OCR Rendition - approximate

476 Miscellanea. [Sept. " It has not been deemed right to consult all, but a letter from Mr. Chadwick, one of the past presidents of Section F, is annexed. He points out the importance of joining to the sections of abstract science, which few can take part in, sections which open questions for discussion of local and popular interests, in order to realise the required funds at the provincial meetings, on which the success of the Association to some extent depends. " It has been brought under the notice of the committee that no reports on the progress of statistics have been published, and that no statist or economist has ever been elected president, or been called upon to deliver addresses. That is true ; but several of our leading statesmen have been presidents of the Association, and it was quite right that the physical sciences, which as they involve simpler elements, have attained greater perfection, and have been cultivated by men of the highest order of scientific mind, should have the precedence ; but the day will probably come when some distinguished statist, sociologist, or professor of political economy, may be called upon by the Council to occupy the post of president. No one will probably deny that an address by John Stuart Mill, by Herbert Spencer, or by others that could be named in their day, would have been as interesting as some of the eloquent orations the Association has listened to. " There is one peculiarity about Section F apparent on the face of a table that has been submitted to us. While Section F has by its popularity brought in many members, it has taken out very little from the funds of the Association ; for instance, the grants for statistical investigations have in the whole term of years been 1,8551., while 1,5001. have been expended on theexplorations of Kent's Cavern alone. There is another peculiarity of the section, that its inquiries touch nearly the interests and feelings of the working classes, which the Association has ever considered. At Belfast the papers and discussions in Section F were so fortunate as to put a stop to a disastrous strike; and on this ground the fame of the British Association rang through all Ireland. There is besides the peculiarity about Section F, that it deals with positive, observed, important facts ; in other sections this is not always so ; and, finally, it never in any way offends the religious prejudices of the nation. The services of Section F in Ireland were a very striking set-off against the excitement produced by the bold utterances of the physical and biological sections. " At this stage the committee submits the facts, and leaves the Council to decide whether it is not desirable to watch the operation of the new regulations they have made for the conduct of the sectional business, before they take any further steps affecting Section F or any of the other sections." II.-Russian Financial Statistics. WE extract from the Times of the 22nd August, the following review of the Annuaire, issued by the Russian Ministry of Finance