NOTES 317 



strongly voiced in the meeting, that not only should this 

 personal petition be granted, but that the case showed the great 

 necessity for the institution of a State fund out of which grants 

 could be made in similar cases. Apparently nothing but a 

 formal acknowledgment of this resolution was received by the 

 British Medical Association. 



Of course the matter is by no means closed, and it would be 

 a great pity for the sake of science in general if it were to 

 be allowed to drop. The petition is in perfect order, and is 

 backed by the strongest of precedents ; and the legal opinion 

 is that Mr. Lloyd George has no justification for suggesting 

 that it is in any way out of order or date. As Mr. Asquith said, 

 the Civil List pensions are paid to the relatives of deceased 

 persons who have done good service to the State — quite another 

 matter ; and these pensions are at best nothing but the most 

 miserable little charitable doles which serve only to prove the 

 ingratitude of the nation towards persons who have benefited it 

 in the higher lines of effort. 



Those who are able to read between the lines of the petition 

 and of the covering documents will find no difficulty in detecting 

 that the petitioner's real motive was directed towards the 

 general betterment of science in this country. In fact, there is 

 not a little element of sardonic humour in the attempt. It is an 

 effort to make the British nation remember that even great 

 peoples have certain debts of honour which they should not 

 forget. But the issue of the experiment has up to the present 

 demonstrated that the British nation in general and Mr. Lloyd 

 George in particular do not quite clearly appreciate this little 

 point. Let us examine it further. 



Since the beginning of time the public has been fortunate 

 enough to have most of its really great work done for it for 

 almost nothing — work in science, philosophy, poetry, literature, 

 painting, sculpture, music, and indeed in all those directions 

 which benefit humanity in general rather than the persons who 

 undertake them. It may truthfully be said that we of to-day 

 have been lifted above the savage by such efforts as these ; and 

 nations, like individuals, have the obligation to perform towards 

 civilisation in general that they should encourage these 

 supremely important labours. The British nation is not perhaps 

 very much more lax in this respect than other nations have 

 been, but, as a matter of fact, they, as a nation, have done almost 

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