SALARIES TO SCIENTIFIC ADVISERS. 397 
those multifarious and valuable duties which are so 
admirably discharged by the Academy of Sciences 
of Paris. Did the nation possess a scientific tribunal 
of this sort, no administration would venture to act 
in opposition to its unanimous voice; because, in case 
of failure (such for instance as the loss of millions 
of pounds in the blundering calculations about an- 
nuities), they would be left without the shadow of 
gan excuse for the evils that might result from their 
wilful rejection of the best advice. 
(272.) It may be urged, indeed, that under the 
present state of things, our philosophers will cheer- 
fully give to the nation the benefit of their experience 
and advice gratuitously, whenever our rulers will 
condescend to ask them; and that there exists no 
necessity, therefore, for burthening the national funds 
with the expenses of pecuniary remuneration. 
We believe that, to a certain extent, such patriotic 
feelings among our scientific men are very general, 
and that their desire to advance the public good 
will, upon most occasions, far outweigh the more 
sordid motives of pecuniary profit. But in the de- 
pressed state of science among us, and its neglect 
among the aristocracy, those who are attached to its 
pursuits find it necessary to fellow some profes- 
sion by which they can live; and, in a country like 
this, where the necessaries of life are so dear, and 
its elegancies so highly prized, abstract science, 
which is quite profitless, can only be prosecuted at 
those hours of leisure, allowed by the intervals of 
commercial or professional avocations. These must 
be followed, day after day, with undeviating regu- 
larity. How then, can it be expected, or how is it 
