i-jo SIR GEORGE DARWIN 



sort of movements which interested him most 

 were those which connected Cambridge with 

 the outside world. He was especially interested 

 in the Appointments Board. A good many of 

 us constantly sought his advice, and nearly 

 always took it : but, as I say, I do not think 

 he cared much about the 'parish pump,' and 

 was usually worried at long meetings. 



Professor Newall has also been good enough to give 

 me his impressions : 



His weight in the committees on which 

 I have had personal experience of his influence 

 seems to me to have depended in large measure 

 on his realising very clearly the distinction 

 between the importance of ends to be aimed at 

 and the difficulty of harmonising the personal 

 characteristics of the men who might be in- 

 volved in the work needed to attain the ends. 

 The ends he always took seriously — the 

 crotchets he often took humorously, to the 

 great easement of many situations that are 

 liable to arise on a committee. I can imagine 

 that to those who had corns his direct progress 

 may at times have seemed unsympathetic and 

 hasty. He was ready to take much trouble 

 in formulating statements of business with 

 great precision — a result doubtless of his early 

 legal experiences. I recall how he would say, 

 " If a thing has to be done, the minute should 

 if possible make some individual responsible 

 for doing it." He would ask, "Who is going 

 to do the work? If a man has to take the 

 responsibility, we must do what we can to 

 help him, and not hamper him by unnecessary 

 restrictions and criticisms." His helpfulness 



