Here I come naturally to answer the questions that may be put by some
that have not followed the history and the work of the Royal Society
of Canada,--What measure of success has it won? has it been of value
to the Canadian people in whose interests it was established, and
with whose money it is mainly supported? Twelve years have nearly
passed away since a few gentlemen, engaged in literary, scientific and
educational pursuits, assembled at McGill College on the invitation of
the Marquess of Lorne, then governor-general of Canada, to consider the
practicability of establishing a society which would bring together
both the French and English Canadian elements of our population for
purposes of common study and the discussion of such subjects as might
be profitable to the Dominion, and at the same time develop the
literature of learning and science as far as practicable.[56] This
society was to have a Dominion character--to form a union of leading
representatives of all those engaged in literature and science in
the several provinces, with the principle of federation observed
in so far as it asked every society of note in every section to
send delegates to make reports on the work of the year within its
particular sphere. Of the gentlemen who assembled at this interesting
meeting beneath the roof of the learned principal of Montreal's
well-known university, the majority still continue active friends of
the society they aided Lord Lome to found; but I must also add with
deep regret that, within a little more than a year, two of the most
distinguished promoters of the society, Dr. Thomas Sterry Hunt and
Sir Daniel Wilson, have been called from their active and successful
labours in education, science and letters. As I know perhaps better
than any one else, on account of an official connection with the
society from the very hour it was suggested by Lord Lorne, no two
members ever comprehended more thoroughly the useful purpose which
it could serve amid the all-surrounding materialism of this country,
or laboured more conscientiously until the very hour of their death
by their writings and their influence to make the society a Canadian
institution, broad in its scope, liberal in its culture, and elevated
in its aspirations. Without dwelling on the qualifications of two
men[57] whose names are imperishably connected with the work of their
lifetime--archæology, education and chemistry--I may go on to say that
the result of the Montreal meeting was the establishment of a society
which met for the first time at Ottawa in the May of 1882, with a
membership of eighty Fellows under the presidency of Dr. (afterwards
Sir) William Dawson, and the vice-presidency of the Honourable P.
J. O. Chauveau, a distinguished French Canadian who had won a high
name, not only in literature, but also in the political world where
he was for years a conspicuous figure; noted for his eloquence, his
culture and his courtesy of manner. The society was established in no
spirit of isolation from other literary and scientific men because
its membership was confined at the outset to eighty Fellows who had
written "memoirs of merit or rendered eminent services to literature
or science"--a number subsequently increased to a hundred under
certain limitations. On the contrary it asks for, and has constantly
published, contributions from all workers in the same fields of effort
with the simple proviso that such contributions are presented with the
endorsation of an actual member, though they may be read before any one
of the four sections by the author himself. Every association, whether
purely literature or historical, or scientific, as I have already
intimated, has been asked to assist in the work of the society,[58] and
its delegates given every advantage at the meetings possessed by the
Fellows themselves, except voting and discussing the purely internal
affairs of the Royal Society. Some misapprehension appears to have
existed at first in the public mind that, because the society was named
"The Royal Society of Canada," an exclusive and even aristocratic
institution was in contemplation. It seems a little perplexing to
understand why an objection could be taken to such a designation when
the Queen is at the head of our system of government, and her name
appears in the very first clauses of the act of union, and in every
act requiring the exercise of the royal prerogative in this loyal
dependency of the crown. As a fact, in using the title, the desire was
to follow the example of similar societies in Australia, and recall
that famous Royal Society in England, whose fellowship is a title of
nobility in the world of science. Certain features were copied from
the Institute of France, inasmuch as there is a division into sections
with the idea of bringing together into each for the purposes of common
study and discussion those men who have devoted themselves to special
branches of the literature of learning and science. In this country
and, indeed, in America generally, a notable tendency is what may be
called the levelling principle--to deprecate the idea that any man
should be in any way better than another; and in order to prevent that
result it is necessary to assail him as soon as he shows any political
or intellectual merit, and to stop him, if possible, from attaining
that mental superiority above his fellows that his industry and his
ability may enable him to reach. The Royal Society suffered a little
at first from this spirit of depreciation which is often carried to an
extent that one at times could almost believe that this is a country
without political virtues or intellectual development of any kind.
