MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. 25 



tlie Government takes a more active and direct part in the 

 promotion of biological and other scientific discovery. At 

 the same time, on the whole, perhaps we have not much 

 reason to complain, for in recent years the expenditure of 

 the English Government on purely scientific objects has 

 been very large, and I have been long enough a member of 

 Governments to know that every year, when the Chancellor 

 of the Exchequer comes to make up his Budget, there is 

 considerable pressure brought to bear upon him in the 

 matter of reduction of taxation, and of the growing burden 

 of the Civil Service estimates, and therefore, though after 

 a time we may hope for the assistance of the Government, 

 yet it is hardly to be expected that the Government will 

 take this enterprise out of our hands at once. At the close 

 of the last Fisheries Exhibition I had the pleasure of being 

 present at a conference where a hope was expressed that 

 some portion of the surplus — then expected to be a large 

 one — from the Fisheries Exhibition might possibly be 

 applied to this purpose. You have all seen, from a speech 

 of the Prince of Wales, that a very large part of the latter 

 fund is likely to be applied to another purpose, which is no 

 doubt most legitimate, and which I admit to be excellent, 

 namely, the support of the widows and orphans of those 

 fishermen who lose their lives on our coasts. Therefore we 

 cannot look to this source for funds. Now, coming to the 

 terms of the resolution, and to the objects which have been 

 explained by Professor Huxley, I notice that there are 

 mixed together in this resolution the desire to contribute 

 to the enonomic uses of science, and to the purposes of pure 

 biological research. I feel some doubt whether, on the 

 mere ground of economical application, the Society will be 

 necessary. Economic interests can take care of themselves. 

 There are already many agencies in this country through 

 which most of the facts can be ascertained as regards our 

 food fishes. Some have been already ascertained by our 

 distinguished President (Professor Huxley), and a paper 

 has been contributed lately to the Royal Society by 

 Professor Ewart in relation to one of the most important 

 questions connected with the economics of food fishes, viz. 



