VI SCIENCE AND CULTURE 159 



questions ; to be as ashamed of undue haste and par- 

 tisan prejudice in the one case as in the other ; 

 and to believe that the machinery of society is at 

 least as delicate as that of a spinning-jenny, and as 

 little likely to be improved by the meddling of 

 those who have not taken the trouble to master the 

 principles of its action. 



In conclusion, I am sure that I make myself the 

 mouthpiece of all present in offering to the vener- 

 able founder of the Institution, which now 

 commences its beneficent career, our congratula- 

 tions on the completion of his work ; and in 

 expressing the conviction, that the remotest 

 posterity will point to it as a crucial instance of 

 the wisdom which natural piety leads all men to 

 ascribe to their ancestors. 



