A discussion ensued, in which Mr Sang, Mr Hay, Mr Thomson, and others, took part; and, on the motion of the President, thanks were voted to Mr Hay for his paper. 3. Mr Donald Ross' paper, on Floating Tidal Motive Power and Machinery, was delayed till a future meeting. The following Donations were laid on the table, and thanks returned to the Donors: 1. The Assurance Magazine and Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. (General Index to the first 10 Volumes.) 1864. Presented by the Institute. 2. The Practical Mechanic's Journal. Part XII. Third Series. Presented by the Proprietors. 3. The Mechanic's Magazine. Nos. 2159-2160. Presented by the Proprietors. 4. The Journal of the Society of Arts, London. Nos. 691-692. Presented by the Society. 5. "Engineering," an Illustrated Weekly Journal, London. Conducted by Zerah Colburn. Vol. I. Nos. 1 to 8 inclusive, January and February 1866. Presented by the Proprietors. PRIVATE BUSINESS. I. The Minutes of last Meeting were read and confirmed. II. An Abstract of the Society's Income and Expenditure for Session 1864-65, and State of Funds, prepared by the Treasurer, was laid before the Meeting. (A printed copy had been sent to the Fellows along with the Billet for the Meeting.) Adjournment. Ninth Meeting-26th March 1866.-Frederick Hallard, Esq., President, in the Chair. The following Communications were made: 1. On a Floating Tidal Motive Power and Machinery. By Donald Ross, Thurso. (Delayed at last meeting.) Illustrated by a Drawing. Of all the motive powers, the author stated, that of the Tides is the most powerful, which is verified in many ways, but is most striking when we view the comparative ease with which a single water dock (as the water flows) can raise all its shipping with their cargoes, containing several thousand tons. Here we have an unlimited motive power, which might be applied to various purposes for driving machinery of all descriptions at very little The following suggestions and plans are for illustrating the principle upon which this desirable object can be obtained. cost. The first thing requisite to be done is to choose out a good site convenient to the sea-shore, where the greatest rise and fall of the tides can be taken advantage of, which in several places rises and falls upon an average of about twenty feet. The second and principal thing to be done is to get a sizable waterdock built, which will flow and ebb with the tides-the water to enter the dock through a sluice or pipe at the bottom of low water sea-level; this will allow the water to have ingress without shaking or disturbing the tidal floating lighter. The lighter to be built to carry as light draft of water as possible, say from one to three feet, with a hundred or several thousand tons burthen. The dock to be excavated so low that the floating lighter will float in it at low water sea-level, this being necessary in order to obtain full advantage of the rise and fall of the tides. At the stem and stern of the lighter there is a pinion-rack firmly attached, to drive the pinion. Let us suppose everything ready, the lighter floating at the turn of the tide at low water; whenever the tide begins to flow the lighter begins to rise, and continues at a slow rate giving three revolutions with the rack per hour, in its ascent to the pinion and wheel, both on the same axle; and these drive the pinion and wheel, which works the driving pinion at the rate of 120 revolutions per minute for the space of six hours in its ascent. When it reaches high-water mark, it makes a short pause until the tide begins to recede, when it begins to descend, working in the same manner, giving the reverse turn to the machinery; but any required turn can be given by proper arrangement for it. The rack The machinery upon the right works in the same manner. and pinion are the principal working machinery; the rest of the wheels and pinions are principally for taking up speed. A lighter of 100 tons works machinery with as much power as a steam-engine of 12 horse power! With the tides as a motive power, we have great advantage, in the simplicity of its machinery, saving of coals, never-ceasing operation, and unlimited power. A discussion took place, in which the President, Mr Sang, Mr Bowie, and Dr Stevenson Macadam took part, and the paper was thereafter referred to a Committee. 2. Suggestions for a proposed Uniform System of Fog Signals. By Alex. Cuningham, F.R.S.S.A., Secretary to the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses. (See Paper printed in the Transactions, p. 174.) The President and Mr Sang expressed their high approval of the valuable communication, and it was referred to a Committee. 3. Remarks on the Loss of the "London" steam-ship. Aytoun, F.R.S.S.A. By Robert An animated discussion ensued, in which Mr Cuningham, Mr Bowie, Mr Sang, Dr Stevenson Macadam, and others took part; and as Mr Aytoun specially requested that the paper should not be sent to a Committee, the President conveyed the best thanks of the Society to him for his interesting communication. 4. Report of the Committee on Lieut.-Colonel Ryley's Communication on rendering Gunpowder Non Explosive-Mr Nicol, Convener-was read and approved of; and on the motion of Mr Sang, the special thanks of the Society were awarded to the Committee for the great care and trouble they had bestowed on the consideration of the paper. 5. The Report of the Committee on Mr Thomas Stevenson's Holophone--Mr Leslie, Convener-was read and approved of. 6. The Report of the Committee on Mr Richard Adie's Fog Signals for Lightships-Mr Leslie, Convener-was read and approved of. The following Donations were laid on the table, and thanks accorded to the Donors: 1. Useful Information for Engineers. By Wm. Fairbairn, Esq., LL D., F.R.S., &c. Second Series. 