429 



occasion, to bring forward some of his own experiments, 

 which he could not do mitil he had specified a patent. 



The Noble Chairman now called for the next Paper 



ON THE POLICY OF PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING THE 

 GROWTH OF FLAX IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND ; 

 AND AN INQUIRY WHETHER FLAX CAN BE PRODUCED 

 (ft) FOR ft)) AS CHEAPLY AS THE COST OF IMPORTED 

 COTTON. BY HENRY BRIGGS, ESQ., OF OVERTON, 

 NEAR WAKEFIELD. 



It is maintained by many individuals that there is no such 

 thing as positive evil in existence ; that the indulging in a 

 contrary opinion would, in fact, be a reflection upon the 

 wisdom and beneficence of the Divine Being ; and that 

 those events which we call evils are, in reality, only bless- 

 ings in disguise, or, as the poet expresses the sentiment, — 



" All nature is but art, unknown to thee ; 

 All chance, direction, which thou canst not see ; 

 All discord, harmony, not understood ; 

 All partial evil, universal good." 



It may, probably, be rather a difficult task fully and 

 cordially on all occasions to subscribe to these doctrines ; 

 yet still, it must be acknowledged by all thinking men, 

 that few events occur, however afflictive to individuals they 

 may be, without their being the means of accomplishing some 

 good end. And we may fully agree with the expression of 

 the poet, in the last line of the quotation, if we qualify his 

 meaning by presuming that he intends to convey the idea 

 that partial evil results in universal good. 



That our common country has, within the last twelve 

 months, experienced a grievous visitation in the failure of 

 the potato crop, which produced a partial famine, with its 

 attendant evils, particularly in Ireland, cannot be gainsaid ; 



