XXXVI THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



the efforts mainly of this small band of investigators the early years 

 of the 20th century were marked by marvellous developments in 

 science and its applications. Such men must always work alone, never 

 in harness. They are the distinguished and immortal few. Their work 

 springs from themselves, they require no external incentive. The 

 great majority of scientific workers of all grades, from research 

 students to professors and directors of research laboratories, also 

 worked as individuals, as knights errant in the warfare against the 

 unknown. This resulted in ill-balanced investigation, especially in 

 chemistry, where we had duplication in many places and incomplete 

 research in others. 



The characteristic feature of this pre-war period, then, was the 

 tendency of the individual to work along his own narrow front, 

 oblivious of the work of others and of the problems of national import- 

 ance. But British scientific workers were not entirely without con- 

 cern for the relation of science to public welfare. The Science Guild 

 of Great Britain, as well as able writers, called public attention from 

 time to time to the small recognition accorded to science by the 

 universities and Government of the country; the small amount of 

 science in the curriculum in the secondary schools of the country and 

 the lack of scientific organization in the Government departments. 

 Scientific method, fostered by the universities in ever increasing 

 measure, was receiving greater recognition. Scientific discovery 

 progressed in its slow conquest of the unknown. Men of science had 

 the leisure to think, but were more or less detached from their col- 

 leagues in universities, from the industries and from public affairs, 

 and occasionally one could detect a tone of superiority in their rela- 

 tions with the world of affairs. They even compared notes with men 

 of science of other nations, once in two or three years, and then 

 "rendered unto the Teutonic Caesar the things that were Caesar's, 

 and some that were not." The chief indication of a desire for co- 

 operation could be seen in the annual meetings of the British Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science. The great learned academies 

 of the world continued to play their important part in the encourage- 

 ment of scientific work. It is a matter of pride to us of the Royal 

 Society of Canada to recognize the splendid work done by the great 

 academies of Europe. To those of us who have taken an interest 

 in the early history of these academies, the part they have played 

 calls for our sincere admiration. The work of the Fellows and Mem- 

 bers has always been characterized by an unselfish sincerity in their 

 desire to advance science in all its fields of activity. The oldest of 

 the academies, namely, the Academia del Cimento, in its early days 



