Reflections on the Decline of Science in England

Of the causes of the present state of the royal society.

The best friends of the Royal Society have long admitted, whilst they regretted, its declining fame; and even those who support whatever exists, begin a little to doubt whether it might not possibly be amended.

The great and leading cause of the present state to which the Royal Society is reduced, may be traced to years of misrule to which it has been submitted.  In order to understand this, it will be necessary to explain the nature of that misrule, and the means employed in perpetuating it.

It is known, that by the statutes, the body of the Society have the power of electing, annually, their President, Officers, and Council; and it is also well known, that this is a merely nominal power, and that printed lists are prepared and put into the hands of the members on their entering the room, and thus passed into the balloting box.  If these lists were, as in other scientific societies, openly discussed in the Council, and then offered by them as recommendations to the Society, little inconvenience would arise; but the fact is, that they are private nominations by the President, usually without notice, to the Council, and all the supporters of the system which I am criticizing, endeavour to uphold the right of this nomination in the President, and prevent or discourage any alteration.

The Society has, for years, been managed by a party, or coterie, or by whatever other name may be most fit to designate a combination of persons, united by no expressed compact or written regulations, but who act together from a community of principles.  That each individual has invariably supported all the measures of the party, is by no means the case; and whilst instances of opposition amongst them have been very rare, a silent resignation to circumstances has been the most usual mode of meeting measures they disapproved.  The great object of this, as of all other parties, has been to maintain itself in power, and to divide, as far as it could, all the good things amongst its members.  It has usually consisted of persons of very moderate talent, who have had the prudence, whenever they could, to associate with themselves other members of greater ability, provided these latter would not oppose the system, and would thus lend to it the sanction of their name.  The party have always praised each other most highly—­have invariably opposed all improvements in the Society, all change in the mode of management; and have maintained, that all those who wished for any alteration were factious; and, when they discovered any symptoms of independence and inquiry breaking out in any member of the Council, they have displaced him as soon as they decently could.

Of the arguments employed by those who support the system of management by which the Royal Society is governed, I shall give a few samples:  refutation is rendered quite unnecessary—­juxta-position is alone requisite.  If any member, seeing an improper appointment in contemplation, or any abuse in the management of the affairs of the Society continued, raise a voice against it, the ready answer is, Why should you interfere? it may not be quite the thing you approve; but it is no affair of yours.—­If, on the other hand, it do relate to himself, the reply is equally ready.  It is immediately urged:  The question is of a personal nature; you are the last person who ought to bring it forward; you are yourself interested.  If any member of the Society, feeling annoyed at the neglect, or hurt by the injuries or insults of the Council, show signs of remonstrance, it is immediately suggested to him that he is irritated, and ought to wait until his feelings subside, and he can judge more coolly on the subject; whilst with becoming candour they admit the ill-treatment, but urge forbearance.  If, after an interval, when reflection has had ample time to operate, the offence seems great as at first, or the insult appears unmitigated by any circumstances on which memory can dwell,—­if it is then brought forward, the immediate answer is, The affair is out of date—­the thing is gone by—­it is too late to call in question a transaction so long past.  Thus, if a man is interested personally, he is unfit to question an abuse; if he is not, is it probable that he will question it? and if, notwithstanding this, he do so, then he is to be accounted a meddler.  If he is insulted, and complain, he is told to wait until he is cool; and when that period arrives, he is then told he is too late.  If his remonstrance relates to the alteration of laws which are never referred to, or only known by their repeated breach, he is told that any alteration is useless; it is perfectly well known that they are never adhered to.  If it relate to the impolicy of any regulations attaching to an office, he is immediately answered, that that is a personal question, in which it is impossible to interfere—­the officer, it seems, is considered to have not merely a vested right to the continuance of every abuse, but an interest in transmitting it unimpaired to his successors.

In the same spirit I have heard errors of calculation or observation defended.  If small errors occur, it is said that they are too trifling to be of any importance.  If larger errors are pointed out, it is immediately contended that they can deceive nobody, because of their magnitude.  Perhaps it might be of some use, if the Council would oblige the world with their scale of error, with illustrations from some of the most recent and approved works, and would favour the uninformed with the orthodox creed upon all grades, from that which baffles the human faculties to detect, up to that which becomes innocuous from its size.

The offices connected with the Royal Society are few in number, and their emolument small in amount; but the proper disposition of them is, nevertheless, of great importance to the Society, and was so to the science of England.

In the first place, the President, having in effect the absolute nomination of the whole Council, could each year introduce a few gentlemen, whose only qualification to sit on it would be the high opinion they must necessarily entertain of the penetration of him who could discover their scientific merits.  He might also place in the list a few nobles or officials, just to gild it.  Neither of these classes would put any troublesome questions, and one of them might be employed, from its station in society, to check any that might be proposed by others.

With these ingredients, added to the regular train of the party, and a star or two of science to shed lustre over the whole, a very manageable Council might be formed; and such has been its frequent composition.

The duties of the Secretaries, when well executed, are laborious, although not in this respect equal to those of the same officers who, in several societies, give their gratuitous aid; and their labours are much lightened by the Assistant Secretary and his clerk.  The following are their salaries:—­

The Senior Secretary  . . . . . . . . . . . 105L. 
The Junior Secretary, 105L. . . . . . . . )
5L. for making Indexto Phil.  Trans. . . ) 110L. 
The Foreign Secretary . . . . . . . . . . .  20L.