The claims of some of its members were disputed by literary aspirants
who did not happen for a moment to be enrolled in its ranks, and the
society was charged with exclusiveness when, as a fact, it simply
limited its membership, and demanded certain qualifications, with the
desire to make that membership a test of some intellectual effort, and
consequently more prized by those who were allowed sooner or later
to enter. It would have been quite possible for the society to make
itself a sort of literary or scientific picnic by allowing every man
or woman who had, or believed they had, some elementary scientific or
other knowledge to enter its ranks, and have the consequent advantages
of cheap railway fares and other subsidiary advantages on certain
occasions, but its promoters did not think that would best subserve
the special objects they had in view. At all events, none of them
could have been prompted by any desire to create a sort of literary
aristocracy. Indeed, one would like to know how any one in his senses
could believe for a moment that any institution of learning could
be founded with exclusive tendencies in these times, in this or any
other country! If there is an intelligent democracy anywhere it is the
Republic of Letters. It may be aristocratic in the sense that there
are certain men and women who have won fame and stand on a pedestal
above their fellows, but it is the world, not of a class, but of all
ranks and conditions, that has agreed to place them on that pedestal
as a tribute to their genius which has made people happier, wiser and
better, has delighted and instructed the artisan as well as the noble.
For twelve years then the Royal Society has continued to persevere in
its work; and thanks to the encouragement given it by the government of
Canada it has been able, year by year, to publish a large and handsome
volume of the proceedings and transactions of its meetings. No other
country in the world can exhibit volumes more creditable on the whole
in point of workmanship than those of this society. The papers and
monographs that have appeared embrace a wide field of literature--the
whole range of archæological, ethnological, historical, geographical,
biological, mathematical and physical studies. The volumes now are
largely distributed throughout Canada--among the educated and thinking
classes--and are sent to every library, society, university and learned
institution of note in the world, with the hope of making the Dominion
better known. The countries where they are placed for purposes of
reference are these:
The United States: every State of the Union and District of Columbia,
Newfoundland,
Mexico,
Brazil,
Costa Rica,
Uruguay,
Guatemala,
Venezuela,
Chile,
Peru,
India,
Japan,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Great Britain and Ireland,
Ecuador,
Italy,
Greece,
Norway and Sweden,
Spain,
South Africa,
Germany,
Roumania,
Argentine Republic,
France,
Russia,
Austria-Hungary,
Mauritius,
Denmark.
So well known are these 'Transactions' now in every country that, when
it happens some library or institution has not received it from the
beginning or has been forgotten in the distribution, the officers of
the society have very soon received an intimation of the fact. This
is gratifying, since it shows that the world of higher literature and
of special research--the world of scholars and scientists engaged in
important observation and investigation--is interested in the work that
is being done in the same branches in this relatively new country.
It would be impossible for me within the limits of this address to
give you anything like an accurate and comprehensive idea of the
numerous papers the subject and treatment of which, even from a largely
practical and utilitarian point of view, have been of decided value to
Canada, and I can only say here that the members of the society have
endeavoured to bring to the consideration of the subjects they have
discussed a spirit of conscientious study and research, and that, too,
without any fee or reward except that stimulating pleasure which work
of an intellectual character always brings to the mind.
