xiil 
to the best of their ability, one of the primary objects for 
which the Academy was instituted. And with respect to 
their agreement to take from me four hundred and fifty 
copies of my Essay, at thirty shillings per copy, I can safely 
state my conviction, that it was made solely with a view to the 
financial interests of the Academy, and without any regard to 
mine. 
‘‘ T must also state, that it is my conviction that they were 
driven to make this agreement with me, chiefly by Sir Wil- 
liam Betham himself. When I commenced making the draw- 
ings in wood to illustrate the work, it was on the understand- 
ing with Council, that as the Academy did not publish with a 
view to gain, they would allow me the use of the wood-cuts, 
after the publication of their volume, to publish an edition of 
my Essay for my own advantage. But Sir William Betham’s 
assertions before the Academy, that the publication of this 
wrk would reduce the institution to a state of bankruptcy, 
and his threats that he would, by an application to the Go- 
vernment, stop the payments to the wood-cutter, had the ef- 
fect of inducing some members of the Council to propose, 
contrary to the practice of the Academy and the spirit of its 
institution, to publish such unlimited number of copies of my 
work as would repay the Academy, by their sale, the expense 
of its publication. To this proposal, which was nothing less 
than to resign for ever nearly the labour of a whole life, and 
which would still take me years of undivided attention to ac- 
complish, I could not bring myself to agree, either as an in- 
dividual whose interests were concerned, or as a member of 
the Academy, who had its honour at heart. Hence I made 
the proposal to supply the Academy with such a number of 
copies as the Council desired, at the rate of thirty shillings 
a copy; I, of course, obtaining thereby the copyright of my 
work, and the management of its publication; and by this 
agreement the Academy will get the work at considerably 
less than half what it would cost them to bring out an edition 
