264 THE LIFE OF SIR JOSEPH BANKS 



Sir Joseph Banks to Sir William Pulteney 

 and Sir Mark Wood. 



" SOHO SQUARE, June 25, 1802. 



" GENTLEMEN, I beg you to accept my best thanks 

 for the flattering manner in which you have been pleased 

 to place your confidence in me, and for the precautions 

 you have taken to prevent unnecessary waste of my time 

 in the investigation of the business you wish me to under- 

 take. I must, nevertheless, trust that you will excuse 

 me, if I decline to accept the Arbitration you propose 

 to me. 



" First, because the hazard of being a sole Referee is 

 greater in my opinion than any man ought to subject 

 himself to voluntarily. 



" Secondly, because in my opinion, matters of Flight 

 ought in all cases to be settled by the usual Tribunals of 

 the Country ; and matters of account, which alone are 

 proper subjects for arbitration, ought to be submitted 

 to those persons only who are professional Accountants. 



" Thirdly, because my time is at present so fully 

 occupied, especially since I had the honour to be a 

 member of the Privy Council and appointed to most, if 

 not all, the active Committees of that Body, that I have 

 more business than I can properly attend to ; and cannot 

 therefore undertake anything in addition without a 

 certain sacrifice of some part of what I have already 

 taken upon myself to perform. 



" Either of these reasons will, I hope, justify me for 

 declining an office which, in the first contemplation of it, 

 appears almost like a moral duty. But if to this I add 

 that experience has too frequently shewn the infinite 

 improbability of an Arbitrator of the most enlightened 

 abilities having it in his power to satisfy both parties ; 

 and the too frequent occurrence of both parties being 

 equally dissatisfied, you will acknowledge that, holding, 



