a strength equal to four times the utmost weight
it could ever have to bear. Mr. Fairbairn described the
experiments which had been made on the strength of
materials. The thanks of the section, which consisted
of about sixty persons, were voted to Mr. Fairbairn,
the discussion on the subject being postponed; and
having remained a quarter of an hour, the Prince left
this section.
His Royal Highness then went to the Polytechnic In-
stitution, to section B, which i 3 devoted to chemical
science, including its application to agriculture and the
arts. Professor Grove was in the chair, and Professor
L C. OS'rsted had been discoursing " on the changes
which mercury sometimes suffers in glass vessels her-
metically sealed." The chairman explained the state of
the question to his Ro) al Highness, and the discussion
proceeded, the chief point under consideration being
the purity of the mercury employed in some processes
which had been described to the meeting. The Prince
did not remain above ten minutes. There were fifty or
sixty members present.
In the Victoria-rooms, to which his Royal Highness
next drove, at section C (" Geology and Physical Geo-
graphy"), the secretary proceeded to read a paper by
Dr. Forchhammer, " On arctic currents as exhibited in
the distribution of the northern drift." This room was
very well attended ; there must have been 180 or 200
persons present ; the Marquis of Northampton was
among them. The paper read detailed various indica-
tions that the north of Europe formerly had had a lower
temperature than it had at present, though there might
have been no general change in the temperature of the
earth. The discourse intimated that there were means
of fixing somewhat more closely than hitherto the period
of the separation of England from the continent, by an
examination of the nature of the currents and the
direction of the tide. The German Ocean was probably
once a bay, with the shores of Denmark at its innermost
parts.
A little before this period it was whispered about the
room that her Majesty was nearing Southampton in the
Fairy, which had gone back to Osborne-house after the
Prince had landed ; and the president of the section,
Mr. L. Horner, now rose and said, that the paper which
was being read was going so much into detail, that it
was not of a nature to be finished with advantage in the
section. Dr. Forchhammer therefore added a few words
respecting the sub-marine forests and peat mosses found
in his country. In one place a submarine tumulus was
found, in which were knives of flint ; the doctor seemed
disposed to date the separation of England from the con-
tinent between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago. Professor
Forbes then read a paper on some natural history
phenomena, bearing on geology, observed since the last
meeting, and stated the results of the dredging in the
European seas.
His Royal Highness having remained in this section a
full half hour proceeded to section D (Zoology and
Botany), which was held in the same building. As soon,
however, as the Prince had been introduced to the Pre-
sident, Sir J. Richardson, M.D. Sir R. Murchison stated
that his brother geologists had unfortunately been so
extremely long-winded, that they had taken all the time
which could be devoted by his Royal Highness to the
visit. The Prince accordingly took leave at once, and
drove to the pier at half-past one o'clock. The Fairy
was lying a short distance off ; and her Majesty was
sitting on the deck in conversation with her ladies. His
Royal Highness ran gaily up the side of the vessel from
is barge, and presented the Queen with a splendid
bouquet of rare flowers, which he had brought with him.
He also introduced to her Majesty Sir R. Murchison
and Lord Palmerston, who accompanied him on board,
and who conversed for some minutes with the Queen.
Her Majesty appeared in excellent health. In about
ten minutes Lord Palmerston and the President returned
to the pier, and the Fairy started for Osborne House
under a salute from the platform, and amidst the cheers
of the spectators. The water was covered with boats ,
one attracted some attention from its only
occupant
being a lady, who was rowing herself.
The Prince was loudly cheered in the streets through-
out his progress. In the several sections there was an
evident wish to avoid noisy and exciting demonstra-
tions ; the company received him most respectfully, but
in only one instance was there any cheering in the dis-
cussion room. About a dozen was the limit of the addi •
tion to any audience, in consequence of his having ar-
rived at that particular room. Out of doors the crowd
was considerable, but the admirable arrangements
made by the Mayor for the accommodation of the
press rendered it impossible for the reporters to be
inconvenienced.
At three o'clock the general committee met in the
Town-hall ;at this meeting
Sir R. MURCHISON took the chair, and congratulated
the association on the circumstance of the attendance of
Prince Albert at the sections, showing as he had by the
questions which he put to the presidents and others, the
liveliest interest in all their proceedings, and
.;ery
considerable knowledge of all the branches a
of science
cultivated by the association.—(Cheers.) But on this
day sot only had the sun shone upon the association,
but the Queen of England also, Victoria, had shone
upon them—(Cheers)—the Queen herself, desiring to
express her great interest in the society, had arrived in
the port an hour and a half since, and conveyed
his Royal Highness back again to the Isle of
Wight ; their one honorary member had gone back
with her Majesty, and her Majesty had been pleased to