APPENDIX. 51 



That being the Editor of the Magazhie of Natural History, a Jour- 

 nal in which the subjects of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology, 

 in common with other branches of Science are treated upon, I have 

 for several years past had occasional access allowed me to the Museum 

 of the College, through the Conservator, Mr. Clift, or through the 

 Assistant Conservator, Prof. Owen : — That 1 stand charged by Prof. 

 Owen with having appropriated, or with having intended to appropriate 

 and publish as my own, certain results, arrived at by, and belonging to 

 himself, in relation to some extremely important discoveries in the his- 

 tory of English Fossil Zoology, — the said charge or charges arising, 

 more or less, out of certain interviews between Prof. Owen and myself, 

 at the Museum of the College, in the month of August, and certain 

 alleged interviews between Mr. Lyell and Prof. Owen, also at the 

 College, during the month of September, 1839 : — That the fact of its 

 not being possible that the alledged interviews could have taken place 

 during the specified time, (namely the month of September), owing 

 to the absence of Prof. Owen, is a circumstance of material importance 

 in enabling me to substantiate a vindication which I am on the point 

 of placing before the public. 



I further beg to submit that the charge or charges in question, are 

 calculated to be seriously detrimental to my reputation as a private 

 individual engaged in scientific pursuits, but more especially as a 

 public journalist: — moreover, that the granting the document referred 

 to could only operate to the prejudice of Prof. Owen, upon the assump- 

 tion that he has charged a visitor to the Museum with acts or inten- 

 tions which that document would tend to disprove, — and consequently, 

 that the refusal to gi'ant it, would be placing an obstacle in the way of 

 an investigation which otherwise might establish the innocence of th« 

 party upon whom the fraudulent imputation now hangs. 



I remain, Sir, 



Your most obedient Servant, 



Edw. CHARLESWORTH. 

 Edmund Belfour, Esq. 

 Secretary to the College of Surgeons, 



Before sending the above letter, I made a personal appli- 

 cation to the Secretary (Mr. Belfour), on the subject : and 

 though he did not dispute the fact of Prof Ovren's being ab- 

 sent from the college throughout the month of September, he 

 held out to me but little prospect of my intended apphcation 

 being acceded to ; and up to the present date (May 28th), 

 I have received no reply ; a result for which I was not unpre- 

 pared. My own knowledge of the period of Prof. Owen's 

 absence, arises from his having told me when he went to 

 the Birmingham meeting, that he should proceed thence to 

 Ireland, and remain absent during the period in question ; 

 in addition to which, I called at the College on the •28th of 

 September, and Prof. Owen had not then returned from liis 

 excursion. Under these circumstances, it could not b« 



