152 KEi'ORT — 1864. 



' Methods of Observation and Reasoning in Politics ;' his greatest work — and to 

 politics what Whewell's book is to the phj^sical sciences — replete with the latest 

 results of European learning, and a solid, hitherto unsurpassed, contribution to 

 political science. 



Sir George Lewis was a Fellow of the Statistical Society, and himself a labourer 

 in early life in the field of practical statistics. He was well versed, too, in its 

 philosophy, yet his genius did not lie in the direction of the physical sciences or of 

 the mathematics, which are' the soul of statistics ; but, standing on the border 

 land, and on an eminence survej'ing all the ten-itories, his calm judgment is impar- 

 tial and commands attention. Noticing the imperfections in the early records of 

 facts and numbers. Sir George Lewis obsen-es, — 



" The importance of accurate statistical information as the basis of historical 

 description, as well as of political reasoning, both speculative and practical, cannot 

 be too much insisted on. The attention of modern Governments has been dii'ected 

 to the subject, and it has been understood that a constant registration of social and 

 political facts ought to be kept up, ■without any immediate practical object; like 

 the obsenations of the heavenly bodies, temperature, weather, tides, and other 

 natural phenomena, made by the physical philosopher. Facts, unimportant in 

 themselves, become important as units comprised in a complete enumeration ; and 

 results are thus obtained, to which mere conjecture, or the loose and vague impres- 

 sions derived from a partial observation, could not have led. This process is now 

 carried on, with more or less completeness, by all civilized Governments, and the 

 collection of statistical information, not merely for practical but for scientific pur- 

 poses, is recognized as a legitimate object of public policy. There are now statis- 

 tical departments in all the principal states of Europe"*. 



Here is another element of classification, for the materials of science exist in each 

 State, so in our archives are the statistics of England, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, 

 Germany, Russia, the United States of America, and some other coimtries, at least 

 in outline. M. Quetelet, one of the foimders of this Section of the British Asso- 

 ciation, is now engaged on a work, of which proofs are on the table, exhibiting the 

 comparative statistics of the population of Europe, on a plan nearly uniform. He 

 submits it to your inspection, and had a gi'eat desire to be present, but is kept 

 away by circumstances over which he has no control. I feel sure that I have your 

 authority to reciprocate the good wishes of this veteran of science. The work 

 had its origin at the International Statistical Congi-ess, which was convened in 

 1860 by Her Majesty's Government, in London, and was presided over by the late 

 Prince Consort ; whose sagacity, we may believe, did not fail him when he pro- 

 claimed that the statists of his day were laying " the foundation of an edifice, 

 necessarily slow of consti-uction, and requiring, for generations to come, laborious 

 and persevering exertion, intended as it is for the promotion of human happiness, 

 by leading to the discovery of those eternal laws upon which that universal happi- 

 ness is dependent." These last words of the good Prince may well cheer lis on 

 the way. 



You will see at once that the observation of the scientific facts with which we 

 are concerned in so many States of the world, has already supplied the materials 

 for sure induction, and placed statistics among those applied sciences which reveal 

 laws, and arm man with power over man and over nature. 



In proportion as Governments are organized and intelligent, they cultivate sta- 

 tistics ; and it is gi-atifying to obsen-e that nearly all the States of Europe sent 

 official delegates to the Statistical CongTess which met last year at Berlin, under 

 the auspices of the Government of Prussia, and under the able presidency of Dr. 

 Engel. 



Spain, which had fallen in aiTear, had been put upon her mettle, and in 1857, 

 and again in 1801, took a census, of Avhich many interesting results have just been 

 published: the population was 15,6.58,.531, some millions more than she formerly 

 liad credit for, and entitling her, when her finances are upon a sound footing, again 

 to a place among the Powers of Europe. 



The Kingdom of Italy was no sooner constituted than its statistics were deve- 



* Vol. i. p, 137. 



