THE OBSERVERS OF VENUS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4311, 14 January 1875, Page 3

THE OBSERVERS OF VENUS.

The officers of the American and French Transit of Venus Expeditions were entertained at a public dinner by the citizens of Dunedin, at the Shamrock Hotel there, on the Bth inst. About eighty gentlemen were present, and Mr. J. T. Thomson, President of the Otago Institution, presided. The following letter was read : Superintendent's Office, Imnedin, January 7, 1575. Dear Sik,—l much regret being unable to avail myself of the kind invitation of the President and members of the Otago Institution to be present at the dinner to-morrow to meet the officers of the French and American Transit of Venus Expeditions. I need not say that I look'tfpon the occasion as one of very great interest indeed: and that, as political head of this province, it would have alforded me much plea«ure to have been present, and on behalf of the people of this small section of the British Empire to have conveyed to our French and American friends our earnest hope that the three great nations may long continue to go hand in hand in the pursuit of scientific research—that, burying the animosities of the past, they may eyermore remain united in every enterprise which is calculated to promote and extend the happiness and progress of humanity.—l am, &c, J. Macandkew. J. T. Thomson, Esq., President Otago Institute. We abridge the report furnished by the Guardian: —

The Chairman, in proposing the toast of the evening, said : Our learned guest _ from America is well known to astronomical circles. His rays of light had even penetrated to this dark corner, for his fame had preceded him. In Europe he wa3 associated with the celebrated Encke. He himself had discovered more planetoids—in number, I believe, 19 or 20—than any other astronomer, and to which may be added three comets. Further, he now gives his valuable services to the Transit of Venus Expedition without fee or emolument. This is what I call devotion to an illustrious cause. To our scientific guest from France I turn with great pleasure. He is also a man of mark, having conducted allied and cognate labors in his very extensive hydrographies surTeyß of the west coast of France and New Caledonia, and in the compilation of nautical directories of the same. His geniu3 and energy were also conspicuous in the defence of Paris, the capital of France itself ; and his inventions of arms of defence are also favorably known in the mechanical world. The personal intercourse that I have had with him impresses me with the highest respect for his profound knowledge and practical familiarity with the ingenious and delicate instruments used in astronomical observations. Now, though our friends from America carry back to their country a store (or, in diggers' parlance, as they were stationed in a gold-mining district, a pile) of scientific wealth in the observations which they, by the favor of Venus, have secured, yet let us not less value the labors of our French friends, for they struck out boldly for a greater prize, which the high latitude of their station would have secured to the world. That they failed in their object was not their fault; this is due to the well-known freaks of the fickle goddess. Gentlemen, I now ask you to drink to the very good healths of Dr. Peters and M. Bouquet de la Gyre, and the members of their respective staffs. Professor Peters, in responding on behalf of the American Expedition, said that the Chairman had given an account of the state of New Zealand when he first landed in it, but he would go back to the commencement of its historical records. It was the solution of an astronomical problem of the same kind as that which led to their meeting that night which was the cause of New Zealand being discovered. In 1769, Captain Cook, then Lieutenant Cook, was sent out to observe the transit of Venus. He, having heard of the existence of this colony from the natives, when he completed his work of observation in a successful manner at Otaheite, came in search of it, and discovered New Zealand. He circumnavigated the colony, and from that time New Zealand has existed in history. One hundred and five years have passed since then, and during that time a great change had taken place on the surface of the earth. If an inhabitant of Venus were endowed with j sight powerful enougn to watch our doings and workings and movements, he would I be astonished at the change which has taken I place Bince the transit of 1769. He would now see beautiful cities in places which were then wildernesses. He would see that the j civilisation of Europe had penetrated to this country, then only inhabited by the Maori, and industry, arts, and ■ manufactures flourishing in the country which, when Cook sailed round it, was inhabited only by savages. If an inhabitant of Venus on December 9 were to cast a glance at Lake Wakatip he would see their 1 little party busily engaged looking at the sun. He would relate in a few words what their party hod accomplished upon the shores of the beautiful lake at Queenstown. (Applause.) He would do this in accordance with tho suggestion of their President, because at a dinner-party such as that, it could not bo expected that they were all astronomers. With the view of making the matter clear, he would make a few introductory remarks. Tho problem they had to solve was, to measure a small quantity by means of two large quantities. Supposing two observers—one at the centre of the earth, and one on the surface of the earth —were to look at Venus when it was nearly in the direction of tho sun, the observer at the centre of the earth would see

