"--Attached to the Report to the Visitors is a copy
of the Instructions to Observers engaged in the Transit of Venus
Expeditions, prepared with great care and in remarkable detail.--"In
the past spring I published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society a statement of the fundamental points in a new
treatment of the Lunar Theory, by which, availing myself of all that
has been done in the best algebraical investigations of that theory, I
trust to be able by numerical operations only to give greater accuracy
to final results. Considerable progress has been made in the extensive
numerical developments, the work being done, at my private expense,
entirely by a junior computer; and I hope, at any rate, to put it in
such a state that there will be no liability to its entire loss. When
this was reported to the Board of Visitors, it was resolved on the
motion of Prof. Stokes, that this work, as a public expense, ought to
be borne by the Government; and this was forwarded to the
Admiralty. On June 24th I wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty,
asking for _L100_ for the present year, which after the usual
enquiries and explanations was sanctioned on Aug. 29th."
Of private history: There were short visits to Playford in January,
June, and October, but only for a few days in each case.
Pages:
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494