of this Magazine. 335 



polise to his own use the greater portion of the contents of 

 that collection, and to shut out the public from all participation 

 in its benefits. Yes, Sir, the greater portion of the collection, 

 the whole, it may almost be said, at the period of which we 

 treat, with the exception of Sir Stamford RaiSles's splendid 

 Sumatran gift, had originally been the private property of 

 that illiberal secretary, and was by him presented to the 

 scientific public, without reserve, without condition, nay, 

 almost without acknowledgment. So reckless, indeed, was he 

 of all personal considerations, or of aught but the public 

 benefit, that he believes, even up to the present day, that 

 there is not a record of the transaction. But there are gifts 

 of higher price than those which may be measured by the com^ 

 mon rates of value ; such gifts as those of time, and labour, 

 and thought ; such sacrifices as those of ease, and leisure, and 

 private interests, and personal gratifications. Such contri- 

 butions there are, and such it was the pride of him, who is 

 forced into this declaration, to oifer to the science which he 

 espoused, and to the institution which devoted itself to that 

 science. Such, at least, was his endeavour. If he has been 

 unsuccessful, his failure has arisen from want of capacity, not 

 from want of inclination or exertion; and it may be added 

 to those numerous proofs of the blindness of our judgment, 

 which every day demonstrate that, where we have fondly, 

 fancied ourselves to have been most strong, there we have 

 been found most weak. 



Such, at least, I repeat, was my endeavour ; and I repeat 

 it the more pointedly, because, from this very endeavour on 

 my part may be traced the origin of the present attack, which 

 otherwise appears so causeless and unaccountable. The at^ 

 tempt to introduce into science a spirit of disinterestedness and 

 liberality, could not fail to excite a hostile feeling on the part 

 of those whose connection with science was based on selfish 

 and sordid considerations. It is an unfortunate fact, that the 

 elements of corruption are as rife in science as in any other 

 pursuit of man ; and that jobbers, and jealous competitors for 

 emolument, and petty monopolisers of petty power, abound 

 among the apparently retired students of the closet, as fully as 

 among the votaries of more bustling and public professions. 

 To these selfish and mercenary propensities alone is to be 

 attributed, not the decline of science % in our country — for 



* The " decline of science" is the cant of the present day. Every 

 man who has a petty grievance to bring forward, or some trivial point 

 of minor information on which he hopes to be borne into notice, adopts 

 the " decline of science " as the post from which he starts. Mr. Swain- 