Venus at a certain point, and the observer at the surface of the earth would, if not exactly in the direction of the centre of the earth to the sun, seo Venus as if a little displaced at another point It was ibis displacement which required to be measured; and, in order to do this, it ■was necessary to have two points of observation-one in the Northern and one in the Southern hemisphere, and the further these were apart from Sach other the better. This was the reason why stations were selected m the Southern regions. The question now was, how could they measure the dispUccmwit, upon which depended the determining the distance of the sun from the earth? Since the transit of 17(59, great improvements had been made m science, and as one science helped another astronomy had been beneEted by the progress made. They had now photography, and it was by its aid they contemplated being able to measure the displacement to which he had previously alluded. He then explained how this could be done. The American observers connected with the Venus Expedition endeavored to make the photographic observations as perfect as possible. He did not believe that the photographic instruments possessed by the English, German, or Russian expeditions were as perfect as those of the Americans and French. Their party had succeeded m effecting 237 measurements of the distance of the sun's centre from that of Venus. He was explicit on this point because he had heard it said, and seen it in the public prints of the colony, that they had in reality only made half that number of observations. 0. hey would not have accomplished what they had done if it were not for the kindness they had received in this country, both from the Provincial and General Governments, and also from private persons and the people of Queenstown. They would leave the country well pleased with the kindness and assistance which had been extended to them in it. M. Bouqubt DB LA Gyre then responded on behalf of the French Expedition. He spoke in French, which was translated by Mr. Lanseigne. He said that he was deeply moved by the cordial welcome which had been extended to them in Dunedin. The Otago Institute had proved that it took a great interest in determining the questionof how far our globe was separated from that luminary to which God had given the power of sending us light and heat. He then referred to the ability and success of the chief of the American Expedition. He also mentioned, as a proof of the interest taken in the matter by scientific Europe, that he had only that day received a, letter from M. Dumas, at one time President of the French Academy, inquiring as to the success of the expeditions out here. Though, in reply to him, he would not be able to say much for the success of their observations at Campbell Island, yet he would be able to inform M. Dumas of th» success which attended the labors of Professor Peters. Though New Zealand was young as a colony, yet it had made great progress in science. He then spoke of the evidence of this fact, and in doing so paid a high compliment to the educational institutions of Otago. He concluded by thanking the Institute most sincerly, and asked its members to accept his best wishes for its prosperity. Lieutenant Bass, of the American Expedition, said that he had the honor of proposing the toast of " The Otago Institute." It was in last May or April that they in Washington first heard of tf-e Otago Institute. Certain districts and localities in the interior of this province were mentioned as being, on account of their clearness, very likely to afford a distinct view of the sun, and of course those were the very places which they were looking for. They were doubtful whether it would be Bafe to go into the interior of this colony, as they had read of our dreadful native wars, and they were even in ignorance of what the Institute was. They were not certain but it might be a cannibalistic institution, and induce them to go into the interior, and then eat them. (Laughter.) On their arrival in the colony they received every assistance from the Institute. They soon selected their station, and the result was that, as far as he was aware, they had succeeded in obtaining a greater number of observations than any party in the Southern hemisphere. This proved the advantage of .such institutions as that which they had established in Dunedin. It was unnecessary for him to say anything in favor of such institutions at this stage of civilisation. He had only to thank them for the assistance which the Institute had rendered the expedition. If it were not for its advice and assistance, he believed that they should have returned empty-handed instead of with the valuable results obtained by them, and which were rendered still more valuable in consequence of the failure of some of their neighbors. He concluded by proposing the toast of " The Otago Institute." His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman replied.