SALARIES TO SCIENTIFIC ADVISERS. 397 



those multifarious and valuable duties which are so 

 admirably discharged by the Academy of Sciences 

 of Paris. Did the nation possess a scientific tribunal 

 of this sort, no administration would venture to act 

 in opposition to its unanimous voice ; because, in case 

 of failure (such for instance as the loss of millions 

 of pounds in the blundering calculations about an- 

 nuities), they would be left without the shadow of 

 an excuse for the evils that might result from their 

 wilful rejection of the best advice. 



(272.) It may be urged> indeed, that under the 

 present state of things, our philosophers will cheer- 

 fully give to the nation the benefit of their experience 

 and advice gratuitously, whenever our rulers will 

 condescend to ask them ; and that there exists no 

 necessity, therefore, for burthening the national funds 

 with the expenses of pecuniary remuneration. 

 We believe that, to a certain extent, such patriotic 

 feelings among our scientific men are very general, 

 and that their desire to advance the public good 

 will, upon most occasions, far outweigh the more 

 sordid motives of pecuniary profit. But in the de- 

 pressed state of science among us, and its neglect 

 among the aristocracy, those who are attached to its 

 pursuits find it necessary to follow some profes- 

 sion by which they can live ; and, in a country like 

 this, where the necessaries of life are so dear, and 

 its elegancies so highly prized, abstract science, 

 which is quite profitless, can only be prosecuted at 

 those hours of leisure, allowed by the intervals of 

 commercial or professional avocations. These must 

 be followed, day after day, with undeviating regu- 

 larity. How then, can it be expected, or how is it 



