The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-05 00:00:00

THE BRITISH ASSOCIA 7 lON.

The 37th annual meeting of the British Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science opened last
night in Dundee. The present is the first visit of the
Association to that important city of industry, and
only once has that learned body been further north,
viz., at Aberdeen in 1869, on which memorable oc-
casion the chair was taken by the Prince Consort.
It is the sixth time since the Association was formed
that it has met on the north side of the Tweed,
Edinburgh having been twice honoured with a visit,
namely, in 1834 and 1850, and Glasgow in 1842
and 1855. The town of Dundee has made active
efforts for the reception of the learned body, and in
only one instance can the preparations be said to be
behindhand, viz., in the case of the Albert Institute
---a philosophical institute erected in memory of
Prince Albert, which, though rapidly pushed for-
ward, is scarcely yet ready to give comfortable ac-
commodation to the Section of Geography and Eth-
nology, for whose reception the hall has been set
apart. The Albert Institute is from a design by Mr.
G. Scott, and, presenting four sides to view, it oc-
cupies a site which presented no small difficulty to
that architect. On the east side it is left unfinished,
but it presents to north, south, and west some very
beautiful features. On the west front, however, the
original design has been departed from by the erec-
tion of a double staircase outside, intended for faci-
lity of egress from the hall, but appearing to the eye
rather an excrescence on the building. Among the
other buildings set apart for the meetings of the
Association are the Royal Exchange, the fine hall of
which forms the reception-room; the Kinnaird Hall,
which, with the addition of temporary galleries, will
accommodate an audience of above 2,000 ; the
Volunteers' Hall, a new structure erected for indoor
drill, but for the time opened as an exhibition of
paintings and other works of art, to which the Duke
of Buccleuch, Lord Kiunaird, the Earl of Camper-
doivn, and other noblemen have sent some very valu-
able contributions ; the High School, where two of
the sections will meet, the Watt Institution Hall, &c.
If not so well supplied with public buildings as some
other towns—and it is yet deficient in halls of great
size—Dundee can boast of offering upon the whole
good accommodation for such a gathering as the
British Association will command in a provincial
town of the kind. There are, in addition to the
proper meetings of that Association, many incidental
attractions held out to its members and associates.
There will be a lecture this evening to the working
classes by Professor Tyndal on " Matter and Force;"
to-morrow evening Mr. A. Geikie, director of the
Geological Survey of Scotland, will address the
members of the Association on the " Geological
Origin of the Scenery of Scotland ;" and on Monday
Mr. A. Herschel will deliver a lecture on "Meteors

and Meteorites." A cattle show has been set on
foot by the Agricultural Associations of Forfarshire
and neighbouring counties, favoured also by the
patronage of the Highland and Agricultural Society
of Scotland. It will be opened to•morrow on the
Magdalen-green, in the extreme west of the town,
while in the Baxter-park, in the extreme east, a
splendid flower show, accommodated in 15 marquees,
was opened yesterday morning. A Chess Congress
is sitting in the rooms of the Caledonian R tilway,
and to-morrow and Tuesday evening next the exhi-
bition of art already referred to will be opened.
Saturday afternoon and Thursday next are devoted
to excursions to such places as the University seat
of St. Andrew's, the city of Perth, the seaports of
Montrose and Arbroath, the seats of the Earl of
Airlie, the Earl of Strathmore, Lord Kinnaird,
Sir David Baxter, &c. While geologists will be
attracted by the remarkable fossil deposits in Dura
Dew, the lovers of the traditional and historical
will find abundant material of interest in the an-
cient Palace of Falkland, the seat of the early
Scottish Stiarts, and in Lochleven, once the prison
of Mary, Queen of Scots. To give still further
variety to the entertainment provided ,for the
savans, it may be mentioned that a grand ball is to
be held in Kinnaird Hall on Tuesday evening. To
give visitors some insight into ttie industrial occu-
pations of the town, the principal spinners and
manufacturers have invited visits to their premises,
including Messrs. Baxter, Brothers; A. and D.
Edward and Co. ; Gilroy, Brothers, and Co. ; Cox,
Brothers, &c. Various public buildings will be
thrown open, including the Royal Infirmary, Dun-
dee Asylum, and the Morgan Hospital. The latter
is an institution for the education and maintenance
of boys, on a basis similar to that of Heriot's Hos-
pital and kindred foundations in Edinburgh. It
occupies a commanding site on the heights above
the Baxter Park, and forms one of the most conspi-
cuous ornaments of the town. It is yet in an
unfinished state, but its arrangements are suffi-
ciently advanced to admit of visitors. The fund for
the building and endowment, about £lOO,OOO, was
left by John Morgan, an Indian merchant, who was
a native of the town, and whose inheritance was the
subject of a prolonged litigation between his rela-
tives and the public authorities. The town of
Dundee, though of great antiquity, has little or no
historical remains, always excepting the " old
steeple," said to have been founded in the 12th
century by the Earl of Huntingdon, brother to
William the Lion, King of Scotland.

The attendance at the present meeting, though
not equal to that which has been noted at towns of
larger size, is, nevertheless, creditable to the town
of Dundee, nearly 2,000 tickets having up to last
night been issued. The principal office-bearers of
the year are :--President, the Duke of Buccleuch,
K.G. ; Vice. Presidents, the Earl of Airlie, Lord
Kinnaird, Sir John Ogilvy, M.P., Sir David Baxter,
Sir Roderick Impsey Murchison, Director-General
of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ire-
land ; Sir David Brewster, Principal of the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, and Dr. James Forbes, Principal
of the United College, St. Andrew's. The secretaries
are Mr. Gulton and Professor Hirst, with Mr.
Griffiths, assistant-secretary, and Messrs. Hender-
son, Anderson, and Gloag, local secretaries. Mr.
\V. Spottiswoode attends as general treasurer, and
Mr. A. Scott officiates as local treasurer. The fol-
lowing gentlemen are the presidents of the sections,
which meet to-tnorrow morning at 11 : —A, Mathe-
matical and Physical Science, Professor Sir W.
.Thomson, D.C.L. ; B, ChenticAl Science, Professor
T. Anderson, Glasgow University ; C, Geology,
Mr. A. Geikie ; D, Biology, Professor Sharpey ;
Geography and Ethnology, Sir S. Baker ; F, Eco-
nomic Science and Statistics, Mr. Grant Duff, M.P.;
G-, Mechanical Science, Professor W. J. M. Ran:
kine, University of Glasgow.
. _

In the afternoon a meeting of the general com-
mittee was held, at which the usual reports were
presented and approved.

The inaugural meeting in the evening was at-
tended by above 2,000 persons. While the audience
were still assembling, Sir David Brewster fainted
from the heat, and had to be carried out of the hall.
Professor PHILLIPS announced shortly after Sir
David's removal that he was decidedly better.
The chair was taken, in the absence from indispo-
sition of Mr, Groves, by Sir R. Murchison, who