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work, and upon that ground I have had great pleasure in joining this 

 Institute. (Cheers.) I beg leave now to express my satisfaction at the pro- 

 gress of the Institute as indicated in the report ; but it is the duty of each 

 of us to do more and more to add to that progress. I hope more of our scientific 

 men will come forward boldly to express their own internal convictions, which 

 we know they possess, and that they will be found standing shoulder to 

 shoulder, ready to throw the weight of their great influence into the scale, which 

 sometimes seems almost to tremble on account of the assumed authority of 

 certain other great names. We can well appeal to ancient names of very 

 great weight, but there are still many modern names of great weight 

 whom we would call as compurgators — to use a legal phrase — in our behalf. 

 I beg to move that the Report which has been read be printed and circulated 

 among the members. (Cheers.) 



Sir Donald M'Leod, C.B., K.C.S.I. — My Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, 

 — The proposer of this motion has already so fully explained the objects of the 

 Institute, that it is quite unnecessary for me to touch upon that subject, and 

 I am even a more recent adherent of this Society than he is. I am, in fact, as 

 yet comparatively a stranger to England, and can only bring my experience 

 in other lands to bear upon questions of this nature. That, however, I cer- 

 tainly can do with great confidence in this matter. We live, as we all know, 

 in a period of great mental activity. We are told in the Scriptures that in 

 later times men shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. Every- 

 thing seems to indicate that we have arrived at that period of the world's 

 history. When we see men of remarkable talent taking up .questions which 

 have tended greatly to unsettle men's minds on the most important of all 

 topics, — when we see men of eminence taking up that position, it surely is 

 highly incumbent on all those who apprehend the results that must ensue, 

 to stand forward boldly and endeavour to counteract them. (Cheers.) That 

 I take it is the object of this Institute. (Cheers.) It would be very unde- 

 sirable, as I have heard elsewhere remarked, to speak with anything like 

 severity, or in a tone of sneer, in regard to those who conscientiously put 

 forward opinions that they have formed, but certainly it is the incumbent 

 duty of all those who do not concur not to keep silence. In the land in 

 which my lifetime has been spent — the great land of India — the intellect of 

 the people is beginning to be aroused in a very remarkable manner. Our 

 educational institutions are having a material, and I am afraid not 

 always a very beneficial eff'ect ; and we may rest assured that if that 

 intellectual development which is there largely taking place be not directed 

 into wholesome channels, the day will be a day of disgrace upon, and one of 

 reproach to England, when the intellectual development of India shall have 

 attained to an advanced position, and the young men now being trained in 

 our institutions are able to take a lead and stand apart from us, as they no 

 doubt will do. (Hear, hear.) I know that in Calcutta and in our Presidency 

 towns, a very large number of our youth are largely infected by the writings 

 of those who do not profess our views of the Christian religion. Socinians 

 and even atheists have made their way amongst them, and I was very 



