468 



NA TURE 



[September 6, 1906 



in Burlington House, and that portion of the looo/. 

 grant for scientific publications which it allots to its 

 own printed output. 



On the other hand, while thus giving freely that 

 which it cannot afford to give, it keeps untouched its 

 own freedom ; and this is very precious to it. As the 

 late president points out in the address in question, the 

 purpose of the society is to advance natural know- 

 ledge, and this it does mainly through stimulating, 

 encouraging, correcting and helping research by the 

 methods which it judges best. It is true that it 

 also advances natural knowledge by helping and 

 advising His Majesty's Government and in many 

 other ways, but its main work is to promote 



cannot be told with certainty for many years to come, 

 when the Government who asked that it might be 

 done and the man who did it have both long passed 

 away. If a Government could realise this, and be 

 prepared to spend its money, without immediate 

 vouchers, feeling sure that in the long run the money 

 would be well and profitably spent, .State aid to science 

 would not be so hard a problem. 



In this interesting volume the late president has 

 not only brought before a public far wider than that 

 which is present at the anniversary meetings and 

 dinners of the societv a knowledge of what the 

 Royal Society is, is doing, and is striving to do, but 

 also has directed their attention, in a striking and direct 



:ipal Libr.iry of the Royal Society, Burlington House. From "The Royal Society," by Sir William Huggins, K.C.B. 



individual research. For this it must have perfect 

 freedom. 



Undoubtedly were the society to receive aid from 

 the State under conditions which would fetter its 

 actions, the result would be injurious to scientific 

 ])rogress ; it would probably be disastrous if those 

 conditions took the form of making the society 

 more or less a Department of State. But is it not 

 possible for the State to buy science and pay for it, 

 without making the seller a servant? The answer to 

 Ihis seems mainly to depend on whether the State is 

 able to recognise that the value of scientific work 

 cannot be appraised by ordinary business methods ; 

 the money worth of an inquiry carried out to-day 

 NO. 1923, VtiL. 74] 



way, to questions — the importance of which cannot 

 be e.xaggerated — touching the relations of science to 

 the nation. We thank him for it. 



LV AMERICAN CONTRIBUTION TO ARCHAE- 

 OLOGY ^ 

 WE welcome this publication as fresh evidence of 

 the activity of archaeological study and research 

 I in the United States at the present time. Nearly every 

 American university now has its department of 

 archaologv, and the labours of its members are no 



:nt of Archaeology. Krt 

 Pp. i\-t 106+36 pbles 



(Uni, 



