42 PROCEEDINGS GF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



currency into existence and use. The practical politician may suggest 

 improvements in our municipal institutions if he finds them not in 

 his opinion perfect ; the political scientist, as such, confines himself 

 to tracing their growth and development under the operation of cer- 

 tain influeiices. It is the business of the practical politician to meet 

 the growing needs of political society with new laws adapted to the 

 situation ; it is the work of the scientific politician to find out why 

 •our laws are such as they are. And so on through a wide range of 

 topics which might be cited. If it be objected to this view of politi- 

 cal science that it is too narrow, the obvious reply is that to give the 

 term " science " Comte's meaning makes it impossible to apply it at 

 once to the physical and to the historical sciences. It is possible in 

 the region of physics to foretell with certainty future events ; it is 

 not possible in the region of history. It may be replied further, 

 that even on this narrow view of it political science is extremely im- 

 portant for two reasons : (1) because it afibrds one of the best possible 

 intellectual ti-ainings, and (2) because though political science, as 

 such, does not aim at sociological impi-ovement, the scientific study of 

 politics cannot but suggest to the mind of the student improvements 

 that in the way of practical politics should be made. Moreover, the 

 prosecution of such studies has a humanizing effect on the student. 

 No other discipline apprcaches this in its value as a means of countex-- 

 acting the mischievous efforts of political partizanship with its 

 exaggerations, its prejudices, its hypocritical praise and equally hypo- 

 critical blame, its condemnation of opponents without regard to what 

 is commendable, and its condonation of the errors and even the crimes 

 of friends. 



TWENTY-THIRD MEETING. 



Twenty-third Meeting, i8th April, i888, the President in 

 the chair. 



Mr. T. B. Browning, M.A., read a paper on " The Chamber- 

 lain Treaty, 1 888." 



