the probable period of its completion. In the beginning of the year 1829, Government directed the Royal Society to institute such enquiries as would enable them to report upon the state to which it had then arrived; and also whether the progress made in its construction confirmed them in the opinion which they had formerly expressed,—that it would ultimately prove adequate to the important object which it was intended to attain. The Royal Society, in accordance with these directions, appointed a Committee to make the necessary enquiry, and report. This Committee consisted of Mr Davies Gilbert, then President, the Secretaries, Sir John Herschel, Mr Francis Baily, Mr Brunel, engineer, Mr Donkin, engineer, Mr G. Rennie, engineer, Mr Barton, comptroller of the Mint, and Mr Warburton, M.P. The voluminous drawings, the various tools, and the portion of the machinery then executed, underwent a close and elaborate examination by this Committee, who reported upon it to the Society.
They stated in their report, that they declined the consideration of the principle on which the practicability of the machinery depends, and of the public utility of the object which it proposes to attain; because they considered the former fully admitted, and the latter obvious to all who consider the immense advantage of accurate numerical tables in all matters of calculation, especially in those which relate to astronomy and navigation, and the great variety and extent of those which it is professedly the object of the machinery to calculate and print with perfect accuracy;—that absolute accuracy being one of the prominent pretensions of the undertaking, they had directed their attention especially to this point, by careful examination of the drawings and of the work already executed, and by repeated conferences with Mr Babbage on the subject;—that the result of their enquiry was, that such precautions appeared to have been taken in every part of the contrivance, and so fully aware was the inventor of every circumstance which might by possibility produce error, that they had no hesitation in stating their belief that these precautions were effectual, and that whatever the machine would do, it would do truly.
They further stated, that the progress which Mr Babbage had then made, considering the very great difficulties to be overcome in an undertaking of so novel a kind, fully equalled any expectations that could reasonably have been formed; and that although several years had elapsed since the commencement of the undertaking, yet when the necessity of constructing plans, sections, elevations, and working drawings of every part; of constructing, and in many cases inventing, tools and machinery of great expense and complexity, necessary to form with the requisite precision parts of the apparatus differing from any which had previously been introduced in ordinary mechanical works; of making many trials to ascertain the value of each proposed contrivance; of altering, improving, and simplifying the drawings;—that, considering all these matters, the Committee, instead of feeling surprise at the time which the work has occupied, felt more disposed to wonder at the possibility of accomplishing so much.
The Committee expressed their confident opinion of the adequacy of the machinery to work under all the friction and strain to which it can be exposed; of its durability, strength, solidity, and equilibrium; of the prevention of, or compensation for, wear by friction; of the accuracy of the various adjustments; and of the judgment and discretion displayed by the inventor, in his determination to admit into the mechanism nothing