[ami] sketch of the LIFE OF DE. A. R. C. SELWYN, C.M.G. 185 



Presidential Address. 



The following passage, taken from Dr. Selwyn's inaugural address 

 as president of the section of geological and biological sciences, of the 

 Eoyal Society of Canada, delivered May 25th, 1883, gives an excellent 

 idea of the high minded spirit and love of science to which he was 

 devoting his life and energies. In dealing with the general scientific 

 work in new countries and the " constant struggle for life " which 

 scientists have to enoounter, he writes: — "In spite, however, of these 

 difficulties, Canadian geologists have succeeded in obtaining and holding 

 a recognized and highly honourable position in the scientific world. It 

 is needless to dwell on the history and details of the struggle which has 

 achieved this result and which you all, with others now no more, have 

 nobly shared. It behooves us, however, and especially the younger 

 members of the corps, to remember that the fight is not ended, that, as 

 ill the past, so in the future, the struggle will have to be maintained. 

 But if this Society, so auspicious'ly inaug-urated, effects that mucih needed 

 concentration, and consolidation of the efforts of the hitherto scattered 

 combatants, "uniting them in one solid phalanx, we may feel assured 

 that the struggle of the future will be far less arduous than the struggle 

 of the past. More especially will this be so if we never for a moment 

 forget that the only object of scientific inquiry is truth. That the soul 

 and life of thisi search in which we all engage consists in the fresh 

 interchange of thoughts and love of full and complete investigation, 

 with fair and open discussion, unbiased by and irrespective of all per- 

 sonal considerations and based not on the theory, but on earnestly stated 

 and carefully observed facts. Such evidence treated in the spirit I 

 have indicated, certainly will lead us to the truth, but we must always 

 guard against confounding it, as has too often been done, with ingenious 

 theory and dogmatic assertion, because these, however clever, or elo- 

 -quently supported they may be, are almost certain to lead us in a 

 direction the very opposite to that in which we should travel. For 

 similar reasons partizanship, however commendable and necessary in 

 the political arena, should never be admitted to the domain of science. 

 Bearing these principles in mind, and above all, that unity is strength, 

 I trust that the members of the geological section of the Canadian Royal 

 Sodety, will henceforth be brethren of the hammer, not in name only, 

 but in very act and deed ; that they will at all times cordially co-operate 

 with and assist each other in friendly emulation in the work they have 

 in hand, that of elucidating the geological history, physical and biolo- 

 gical, of this great country in which the harvest, waiting to be gathered 



