388 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



nature shows that gradual progression, or slow de- 

 velopement, is one of the primary laws both of the 

 moral and the physical world. 



(267.) Nothing gives so much stability to a govern- 

 ment, or operates more beneficially to the welfare of 

 a nation, than a judicious* selection of its executive 

 officers, that is, of singling out, from among the great 

 mass of the people, those individuals who, from pos- 

 sessing talents or qualifications of a particular order 

 are best qualified for performing certain duties. An 

 axiom so plain and acknowledged would scarcely 

 require notice, was it not with us so repeatedly 

 violated for the sake of strengthening political party, 

 or of rewarding political services. Without ex- 

 pecting that any of our philosophers should be 

 cabinet ministers, or privy counsellors, or ambassa- 

 dors, although such a union may be found in Con- 

 tinental courts, it might reasonably have been sup- 

 posed that in a country like Great Britain, the 

 extent and variety of her public institutions would 

 have furnished ample provision for scientific men. 

 As mistress of the ocean, her Board of Longitude 

 shoufd, like that of France, have furnished an ap- 

 propriate endowment for her men of science; her 

 lighthouse Boards, with their immense revenues, 

 might, like the corresponding Board in France, 

 have supplied situations to others ; her " Boards of 

 Trade" might have been appropriately conducted 

 by men who combine practical with theoretical 

 knowledge ; her mineral treasures might have prof- 

 fered a tithe of their produce to reward the know- 

 ledge which explored them, and applied them to 

 the arts ; her Royal Societies might have added 



