The Present of the Society. 353 



members if a fine central position were given to the Society 

 by the city or otherwise, and in such a manner as to leave 

 the institution quite independent as now in all future time, 

 as the Government has given an independent position to 

 the Royal and other societies. 



This is an important problem for the Society to solve, 

 viz. what is to be its residence when beginning this second 

 century of its life ? It is also important for it to show to the 

 scientific men around that it is for their benefit to have 

 a centre of their own, and that it greatly trammels the 

 intellectual power of a nation to have few centres of 

 thought ; the individual and the nation suffer together. 

 Two examples are seen, in Germany and France : in the 

 former the many centres have made a highly educated 

 nation, a nation of thinkers ; in the latter the thought- 

 power has been deeply depressed, by the central guiding 

 power having too much influence. In England the 

 North has suffered much because of the universities being 

 only in the south and very exclusive ; indeed, to a large 

 amount of the population England has been a country 

 without a university, whilst the two in the south sent out 

 for generations untaught men to teach the people. The 

 energy of the nation has made them look elsewhere, but 

 we have suffered for want of scientific training. 



The new university, the Victorian, contains much of 

 our hopes. We want variety in our education, and no 

 greater misfortune can exist in the national education 

 than to have one staff of examiners, one university, one 

 mode of thinkers, only one mode of drilling mind. This 

 is the true way to crush out originality, although in a 

 talented race nature causes it to break out in spite of our 

 little formalities. Unless the Victoria University deve- 



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