Answers to Objections to State Aid of Research. 173 



amateurs ready and willing to assist in research, and it 

 is notorious that in England, almost without exception, 

 all the great advances in science have been made by 

 such amateurs. Therefore I do not think it at al> 

 desirable that the British tax-payer should be required 

 to put his hand in his pocket to provide salaries for 

 gentlemen who might be working rightly or wrongly. 

 He could not control them, and while there are such 

 a body of amateurs in the country, I think the re- 

 searches may be very well left to them." 



The first of these statements is not correct ; the 

 endowment of research does not amount to "payment 

 without corresponding labour." Scientific discoverers 

 have alwa}'s been distinguished as a body of men 

 intensely devoted to their labours, and willing to per- 

 form much work for small payment. Most of the 

 great advances in science also in England, have been 

 made not by " amateurs," but by men of great ex- 

 perience, such as Newton, Herschel, Priestley, Davy, 

 Faraday, Graham, and many others. Endowment of 

 research is not desired for wealthy amateurs, but for 

 investigators of proved ability and small pecuniary 

 means and who require assistance. Such men, although 

 not infallible, are the least likely to " work wrongly," 

 and much less likely to do so than amateurs. Many 

 scientific investigators also of repute, object to give 

 their services wholly to a wealthy nation, because 

 they cannot afford to do so, and because it is only 

 just that the nation should make them some pecun- 

 iary return for their skill and labour. The great evils 



