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oi'der that timely action may be taken, if the proposal should meet with 

 approval. 



I think that "we ought also to ask for a grant from the public funds 

 for the general purposes of the Institute, on the ground that, if fairly 

 supported and used by the people, it must become an instrument of great 

 value in the work of education. By hearty co-operation and good- will, 

 all obstacles may be removed, and opportunities of instruction, which 

 could not otherwise be enjoyed, may be provided for all who are willing 

 to use them. We may, therefore, fairly call upon all who care for the 

 welfare of our country, to give us their help. We have no selfish ends 

 in view, but the common good of all. We desire to afford every one the 

 opportunity of gaining for himself, and of helping others to gain, a 

 knowledge of the wonderful and beautiful works of the Creator. We 

 desire that our Institute may become to the people of this province, 

 a centre, round which those who love knowledge may gather — a meeting- 

 place for men of all shades of politics and opinions, provided they have 

 but one thing in common, viz., a love for, and a desire to know, truth. 

 For what is the object of science biit the discovery of truth in reference 

 to the works of the Creator'? Its aim is to search out, and to study the 

 laws which govern the physical condition of all created things, whether 

 they belong to the class of organized beings endowed with life, or the 

 inorganic materials of the universe. In so vast a field no man can hope 

 to know all that may be known. Individuals must be content if they 

 can gain a general knowledge of the great principles which have been 

 dug otit for us by the labours of a multitude of workers, and then take each 

 one for himself some particular portion of the field for the exercise of his 

 own labour, in the hope that he also may be able to win some portion of 

 truth, and thus add his share to the general stock of knowledge. 



It may be thought that the life of a colonist is altogether unfavour- 

 able to scientific pursuits, but there is not really any reason why a man 

 may not cultivate some branch of science with sufficient success not only 

 to afford pleasure to himself, but also to be of use to others. Take, for 

 instance, some fact of natural history, which we may say is within the 

 reach of almost everybody, and is of surj)assing interest in a new country. 

 Let each begin with what is nearest to him, such as the plants that 

 grow in his own immediate neighbourhood. Let him find out for himself 

 what they are ; let him notice the classes they represent, distinguishing 

 those which are common from those which are rare- — the indigenous 

 plants from those which have been introduced — endeavouring to note 

 the time when the latter were first seen. Then as his interest grows, 



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