257 



services were as valuable as they v^ere energetic, and vt^ere thoroughly- 

 appreciated by Lord Dalhousie, who then so efficiently presided over 

 the department. On the retirement of Mr. M'^Gregor in 1847, Mr. 

 Porter was appointed one of the Joint Secretaries to the Board of 

 Trade. This promotion added greatly to Mr. Porter's labours. 



And yet, though an incessant worker in his office, he afforded 

 another exemplification that the busiest man has often the most lei- 

 sure, for it was while occupied by official duties, whose magnitude 

 would have alarmed many men, that he found time, without in any 

 way neglecting those duties, to write his ' Progress of the Nation,' 

 which has passed through several editions, and which will be of in- 

 calculable value to future political economists. The amount of in- 

 formation in this very remarkable work, and the manner in which it 

 is presented to the reader, entitles Mr. Porter to take the highest 

 rank in the science of political economy. 



Mr. Porter was the author of various other works in Statistics and 

 Political Economy, and he wrote the 15th and last Section of the 

 Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry. 



His contributions to the Statistical Section of the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science were very numerous and 

 valuable, and he made frequent communications to the Statistical 

 Society, which are printed in the Society's Journal. 



Mr. Porter was one of the earliest promoters of that Society, and 

 was chosen its Treasurer in the place of Mr. Hallam, who resigned 

 that office in 1841. 



His scientific labours admitted him to the Fellowship of the Royal 

 Society, into Vv^hich he was elected in 1838, and he was on the 

 Council during the years 1847 and 1848. He was also a Correspond- 

 ing Member of the Institute of France. 



Mr. Porter's integrity, his elegant and varied accomplishments, 

 and his amiable disposition, rendered him a cherished ornament of a 

 large social circle, and he was always ready and willing to do all in 

 his power to assist in any humane undertaking. 



A remarkable instance of this disposition was communicated by 

 Mr. Porter to the writer of this memoir, and which, as being con- 

 nected with Sir Joseph Banks, when President of the Royal Society, 

 is worthy of mention. 



In consequence of the seizure by England of the Danish Fleet in 

 the early part of this century, Iceland was afflicted by grievous fa- 

 mine, so that almost the only resource of the inhabitants for obtain- 

 ing food was the sea- weed left by the receding tides. Under these 

 circumstances a merchant from Copenhagen arrived in England with 

 introductions to the mercantile house with which Mr. Porter was 

 connected. His object was to obtain from the British Government 

 licenses for the protection of Danish ships which should be employed 

 in conveying provisions to Iceland ; but his applications to the Board 

 of Trade were, in the first instance, quite unsuccessful. As soon as 

 Mr. Porter became aware of these facts, he remembered that Sir 

 Joseph Banks, who had visited Iceland in 1772, was an Honorary 



