THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND THE STATE 



and carried on with the highest efficiency only as they are 

 based upon a knowledge of Nature, have always recognised 

 the fundamental importance of the Society's work to 

 national as well as to individual success and prosperity, 

 and their own responsibility as the depositaries of such 

 knowledge. They have always been willing, even at 

 great personal cost, ungrudgingly to afford any assistance 

 in their power to the Government on all questions referred 

 to them which depend upon technical knowledge, or which 

 require the employment of scientific methods. In par- 

 ticular, the Society has naturally always been eager to help 

 forward, and even to initiate, such national undertakings 

 as voyages of observation or of discovery of any kind, or 

 for the investigation of the incidence of disease, which have 

 for their express object the increase of Natural Knowledge. 

 At the same time, as the Society is dependent upon the 

 voluntary help of its Fellows, whose time is fully occupied 

 with their own work, the Society may reasonably expect 

 the Government not to ask for assistance on any matters 

 of mere administration that could be otherwise efficiently 

 provided for. The hope may be expressed that in the 

 near future, with increased official provision in connection 

 with the recognition of science, the relation of the Society 

 to the Government may not extend beyond that of a purely 

 advisory body, so that the heavy responsibilities now rest- 

 ing upon it, in respect of the carrying out of many public 

 undertakings on which its advice has been asked, may no 



longer press unduly, as they certainly do at present, upon 



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