s occurred:--"The valuable assistance which you
have constantly given for the advancement of the Institution since its
foundation in the year 1757, the admirable manner in which, during three
sessions, you presided over its deliberations, the distinction which
your papers, and the part you have taken in the discussions, imparted to
the proceedings, have placed the Institution under a debt of gratitude
to you that we all feel cannot be adequately repaid by anything that it
is in our power to do. These, however, are not the only reasons for the
great esteem with which we all regard you. These may be said to be on
our part selfish reasons; but there are others vastly more important why
you merit--why you irresistibly attract--not only from us that great
regard which we all feel to be an honour to ourselves to bestow, but
from all who possess an acquaintance with your works, and who possess a
knowledge of the value of exact science. Your work on 'Applied
Mechanics' is a great illustration of your power to grasp, to connect,
and to apply the definite principles of exact science with the less
definite known elements of practical problems. Abstract principles are
valueless, except in application to the wants of man, and this work
occupies that field with great eminence. Your work on the 'Steam Engine
and other Prime Movers' deals with the principles involved in that
important subject in a masterly manner, that renders comparison with any
other similar work impossible. In this work the first elements of the
science upon which these machines depend are traced in their operation
through their material embodiment, and the laws which govern the
principle of pure science connected definitely with the varied
construction of the machines. Your works on Civil Engineering,
Machinery, and Millwork, &c., each exhibit the powerful intellect that
is invariably found in all your productions, and that place them on an
eminence peculiarly your own. All your books possess a value which we,
who are practical men engaged in performing many of the varied works
which fall to engineers, feel to be of the very highest importance. Each
of these works is a text book on the subject to which it relates, and an
authority established in the estimation of those engaged in these
pursuits. The labour and mental power required for the production of
these works place the author on an eminence rarely attainable. But great
as is the distinction which the authorship