EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 219 
and the impugning of motives are frequently substituted for 
liberty of thought and honesty of purpose. 
Among the barriers to progress at the present day we see 
in too many instances the good intentions of individuals 
darkened by the shadows of suspicion which are cast upon 
them, and those who are endeavouring to promote the best 
interests of the art with which they are connected subjected 
to obloquy and reproach by the envious and captious. If 
men do not wrongly represent things, they will sometimes 
by trickery and chicanery endeavour to put themselves forward 
at the expense of others, leaving nothing undone to attain 
their end. Quackery of the most unblushing kind, publica¬ 
tion of false cures, and even the adoption of assumed names, 
we have seen of late employed to deceive the public and 
enrich impostors. Retribution, however, sooner or later, 
comes with a crushing force upon persons so expert as these, 
and, like the “ Bennetts,” they reap their reward. 
As public journalists, we have, perhaps, had but little to 
complain of as to the manner that discussion on matters of 
science has been carried on in our pages. Occasionally, 
although very rarely, have we been obliged to interpose our 
editorial right to strike out passages from the writings of our 
correspondents, because they infringed the rules which we 
originally laid down for our guidance. For these reasons we 
regret that in our present number one of these exceptional 
instances should be found, and that the communication of 
Mr. T. A. Dollar should appear shorn of some of its pre¬ 
tensions, but of none of its merits . The “ using a glan- 
dered horse in a public vehicle” is so fresh in the minds of our 
readers, that they need not be told that Mr. Dollar's letter 
refers especially to that subject. If Mr. Dollar denies any 
animus towards Mr. Varnell by taking the course he did in 
this affair, we can truly say that no unworthy motive could 
possibly have influenced us in originally giving insertion to 
the case. It was one which we deemed to have in itself suf¬ 
ficient interest to warrant our bringing it before the notice of 
our readers, and, be it remembered, time does not militate 
against the value of a fact. 
