1813.] 



ike Rev, Nevil Maskelyne» 



403 



he received only the half. While pleading his cause he attacked 

 the astronomical methods, availing himself of some admissions 

 of La Caille, who, with his incorruptible integrity, while boast- 

 ing of the method of the lunar distance, admitted that they had 

 sometimes led him into error. Maskelyne proved by his own 

 observations that the errors are much diminished when better 

 instruments are employed than those used by La Caille, such as 

 were then beginning to be constructed in London. It is possible 

 that in this dispute between mechanics and astronomy both sides 

 went a little too far. The time-pieces performed every thing 

 demanded by the Act of Parliament of 1/14, and there can be 

 no doubt that, if they had been presented at that time, Harrison 

 would have obtained the whole reward without difficulty. But 

 50 years afterwards, when the instruments were much more 

 complete, when the lunar observations had received unexpected 

 ameliorations, was it not excusable to demand a little more ? 

 The time-pieces, by the facility which they olfered, were likely 

 to seduce maritime men, who are usually enemies to long calcu- 

 lations, but their exactness could only be trusted in short voy- 

 ages. In less ordinary circumstances, and in long navigations, 

 the method of lunar distances had an incontestable advantage. 

 Hence Maskelyne appears to us to have displayed as much jus- 

 tice as discernment in assigning one half of the reward to Har- 

 rison for his time-piece, and the other half to the lunar tables 

 which Meyer before his death had sent to the Board of Longitude 

 in London. The English nation yielded at last to motives of 

 generosity, as much as of justice, in giving to Harrison the 

 whole of the reward to which he had a right, according to the 

 literal meaning of the Act of Parliament. Maskelyne, who at 

 that time laboured to get tlie Nautical Almanac adopted, had 

 reason to fear that the nation, after having so magnificently re- 

 warded one invention, would become more indifferent and more 

 economical with respect to a work still finer, and of more utility. 

 It was his duty to plead the cause of science, and he performed 

 it with honour. Both parties gained their cause. Maskelyne 

 made his country adopt the plan of La Caille^ which that astro- 

 nomer, too early removed for the interests of the science, could 

 not get introduced into France. The English had the glory of 

 realising it first; and this is an obligation which seamen and astro-? 

 nomers of all nations and ages have to Dr. Maskelyne, who, in 

 order to succeed in jt, stood in need of all his perseverance, and of 

 the consideration which he so justly enjoyed. There can be no 

 doubt that to this plan is owing a part of the improvement which 

 the theory of the moon successively received, with which he was 

 continually occupied. He was the editor of Meyer's tables, to 

 which he added tables of the horary motion wanting in the copy 

 yeceived from Gottingen. He compared these tables with the 



