The Originality of Daniel's Life-Presener disputed. 437 



and Manufactures, are generally acknowledged : and that 

 their exertions have been gratefully recognised and appre- 

 ciated, is sufficiently obvious from the constant annual in- 

 crease of subscriber"^, since its commencement in 17-54. 

 The standing- rules and regulations of the Society have had 

 two principal objects in view, equally necessary to the per- 

 manent reputation of every scientific institution. Their laws 

 are calculated to exclude no class of the community from 

 the stin)u!us they offer to talent ; all are admitted to fair 

 and eqiial coiTipt'Lition ; to the wealthy, honorary distinc- 

 tions are ofTered as the reward of patriotism or ingenuity, 

 while at the same time the skill of the indigent mechanic is 

 excited to industrious activity, by the certainty of meeting 

 with pecuniary recompense, proportioned to the utility of 

 his invention. !f, then, care has becft taken to found the 

 institution on the broad basis of gcnerallv utility, they have 

 endeavoured to draw the line between liberality becoming 

 a public body, "nd the undue appropriation of the funds to 

 objects unworthy their patronage. The peculiar advantages 

 vihieh a public society possesses over a private body of as- 

 sociated individuals is, that in conferring; an honour, or in 

 bestowing a necuniary reward, all idea of personal obligation 

 is done away. It admits of a more unconstrained exami- 

 nation of the relative merits of the candidates; all is sub- 

 mitted to general discussion ; and while it precludes any un- 

 due preference to a favoured individual, the members are at 

 lilierty to reject or approve, without fear of violating per- 

 sonal fcelinas. From an earnest wish ihen for the reputa- 

 tion of a society at once liberal and politic, it was not 

 without considerable pain that 1 saw recorded in theirTrans- 

 actions a circnnisiance, which, if frequently repeated, would 

 not fail to deprive their premiums of that value vvhich they 

 ought to possess. The approbation of the society has hi- 

 therto been considered a very important acquisition, which 

 cannf)t be better exemoHfied than by llic anxiety shown by 

 Mr. F. C. Daniel, of Wapping, to wrest from the sf>ciety 

 that approbation which to me -jppears unmerited. I pre- 

 sume that in voting to Mr. Daniel, in the year 1807, the 

 gold medal of the society for his " apparatus to secure per- 

 sons from sinking in water, or, to act as a Iiie-pieserver 

 when shi])u recked ;" it was under the impression that il 

 wa.<i as new as iii;porlant, as original as ingenious, ft is 

 unnecessary to refer the reader to W'getius, or to Folard, to 

 prove that the idea had neither originality nor noxelly to 

 recommend it, while there is a book extant in our t)wn lan- 

 guage published near two centuries and a half ago, contain- 

 ii c 3 ing, 



