THE JUBILEE HONOURS.
[TO THE EDITOR Or TEl "SPECTATOR."] snt,—Yon condemn the recent distribution of honours on the- ground that the occasion of her Majesty's Jubilee was not utilised to decorate representative men, and that orders and knighthoods were distributed "to the personally uninterest- ing." Will you allow me to state why I do not think that these charges can be maintained as far as the honours given to scientific men are concerned P Among the decorated are Dr. Frankland, Sir Joseph Hooker, Dr. Huggins, Mr. Crookes, and Professor Lockyer. Of these Dr. Frankland is a Foreign. Associate of the French Academy of Sciences. As only seven other living men—among whom are Lords Kelvin and Lister —share this honour with him, it must be conceded that in the opinion of Frenchmen he is a "representative " of English science. Sir Joseph Hooker — the doyen of English botanists—is an ex-President of the Royal Society, and is celebrated as one of the earliest and ablest of those whose adhesion to Darwin turned the tide of battle in his favour. To this may be added that he was the naturalist of the famous Rosa Expedition to the Antarctic regions, and was the first—in company with Mr. J. Ball and Mr. G. Maw —to ascend the Great Atlas. Dr. Huggins and Mr. Crook es. are Tice-Presidents of the Royal Society. The former is one of the most remarkable astronomers in the world. He was. the first to apply spectrum analysis to prove that many nebulae are gaseous, and the first to measure the motion of stars in the line of sight,—a problem which, till it was solved, seemed absolutely insoluble. Mr. Crookes is not only the discoverer of a new element, but more than twenty years ago. he astonished the scientific world with the beautiful researches which on the one hand culminated in the invention of the radiometer by himself, and on the other hand led to the discovery of the Röntgen rays. Mr. Lockyer—simultaneously with M. Janssen—first performed the experiment by which the solar prominences can be seen without the aid of an eclipse,—an achievement of such merit that a special medal was struck to commemorate it by the French Government. It is impossible to deny that such men as these represent—not merely professional success—but the highest attainments in "natural knowledge." I cannot discuss the question as to whether they are personally interesting, but they have done work of the greatest scientific interest, which is known and valued outside the comparatively narrow circle of scientific experts. You must, Sir, forgive me if I write with some warmth of feeling. It has often been said, and with justice, that science receives but a small share of the bonours bestowed by the State. On this occasion, however (though late in the day, for Dr. Frankland at seventy.. two, Dr. Huggins at seventy-three, and Mr. Crookes at sixty- five, are all decorated for the first time), an honest attempt
appears to have been made to pick out the most deserving among the older men, who-have too long been overlooked. I am, therefore, sorry that you should have failed to recognise the good intentions which seem to have governed the distri- bution of these honours, and should, by implication, have classed among those whose services are "otherwise obscure," men whose names are known and honoured in all the
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