1860. 2. Mills and Mill Work. Parts I. and II. By William Fairbairn, Esq., C.E., &c. 1863-4; and 3. History and Progress of Iron Ship-Building. By Wm. Fairbairn, Esq., C.E., &c. 1865. All presented by the Author. 4. The Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal. No. 384, Vol. XXIX. Presented by the Proprietors. 5. The Artizan. No. 39, Vol. IV. Third Series. Proprietors. Presented by the 6. The Mechanic's Magazine. Nos. 2161, 2162. Presented by the Proprietors. Mr Wallace here took the Chair. PRIVATE BUSINESS. I. The Minutes of last Meeting were read, approved of, and signed by the Chairman. II. The Report of the Council on Mr Reid's motion as to Communications on subjects that have been patented, or previously published, or read before other Societies, was read. The following is its tenor: Report by the Council on Mr Reid's motion-" That the existing rules of the Society relative to communications on subjects that have been patented, or that have been previously published, or read before other Societies, shall be taken into consideration." The subject of the above motion having been remitted by the Society to the Council for consideration and report, and the Council having deliberated thereon, beg to report as follows: 1. They find that there is no written law of the Society against the admission of patented inventions to competition for the ordinary prizes of the Society, nor of communications which have been previously published and read before other Societies; but in the general observations and directions for preparing and lodging communications appended to the List of Prize subjects annually published by the Society, it is expressly stated, that "Communications lodged in competition for prizes shall not have been patented, nor previously published, nor read before any other Society. Patented articles may, however, be exhibited and described." 2. The Keith prize-the highest in the Society's gift—is restricted to "some important invention, improvement, or discovery in the useful arts, which shall be primarily submitted to the Society during the Session;" but no such limitation applies to the Hepburn, Makdougall-Brisbane, or Reid and Auld prizes. 3. The Council are aware that, owing to the increased facilities for obtaining patents, and also the practice of registering inventions, which serves as a protection for at least six months before the specification for a patent requires to be lodged, inventors have not the same inducement now as formerly for submitting their inventions to the Society, in the hope of obtaining some of the prizes, and also for making their inventions publicly and favourably known. They rather now incur the expense of patents, or registration, so that it may be said that only inventions and communications, which are not considered worth the expense of being patented or registered, are, generally speaking, submitted to the Society; and, year by year, the difficulty of keeping up the supply of interesting communications for the Society is increasing. 4. In the view of remedying this evil, and also of maintaining the position of the Society with the public, the Council are inclined to recommend that the regulations. should be so far relaxed as to permit patented articles and also communications of merit, although previously published or read before other Societies, to be submitted to the Society, and to compete for the medals and prizes of the Society other than the Keith prize,-upon the distinct condition, however, that the articles and communications so competing shall undergo the customary ordeal of being submitted to Committees of the Society, and reported on in the same manner as is done with communications hitherto submitted to the Society in competition for prizes. Signed, in name and by the authority of the Council, by After a discussion, it was moved by Dr Stevenson Macadam, and seconded by Mr Aytoun, that the Report of the Council be approved of and adopted by the Society. Mr Sang proposed an amendment, which was seconded by Mr Gillespie, that the Report be only approved of and adopted so far as regarded the reception of papers relating to patented articles, and that the portion bearing upon the reception of discourses previously delivered before other Societies be rejected. Mr Bow proposed and Mr Carlisle seconded an amendment, to the effect that the entire Report be not approved or adopted. On the vote being taken, Mr Bow's amendment was rejected. Mr Sang's amendment was also lost; and the Society, by a majority, passed Dr Macadam's motion, and the Report of the Council was thereupon approved of and adopted. III. The Report of the Council on the remit as to the Treasurer's Salary and future Audits was read and unanimously approved of. The following is its tenor : Report by the Council on the suggestions contained in the Report on the Books and Funds of the Society, as at 15th November last, submitted to the Society by the Auditing Committee, and remitted by the Society to the Council, on 26th February 1866, for consideration and report. The Council having examined the Books kept by the Treasurer, and considered a written statement contained in a letter from him to the Secretary, of this date,* as to the other duties devolving on him as Treasurer, unanimously concurred in the opinion expressed by the Auditing Committee in their Report, that the present Salary of Twenty Guineas is quite inadequate, and that the suggested increase * March 14, 1866. |