32 Darwin- Wallace Celebration. 



conclusions of the Abbe Mendel on pre-potency. These have 

 all been the outcome of earnest and serious work, and have led 

 and are leading to more complete knowledge of the facts of 

 heredity and variation. But I venture to express the opinion 

 that they have, none of them, resulted in any serious modifica- 

 tion of the great doctrine submitted to the Linnean Society 

 on July 1st, 1858, by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel 

 Wallace. Not only do the main lines of the theory of Darwin 

 and Wallace remain unchanged, but the more it is challenged 

 by new suggestions and new hypotheses the more brilliantly 

 does the novelty, the importance, and the permanent value of 

 the work of those great men to-day commemorated by us, 

 shine forth as the one great and epoch-making effort of 

 human thought on this subject. 



THE PRESIDENT : A number of Universities and Schools 

 have kindly sent representatives to this meeting. As our 

 time is limited and it is impossible to have the pleasure of 

 hearing speeches from all these delegates, we have asked 

 Dr. Francis Darwin and Sir William Thiselton-Dyer to 

 speak for them. 



Dr. FRANCIS DARWIN, F.R.S., F.L.S. : I beg leave to 



' O 



thank you, Mr. President, in the names of the Universities 

 and Schools which are here represented, for giving us the 

 opportunity of sharing in the memorable ceremonies of 

 to-day. The University of Cambridge, which I have the 

 honour to represent, is glad to be associated with other 

 bodies devoted to the advancement of learning on such an 

 occasion as this, when a signal honour is paid to one of her 

 greatest sons. We are also proud to be allowed to pay our 

 personal homage to the survivor of those great twin brethren 

 of July 1st, Mr. Wallace. In spite of what he has said 

 this afternoon or perhaps almost in consequence of it I 

 cannot help thinking that not the smallest of his merits is 

 to have taught the world once and for all how the search 

 after scientific truth may be informed and glorified b}' the 

 spirit of chivalry. We, the representatives of the Schools 

 and Universities, are also proud to be present when the 



