496 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



no less than £44,000 ; and the average during 

 the last ten years has been £1,450 per annum. 

 These sums have not only been in the main wisely 

 voted and usefully expended, but they have been 

 themselves productive of much additional volun- 

 tary expenditure of both time and money on the 

 part of those to whom the grants have been in- 

 trusted. The results have come back to the As- 

 sociation in the form of papers and reports, many 

 of which have been printed in our volumes. By 

 this appropriation of a large portion of its funds 

 the Association has to some extent anticipated, 

 nay, even it may have partly inspired, the ideas 

 now so much discussed, of the endowment of 

 research. And whether the aspirations of those 

 who advocate such endowment be ever fully real- 

 ized or not, there can, I think, be no doubt what- 

 ever that the Association in the matter of these 

 grants has afforded a most powerful stimulus to 

 original research and discovery. 



Regarded from another point of view these 

 grants, together with others to be hereafter men- 

 tioned, present a strong similarity to that useful 

 institution, the Professoriate Extraordinary of 

 Germany, to which there are no foundations ex- 

 actly corresponding in this country. For, besides 

 their more direct educational purpose, these pro- 

 fessorships are intended, like our own grants, to 

 afford to special individuals an opportunity of 

 following out the special work for which they 

 have previously proved themselves competent. 

 And in this respect the British Association may 

 be regarded as supplying, to the extent of its 

 means, an elasticity which is wanting in our own 

 universities. 



Besides the funds which through your sup- 

 port are at the disposal of the British Association 

 there are, as is well known to many here present, 

 other funds of more or less similar character at 

 the disposal, or subject to the recommendations, 

 of the Royal Society. There is the Donation 

 Fund, the property of the society ; the Govern- 

 ment Grant of £1,000 per annum, administered 

 by the Society; and the Government Fund of 

 £4,000 per annum (an experiment for five years) 

 to be distributed by the Science and Art Depart- 

 ment, both for research itself and for the support 

 of those engaged thereon, at the recommendation 

 of a committee consisting mainly of Fellows of 

 the Royal Society. To these might be added 

 other funds in the hands of different scientific 

 societies. 



But although it must be admitted that the 

 purposes of these various funds are not to be dis- 

 tinguished by any very simple line of demarka- 



tion, and that they may therefore occasionally 

 appear to overlap one another, it may still, I 

 think, be fairly maintained that this fact does not 

 furnish any sufficient reason against their coex- 

 istence. There are many topics of research too 

 minute in their range, too tentative in their pres- 

 ent condition, to come fairly within the scope of 

 the funds administered by the Royal Society. 

 There are others, ample enough in their extent, 

 and long enough in their necessary duration, to 

 claim for their support a national grant, but 

 which need to be actually set on foot or tried 

 before they can fairly expect the recognition 

 either of the public or of the Government. To 

 these categories others might be added ; but the 

 above-mentioned instances will perhaps suffice to 

 show that even if larger and more permanent 

 funds were devoted to the promotion of research 

 than is the case at present, there would still be a 

 field of activity open to the British Association 

 as well as to other scientific bodies which may 

 have funds at their disposal. 



On the general question it is not difficult to 

 offer strong arguments in favor of permanent 

 national scientific institutions ; nor is it difficult 

 to picture to the mind an ideal future when Sci- 

 ence and Art shall walk hand-in-hand together, 

 led by a willing minister into the green pastures 

 of the Endowment of Research. 1 But while al- 

 lowing this to be no impossible a future, we must 

 still admit that there are other and less promising 

 possibilities, which under existing circumstances 



I It is worth while to compare the following pas- 

 sage from Plato's " Republic," book vii. (Jowett's 

 translation) : 



" ' After plane geometry, we took solids in revolu- 

 tion instead of taking solids in themselves ; whereas 

 after the second dimension the third, which is con- 

 cerned with cubes and dimensions of depth, ought to 

 have been followed.' 



II 'It is true, Socrates ; bat these subjects seem to 

 be as yet hardly explored.' 



'"Why, yes,' I said, 'and for two reasons: in the 

 first place, no government patronizes them, which 

 leads to a want of energy in the study of them, and 

 they are difficult ; in the second place, students cannot 

 learn them unless they have a teacher. But then a 

 teacher is hardly to be found, and even if one could be 

 found, as matters now stand the students of these sub- 

 jects, who are very conceited, would not mind him ; 

 that, however, would be otherwise if the whole state 

 patronized and honored them, then they would listen, 

 and there would be continuous and earnest search, 

 and discoveries would be made ; since even now, dis- 

 regarded as they are by the world, and maimed ol 

 their fair proportions, and although none of their 

 votaries can tell the use of them, still these studies 

 force their way by their natural charm, and very likely 

 they may emerge into light.' " 



