THE CHAIRMAN (Mr. S. B. Donkin) , President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in opening the meeting, said it was his privilege in the first instance to express the pleasure of the Institution of Civil Engineers to take part in a joint meeting with the British Section of the Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France and the Institution of Structural Engineers and to hear a paper by M. Brice. In case some of those present were not aware of it, M. Brice was a Lecturer at the Ecole Centrale, Paris, and was also a Graduate of the Ecole Centrale. In addition, he was partner in the famous engineering firm of Sainrapt et Brice, of Paris. The Chairman added that M. Brice had asked that his colleague, M. de Jarny, should read the paper.