Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/269

 1880-1920] ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 237 to make a slight alteration of Bye-Laws 69-74, by adding every- where the word " gold " before " medal." This would have the effect of not forbidding the bestowal of the new medal. At the February meeting in 1897 the first award of the " Hannah Jackson (nee Gwilt) Gift and Medal " vas made to the veteran astronomer, Lewis Swift, who was well worthy of the honour of heading the list of recipients of this new mark of our Society's appreciation. It has always been considered something in the nature of a treat to listen to the generally admirable addresses from the Chair before the presentation of the Gold Medal. But the same can hardly be said of the rest of the entertainment provided on these occasions, consisting of scraps of Observatory Reports and one or two obituary notices, read aloud by one of the Secretaries. These may be very interesting to read in print, but are hardly suitable for oral delivery. It was therefore a most welcome innovation when Professor Newall, after the presentation of the medals in 1909, delivered a second address. He said he had gathered that the view was held in many quarters that the President might, from time to time, make the Annual Meeting an opportunity for a brief address on some subject of his own choosing, preferably on some special branch of our subject, compiled from a special point of view, whether retrospective and historically suggestive, or prospective and speculatively suggestive. On this occasion he wished to lay before the meeting the following aspect in astro- physical questions : " Can it be that the main characteristic spectroscopic phenomena of the sun and stars are dictated mainly by matter continually streaming in from without, and not mainly by matter brought from within the body of the sun and the star ? " The thorough discussion of this and associated questions by a speaker who is devoting his life to the study of them, makes this address take a high rank among the many important communi- cations made to the Society in the course of years.* Equally important (in a different way) was the subject dealt with by Gill two years later before leaving the Chair, when he drew attention to the desirability of enlarging the Nautical Almanac office, to enable the Director to devote his time to researches in astrodynamics. We have already alluded to this address. Since 1911 no President has followed the example thus set of delivering a second address, for the interesting address on the foundation of the Society by Professor Fowler (1920 February) can hardly be classed with those just mentioned. It was delivered on a very special occasion, to which it was altogether devoted, and there was, moreover, no presentation of a medal that year, and, therefore, the usual address could not be given. An address,
 * The address is printed in full in the M.N., 69, 332-344.