160 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 
“commissioner”. The scientist might as well retire from 
the contest. The young ass would get the position and a few 
thousands a year with it. If he were hopelessly unable to 
discharge the duties, a competent deputy would be engaged 
at the expense of the taxpayers. That system fills the 
civil service with the offscourings of incapacity. Years 
ago Sir Charles Trevelyan said: 
“There is a general tendency to look to the public estab- 
lishments as a means of securing a maintenance for young 
men who have no chance of success in the open competition 
of the legal, medical and mercantile professions—the dregs 
of all other professions are attracted towards the public 
service as to a secure asylum.” 
Thanks to this wicked system, it was recently an- 
nounced that no less than five masterships of the High 
Court had been bestowed by “influence” on the sons of 
judges, to the exclusion of hundreds of better-qualified men, 
who, unfortunately, had not been fathered from the bench. 
When the administration of justice is itself tainted with 
nepotism, and when the dregs of every profession are ap- 
pointed to the highest positions in the public service as a 
result of private “influence”, we have a long way to go 
before scientific achievement, no matter how distinguished 
and beneficial, will count for much in this country. 
There are, however, some encouraging signs. The 
political truce is opening the eyes of the public to the stupi- 
dity of allowing the British Empire to be run in the in- 
terests of political schemers and lazy bureaucrats. Three 
or four years ago it was a common belief that our insane 
party system was an essential of effective government. 
That delusion is gone forever. We are now beginning to 
understand that an Empire is run on precisely the same 
lines as a great business. The partners of a great com- 
mercial undertaking would not tolerate the presence among 
them of a man who, like a politician, announced his opposi- 
tion to proposals before he knew what they were or who, 
like a bureaucrat, was incessantly plotting for his own 
hand and pocket against the interests of the partnership. 
True science and politics are incompatible. They can not 
