PROeEKDINGS OF THE MEETING. XXV 



On the motion of Prof. Sedgwick, seconded by Lord Brougham, 

 — To M. Arago and other distinguished foreigners wlio have ho- 

 noured the meeting with their presence on this occasion j 



The Lord Chancellor said, " I rise to second the motion con- 

 veying thanks to these most illustrious men. The high honour 

 of being called upon to perform this duty I owe, not, certainly, 

 to any service I have done to this Association, because this your 

 last day of meeting is (owing to an accident of a domestic na- 

 ture, which retarded my journey,) the first of my appearing 

 here. I owe it to the circumstance of having the honour, the 

 very undeserved honour (but yet one of the proudest of my life), 

 to be a member of the National Institute of France, and the 

 friend of the distinguished philosopher whose name is mentioned 

 in this motion. Gentlemen, allow me to say that I look upon 

 this as one of the most important and unquestionable of all the 

 benefits this Association is calculated to bestow — that it brings 

 together men of science from every quarter of the world. The 

 benefits of this are great to science ; but they are great, also, to 

 society ; for in propoi'tion as men know one another, they are 

 the more disposed to cultivate habits of friendly intercourse, 

 especially if their intimacy subsists on grounds so mutual as 

 science : for they who devote themselves to science are of no 

 country ; over them the angry blast and tempest of war rages 

 innocuous ; the pursuits in which they unite are naturally favour- 

 able to that greatest of all objects which human rulers ought to 

 have in mind, I mean the maintenance of peace and goodwill 

 among men. It has sometimes been remarked, that war is a 

 game at which, if the people were wise, governments would not 

 often play ; and it has also been said of men, that the longer they 

 live the more clearly tkey see that life is too short to be spent in 

 personal quarrels ; it is the same with nations : the world is grow- 

 ing too wise and experienced to bear war. As there is no duty 

 more sacred and imperative on the part of governments than to 

 promote, by every means, that peace which ought to bind the 

 great family of mankind together in all its departments and in- 

 stitutions, so I hold, that whatever brings men into contact on 

 such mutual ground as science tends to facilitate the task of 

 rulers, and makes it easy to keep at peace with neighbouring 

 states. I beg leave, therefore, both on scientific principles and 

 also on the principles of universal philanthropy, most heartily 

 to second the motion." 



On the motion of the Rev. Dr. Robinson, seconded by Sir 

 Charles Lemon, thanks were voted to the Rev. William Vernon 

 Harcourt for his continued and unremitting exertions as General 

 Secretary. - 



1834. c 