Now it is not customary to change these annually; and as these offices are amongst the “loaves and fishes” they are generally given by the President to some staunch supporters of the system.  They have frequently been bestowed, with very little consideration for the interest, or even for the dignity of the Society.  To notice only one instance:  the late Sir Joseph Banks appointed a gentleman who remained for years in that situation, although he was confessedly ignorant of every subject connected with the pursuits of the Society.  I will, however, do justice to his memory, by saying that his respectability was preserved under such circumstances, by the most candid admission of the fact, accompanied by a store of other knowledge unfortunately quite foreign to the pursuits of the Society; and I will add, that I regretted to see him insulted by one President in a situation improperly given to him by a former.

Next in order come the Vice-Presidents, who are appointed by the President; and in this respect the present practice is not inconvenient.

The case, however, is widely different with the office of Treasurer.  The President ought not to usurp the power of his appointment, which ought, after serious discussion by the Council, to be made by the Society at large.

Besides the three Secretaries, there is an Assistant Secretary, and recently another has been added, who may perhaps be called a, Sub-assistant Secretary.  All these places furnish patronage to the President.

Let us now look at the occasional patronage of the President, arising from offices not belonging to the Society.  He is, ex OFFICIO, a Trustee of the British Museum; and it may seem harsh to maintain that he is not a fit person to hold such a situation.  It is no theoretical view, but it is the experience of the past which justifies the assertion; and I fear that unless he has the sole responsibility for some specific appointments, and unless his judgment is sharpened by the fear of public discussion, a President of the Royal Society, in the Board-room of the British Museum, is quite as likely as another person to sacrifice his public duty to the influence of power, or to private friendship.  With respect to the merits of that Institution, I have no inclination at present to inquire:  but when it is considered that there is at this moment attached to it no one whose observations or whose writings have placed him even in the second rank amongst the naturalists of Europe, the President of the Royal Society has given some grounds for the remark made by several members of the Society, that he is a little too much surrounded by the officers of a body who may reasonably be supposed to entertain towards him feelings either of gratitude or expectation. [It will be remembered that the name of Mr. Robert Brown has been but recently attached to the British Museum, and that it is to be attributed to his possessing a life interest in the valuable collection of the late Sir Joseph Banks.]

The late Board of Longitude was another source of patronage, which, although now abolished, it may be useful to hint at.

There were three members to be appointed by the Royal Society:  these were honorary, and, as no salary was attached, it might have been expected that this limited number of appointments would have been given in all cases to persons qualified for them.  But no:  it was convenient to pay compliments; and Lord Colchester, whose talents and knowledge insured him respect as Speaker of the House of Commons, or as a British nobleman, was placed for years in the situation as one of the Commissioners of the Board of Longitude, for which every competent judge knew him to be wholly unfit.  What was the return which he made for this indulgence?  Little informed respecting the feelings of the Society, and probably misinformed by the party whose influence had placed him there, he saved them in the day of their peril.

When the state of the Society had reached such a point that many of the more scientific members felt that some amendment was absolutely necessary to its respectability, a committee was formed to suggest to the Council such improvements as they might consider it expedient to discuss. [Amongst the names of the persons composing this Committee, which was proposed by Mr. South, were those of Dr. Wollaston and Mr. Herschel.] The Council received their report at the close of the session; and in recording it on the journals, they made an appeal to the Council for the ensuing year to bestow on it “Their EARLIEST and most serious attention.”

Now when the party, to whose government some of these improvements would have been a death-warrant, found that the subject was likely to be taken up in the Council, they were in dismay:  but the learned and grateful peer came to their assistance, and aided Mr. Davies Gilbert in getting rid of these improvements completely.

It has been the fashion to maintain that all classes of the Royal Society should be represented in the Council, and consequently that a peer or two should find a place amongst them.  Those who are most adverse to this doctrine would perhaps be the most anxious to render this tribute to any one really employing his time, his talents, or his rank in advancing the cause of science.  But when a nobleman, unversed in our pursuits, will condescend to use the influence of his station in aiding a President to stifle, without discussion, propositions recommended for consideration by some of the most highly gifted members of the Society,—­those who doubt the propriety of the principle may reasonably be pardoned for the disgust they must necessarily entertain for the practical abuse to which it leads.

Of the other three Commissioners, who received each a hundred a-year, although the nomination was, in point of form, in the Admiralty, yet it was well known that the President of the Royal Society did, in fact, always name them.  Of these I will only mention one fact.  The late Sir Joseph Banks assigned to me as a reason why I need not expect to be appointed, (as he had held out to me at a former period when I had spoken to him on the subject) that I had taken a prominent part in the formation of the astronomical society.  I am proud of the part I did take in establishing that Society, although an undue share of its honour was assigned to me by the President.

It may, perhaps, be inquired, why I publish this fact at this distance of time?  I answer, that I stated it publicly at the Council of the Astronomical Society;—­that I always talked of it publicly and openly at the time;—­that I purposely communicated it to each succeeding President of the Royal Society; and that, although some may have forgotten the communications I made at the time, there are others who remember them well.

The Secretary of the late Board of Longitude received 300L., and 200L. more, as Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac.

Another situation, in the patronage of which the President is known to have considerable influence, is that of Astronomer Royal; and it is to be observed, that he is kept in the Council as much as possible, notwithstanding the nature of his duties.

Of the three appointments of 100L. a-year each, which have been instituted since the abolition of the Board of Longitude, the President is supposed to have the control, thus making him quite sure of the obedience of his Council.

Besides these sources of patronage, there are other incidental occasions on which Government apply to the Royal Society to recommend proper persons to make particular experiments or observations; and, although I am far from supposing that these are in many instances given to persons the second or third best qualified for them, yet they deserve to be mentioned.