126 



NATURE 



\yune 8, 1876 



condition of the community." The Charter proceeds to 

 constitute the Fellows of the Society one body politic 

 and corporate, and empowers a General Meeting of the 

 Fellows, inter alia, to "enter into any resolution and 

 make any regulation respecting any of the affairs and 

 concerns of the said body politic and corporate that shall 

 be thought necessary and proper." 



It has been urged that it would be difficult to make a 

 distinction between ordinary Fellows of the Chemical 

 Society and qualified practitioners admitted and registered 

 through the agency of that Society. This difficulty lies 

 chiefly in the choice of an appropriate name. " Licensed 

 Fellow " has an awkward sound, and " Licentiate " is, by 

 analogy, a lower title than " Fellow." There seems to be 

 nothing in the Charter to forbid such a distinction, which 

 would be for external use only, and would not differen- 

 tiate the holders of licenses in respect of eligibility to 

 Council, or any other privilege, from ordinary Fellows of 

 the Society. Indeed it does not appear that it would be 

 ultra vires for the Chemical Society to grant certificates 

 of competency as Chemists to those who are not Fellows 

 of the Society. 



Leaving, however, the question of what is legally prac- 

 ticable, we must confess that in spite of our sympathy 

 with the proposed organisation, we doubt the expediency 

 of effecting it through the instrumentality of a society 

 which has hitherto occupied itself solely with the exten- 

 sion and diffusion of knowledge. 



The first granting of licences would be presumably to 

 those who have already an established position as practi- 

 cal chemists. The task of selection would be invidious, 

 and would involve a responsibility from which the Chemi- 

 cal Society would naturally shrink. Subsequently, we 

 presume, licences would be granted upon an examination, 

 and it would seem to be a wide departure from the func- 

 tions which the Chemical Society has hitherto performed, 

 for it to constitute itself an examining body, or to under- 

 take the appointment of a Board of Examiners. 



If no other plan were practicable we might hesitate to 

 express our dislike to the proposal that the Chemical 

 Society should enter upon this new career. But examining 

 bodies, and bodies that issue certificates to those who 

 pass their examinations, are ready to hand. It should 

 not be difficult to obtain the co-operation of the Uni- 

 versities in this matter ; and a Board of Examiners 

 appointed by the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and 

 London, without necessarily any restriction that those 

 appointed should have received a University degree, would 

 probably command and deserve confidence better than a 

 Board nominated by a newly-formed Institute, or even by 

 the Chemical Society. 



At least such a scheme might serve at the outset ; and 

 when through its operation chemistry had begun to be 

 consolidated and recognised as a profession, the proposed 

 Institute of Professional Chemists might be formed, and 

 undertake for the future the selection of its own members. 



THE ENDOWMENT OF RESEARCH 



Essays on the Endowittent of Research. By Various 



Writers. (London : King and Co., 1876.) 



IT is to the untiring exertions of Dr. Appleton in t4ie 

 cause which is here pleaded, that we are indebted for 

 this valuable combination of essays. The eminence and 



competency of the writers give it an overwhelming force 

 of authority and reason. The list of contributors is as 

 follows :— The Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, Mr. 

 James Cotton, late Fellow of Queen's College, Dr. Apple- 

 ton, Fellow of St. John's College, Mr. Sayce, Fellow of 

 Queen's College, Mr. Henry Sorby, F.R.S., President 

 of the Microscopical Society, Mr. Cheyne, Fellow of 

 Balliol, one of the company for the revision of the Bible, 

 Mr. Thiselton Dyer, late of Christ Church, Assistant- 

 Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, Mr. Nettleship, 

 Fellow of Corpus Christi College. These eight writers 

 treat of various aspects of the Endowment of Research 

 — such as the need for it, the applicability of college reve- 

 nues to the purpose, the incompatibility of teaching and 

 research — in ten essays. No doubt more remains to be 

 written on the subject, more will have to be said, and what 

 is said will need to be said a great many times before the 

 public — even its more intelligent section — comprehend the 

 importance of research or the necessity for its endowment. 

 The present volume may be taken as a fair statement of 

 some of the most important arguments in the matter, and 

 should furnish the starting point for a determined and 

 unwearying &^qx\. permanently to affect public opinion in 

 the right direction. Widely as we should wish to see this 

 book read amongst the laymen of science, the Philistines 

 and those who prophesy to them, politicians and profes- 

 sional reformers, it will certainly be found quite as valu- 

 able as by any of these, by men of science. Men of 

 science will find in the present volume data and sugges- 

 tions which should aid them greatly, at this critical 

 moment, to determine what they will urge upon the 

 government, as the fit relationship betweeo. the State and 

 scientific research. 



The substance of these essays may be summarised in 

 the form of a series of questions and answers, the latter 

 being frequently reiterated, as it were, by one after another 

 of the essayists. 



I. What is this "research" which you propose to en- 

 dow ? It is more fully described as " scientific research." 

 It is the " disinterested pursuit of knowledge" (Pattison), 

 the following up of "science for science sake "(Pattison), 

 and " by the introduction of the utilitarian motive its 

 strictly scientific character is destroyed " (Appleton). It 

 is co-extensive with the whole range of human knowledge, 

 and comprises such groups as "historical" science, "men- 

 tal " science, " linguistic " science, (Sayce, Cheyne, Apple- 

 ton), equally with molar and molecular physics, astronomy, 

 geology and biology. It has its end and aim in itself, 

 viz., the attainment of truth. We assume that it is neces- 

 sary for man, necessary for his progress, for his happiness 

 if you please, but inevitable whether for weal or for woe, > 

 predestined by the noblest and most commanding passion 

 of his nature — to know the truth. To the ignorant or 

 unthinking some truths appear to justify this craving on 

 account of the material gratification which their know- 

 ledge enables mankind to obtain, whilst the acquirement 

 of other truths appears to these persons superfluous. A 

 consideration of any one department of knowledge is, 

 however, sufficient to show us " that nature is one, and 

 that no man dare put his finger on any of its secrets and 

 say this is a mere field for ingenious curiosity " (Dyer). 

 The narrower type of utilitarian, with his petty measure 

 of what is and what is not for the happiness of mankind, 



