The Institution of Civil Engineers The Second Frame Thomson Lecture: Friday, 26th April, 1912; The Principles and Practice of Accountancy in Relation to Engineering Design and Work

Excerpt from The Institution of Civil Engineers: The Second Frame Thomson Lecture: Friday, 26th April, 1912; The Principles and Practice of Accountancy in Relation to Engineering Design and Work The first lecture, dealing with commercial and technical relations of engineering design and work, showed that the lecturer was not merely content to point the road to success, but, by examples from his own life's work, showed how he had achieved it. Such a lecture could not fail to bring out the characteristics of the lecturer, enterprising, painstaking, and, above all, thorough; and with that perfervidum ingenium Scotorum which has brought success to so many of his countrymen throughout the world, and he (the Chairman) was sure that in the lecture to which they were about to listen, those characteristics would be as much in evidence as ever. The Chairman then called upon Mr. Frame Thomson to deliver the second lecture of his foundation on "The principles and practice of Accountancy in relation to Engineering design and work." Mr. Frame Thomson: - My first duty this year is the painful one of recalling the sad death of Sir James Inglis, Past Pres. Inst. C. E., who, himself an old student, took the greatest interest in, and contributed many and useful suggestions towards, the foundation of this series of lectures. Those who were present at the inaugural lecture in 1911 will remember the genial and friendly remarks in which he encouraged the students to increase the efficiency of their technical acquirements by some familiarity with the commercial practice and principles of those with whom their profession brings them into contact. A pathetic interest has been given to that occasion by the fact that it was the last time Sir James took the chair at a meeting in the Institution. His loss leaves a blank in the circle of those to whom the students of the Institution could look with confidence for support and guidance, a blank which it will be hard for any of his successors to fill with equal devotion and personal interest. In the opening lecture last year it was pointed out that the object of the series is to direct the attention of the students to the various feature of commercial knowledge which will be found useful by them in the practice of their profession. It is obviously impossible that annual lectures should treat of the minute detail of each of the subjects to be touched upon. Such details, both of practice and principle, can be studied in all great centres of population by means of the classes provided by educational institutions of many kinds. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.