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if discussed with moderation and temper, they are 

 often attended with the most important results. 

 But bitter criticisms and angry discussions, between, 

 men of real genius, who are supposed, or who, at 

 least ought, to soar high above an atmosphere 

 infected by the noxious vapor of petty jealousies 

 peculiar to men of doubtful reputations, are especi- 

 ally to be avoided, first because they must always 

 be fraught with danger to the objects to which 

 such men dedicate their lives and secondly be- 

 cause they tend very much to damage the fair 

 fame of those who indulge in them. In the 

 present instance, it is to this cause, no doubt, 

 that we owe the loss of the report of Dr. Wallich, 

 the head of the deputation to Assam, which 

 certainly would have been both interesting and 

 valuable. And, why? Because he, Dr. Falconer, 

 Professor Royle, and others had recommended the 

 slopes of the Himalayas, as offering the best pros- 

 pect of success. Yet, after reading nearly all, if 

 not all, that has been written on the subject, I most 

 unhesitatingly say, not only that these gentlemen 

 were perfectly right ; but that had they done other- 

 wise, they would have signally failed in their duty to 

 the Government they served. It was not the object 

 of the Government of India to introduce and 

 cultivate a species of the tea plant, but the species 

 of the tea plant which produced the tea of commerce ; 

 id, at the time the experiment was projected, that 



