1 72 EVOL UTION AND NA TURAL THEOL G Y. 



dent, on the abstract theory of the equal right 

 of every member of the Empire to govern the 

 whole, what kind of government might we 

 expect ! Although this is an extreme illustra- 

 tion, yet it is sufficient to show that in granting 

 equal rights to others (whether subjects or not) 

 we cannot do more than grant every man an 

 equal right to every office or privilege for which 

 he is fitted. 



It is frequently overlooked in discussions on 

 the rights of man, colonial questions etc., that 

 it is really as wrong to grant privileges to men 

 who are unable to use them, or certain to 

 misuse them, as to withhold privileges from 

 them to which they are fairly entitled. 



No fact in Geographical Distribution is more 

 remarkable than the power which the species of 

 the great continents exert over the native pro- 

 ductions of islands, as witness the spread of 

 European plants in Australia and New Zealand. 

 On the theory of Special Creation, it would be 

 difficult to explain why the plants of Europe, 

 which thrive so well in these distant countries, 

 should not have been created there also. It is 

 now known that they originated in the countries 

 where they grow, and have had no spontaneous 



