26 Inaugural Address. 



respect to the state of Sectarianism, each sect refusing to admit 

 the doctrines of the rest. "Look," he says, "at the state of 

 Philosophy. There is noonephilosophyuniversallyaccepted: there 

 are as many philosophies as there are speculative critics, almost 

 as many as there are professors. The dogmas of Germany are 

 held as the dreams of alchemists in England and Scotland ; the 

 psychology of Scotland is laughed at in Grermany, and neglected 

 in England and Erance. Besides this general dissidence "we see, 

 in Erance and Germany at least, great opposition between 

 Religion and Philosophy pronounced or openly signalised." 



Now hear his final conclusion : " This opposition is inevitable ; 

 it lies in the very nature of philosophy."* 



G-entlemen, I have, I hope, now justified to you all I said of 

 the little benefit it was to us to remain as a mere Philosophical 

 Society. 



In conclusion, whilst offering my apology for the length to 

 which this Address has extended, I would crave your further 

 patience for a few practical remarks. 



We have seen that our province is not in the mysterious 

 labyrinth of mental speculation. "We need not, therefore, trouble 

 ourselves with any questions of that class. We have before us 

 in this Colony a vast region, much of which is still untrodden 

 ground. We have, as it were, a new heaven for Astronomy and 

 a new earth for Geology. We have climatical conditions of the 

 Atmosphere, which are not to be viewed by us merely as pheno- 

 mena interesting to the Meteorologist. We have facts to accu- 

 mulate relating to Droughts and Eloods which have a deep 

 financial and social importance. We have a superficial area 

 which may engage the attention of Surveyors, Agriculturists, 

 and Engineers for years to come. We have unrevealed magazines 

 of mineral wealth in which Chemists and Miners may find 

 employment for ages after we shall all have mingled with our 

 parent earth. 



All that we have to trouble ourselves with, is the right inter- 

 pretation and development of these physical riches, so bountifully 

 spread around and beneath us for our investigation and use. 



In such investigations there are rules which we should observe 

 and follow. 



*J3iogr. Hist, of Phil., iy., 24G 



