lii REPORT — 1861. 



its energy on barren disquisitions, " should be operative for the benefit and 

 endowment of mankind." 



Looking, then, to the fact that, whilst in our time all the sciences have 

 yielded this fruit, Engineering science, with which I have been most inti- 

 mately connected, has preeminently advanced the power, the wealth, and the 

 comforts of mankind, 1 shall probably best discharge the duties of the office 

 I have the honour to fill, by stating as briefly as possible the more recent 

 scientific discoveries which have so influenced the relations of social life. 1 

 shall, therefore, not dwell so much on the progress of abstract science, im- 

 portant as that is, but shall rather endeavour briefly to examine the applica- 

 tion of science to the useful arts, and the results which have followed, and 

 are likely to follow, in the improvement of the condition of society. 



The history of man throughout the gradations and changes which he 

 undergoes in advancing from a primitive barbarism to a state of civilization, 

 shows that he has been chiefly stimulated to the cultivation of science and 

 the development of his inventive powers by the urgent necessity of providing 

 for his wants and securing his safety. There is no nation, however barba- 

 rous, which does not inherit the germs of civilization, and there is scarcely 

 any which has not done something towards applying the rudiments of science 

 to the purposes of daily life. 



Amongst the South Sea Islanders, when discovered by Cook, the applied 

 sciences (if I may use the term) were not entirely unknown. They had 

 observed something of the motions of the heavenly bodies, and watched with 

 interest their revolutions, in order to apply this knowledge to the division of 

 time. They were not entirely deficient in the construction of instruments of 

 husbandry, of war, and of music. They had made themselves acquainted 

 with the rudiments of shipbuilding and navigation, in the construction and 

 management of their canoes. Cut off from the influence of European civili- 

 zation, and deprived of intercourse with higher grades of mind, we still find 

 the inherent principle of progression exhibiting itself, and the inventive and 

 reasoning powers developed in the attempt to secure the means of subsistence. 



Again, if we compare man as he exists in small communities with his con- 

 dition where large numbers are congregated together, we find that densely 

 populated countries are the most prolific in inventions, and advance most 

 rapidly in science. Because the wants of the many are greater than those of 

 the few, there is a more vigorous struggle against the natural limitations of 

 supply, a more careful husbanding of resources, and there are more minds 

 at work. 



This fact is strikingly exemplified in the history of Mexico and Peru, and 

 its attestation is found in the numerous monuments of the past which are 

 seen in Central America, where the remains of cities and temples, and vast 

 public works, erected by a people endowed with high intellectual acquire- 

 ments, can still be traced. There have been discovered a system of canals 

 for irrigation ; long mining-galleries cut in the solid rock, in search of lead, 

 tin, and copper ; pyramids not unlike those of Egypt ; earthenware vases 

 and cups, and manuscripts containing the records of their history ; all testi- 

 fying to so high a degree of scientific culture and practical skill that, looking 

 at the cruelties which attended the conquests of Cortes and Pizarro, we may 

 well hesitate as to which had the stronger claims on our sympathy, the victors 

 or the vanquished. 



In attempting to notice those branches of science with which I am but 

 imperfectly acquainted, I shall have to claim your indulgence. This Asso- 

 ciation, as you are aware, does not confine its discussions and investigations 

 to any particular science; and one great advantage of this is, that it leads to 



