Monday February 12, 1894

Letter to Adm^y on reorganisation of Staff sent off.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says.....

It would appear from the journal that Christie spent 3 days writing this letter, although it was not to have any good effect this year, or next. He complained in his reports to the Board of Visitors for 1894 and 1895 that despite his best efforts Government had failed to come to a decision on the matter. He wrote in June 1894 that "it is only through the zealous co-operation of Assistants and Computers, and the excellent spirit with which the whole Staff has worked to meet the emergency, that it has been possible to cope with the exceptionally heavy work of the past year" and in June 1895 he spoke even more strongly, declaring that the "shelving of such a vital question must paralyze the development of the activity of the Observatory in the directions which the progress of astronomy demands". It was only in 1896 that the new scheme was finally sanctioned.