In these days of critical comparative science, when the study of the
aboriginal or native languages of this continent has absorbed the
attention of close students, the Royal Society has endeavoured to give
encouragement and currency to those studies by publishing grammars,
vocabularies and other monographs relating to Indian tongues and
antiquities. The Abbé Cuoq, one of the most erudite scholars of this
continent in this special branch of knowledge, has nearly completed
in the 'Transactions' what will be a monumental work of learning on
the Algonquin language. A Haida grammar and dictionary are also now
awaiting the completion of the Abbé Cuoq's work to be published in
the same way. A great deal of light has been thrown on Cartier's and
Champlain's voyages in the gulf, and consequently on its cartography,
by the labours of the Abbé Verreau, Prof. Ganong and others. The
excellent work of the Geological Survey has been supplemented by
important contributions from its staff, and consequently there is to
be found in the 'Transactions' a large amount of information, both
abstract and practical, on the economic and other minerals of the
Dominion. Chiefly owing to the efforts of the society, the government
of Canada some time ago commenced to take tidal observations on the
Atlantic coasts of Canada--an enterprise of great value to the shipping
and commercial interests of the country--and has also co-operated in
the determination of the true longitude of Montreal which is now being
prosecuted under the able superintendence of Professor McLeod. It is
in the same practical spirit of investigation and action that the
society has published a treatise by that veteran scholar, Dr. Moses
Harvey, of St. John's, Newfoundland, on "The Artificial Propagation
of Marine Food-fishes and Edible Crustaceans"; and it is satisfactory
to understand from a statement made in the House of Commons last
session that a question of such deep interest to our great fishing
industry in the maritime provinces is likely to result in some
practical measure in the direction suggested. The contributions of
Sir Daniel Wilson on the "Artistic Faculty in the Aboriginal Races,"
"The Pre-Aryan American Man," "The Trade and Commerce of the Stone
Age," and "The Huron-Iroquois Race in Canada," that typical race of
American Indians, were all intended to supplement in a measure that
scholarly work, "Prehistoric Man," which had brought him fame many
years before. Dr. Patterson of Nova Scotia, a most careful student of
the past, has made valuable contributions to the history of Portuguese
exploration in North American waters, and of that remarkable lost
tribe known as Beothiks or Red Indians of Newfoundland. Sir William
Dawson has contributed to almost every volume of the 'Transactions'
from his stores of geological learning, while his distinguished son
has followed closely in his footsteps, and has made valuable additions
to our knowledge, not only of the geology of the Northwest, but also
of the antiquities, languages and customs of the Indian tribes of
British Columbia and the adjacent islands. The opinions and theories
of Dr. Thomas Sterry Hunt on the "Taconic Question in Geology" and
the "Relations of the Taconic Series to the later Crystalline and the
Cambrian Rocks," were given at length in the earlier volumes. Mr. G.
F. Matthew, of St. John, New Brunswick, who is a very industrious
student, has elaborated a work on the "Fauna of the St. John Group."
Not only have our geological conditions been more fully explained, but
our flora, ferns, and botany generally have been clearly set forth
by Professors Lawson, Macoun and Penhallow. All these and many other
papers of value have been illustrated by expensive plates, generally
executed by Canadian artists. The majority of the names I have just
given happen to be English Canadian, but the French language has
been represented in science by such eminent men as Hamel, Laflamme
and Deville--the two first illustrating the learning and culture of
Laval, so long associated with the best scholarship of the province
of Quebec. Without pursuing the subject further, let me say, as one
who has always endeavoured to keep the interests of the society in
view, that such monographs as I have mentioned represent the practical
value of its work, and show what an important sphere of usefulness
is invariably open to it. The object is not to publish ephemeral
newspaper or magazine articles--that is to say, articles intended for
merely popular information or purely literary practice--but always
those essays and works of moderate compass which illustrate original
research, experiment and investigation in all branches of historical,
archæological, ethnological and scientific studies, and which will
form a permanent and instructive reference library for scholars and
students in the same branches of thought and study all over the
world. In fact, the essays must necessarily be such as cannot be well
published except through the assistance granted by a government, as in
our case, or by the liberality of private individuals. The society,
in fact, is in its way attempting just such work as is done by the
Smithsonian Institute, on a large scale, at Washington, so far as
the publication of important transactions is concerned. I admit that
sometimes essays have appeared, but many more are offered from time
to time, better suited to the periodicals of the day than to the
pages of a work of which the object is to perpetuate the labours of
students and scholars, and not the efforts of the mere literary amateur
or trifler in _belles-lettres_. But while there must be necessarily
such limitations to the scope of the 'Transactions,' which are largely
scientific in their treatment, room will be always made for papers
on any economic, social or ethical subject which, by their acute
reasoning, sound philosophy and originality of thought, demand the
attention of students everywhere. Such literary criticism as finds
place now and then in the dignified old 'Quarterly Review' or in the
'Contemporary' will be printed whenever it is written by any Canadian
author with the same power of keen analysis and judicious appreciation
of the thoughts and motives of an author that we find notably in that
charming study of Tennyson's "Princess," by S. E. Dawson,[59] who is
a Canadian by birth, education and feeling. No doubt there is room in
the Dominion for a magazine combining the features of 'Blackwood,' the
'Contemporary' and the 'Quarterly Review'; that is to say, poetry,
fiction, criticism, reviews of topics of the day, and, in fact,
original literary effort of the higher order, which, though mostly
ephemeral in its character, must have much influence for the time being
on the culture and the education of the public mind. Since the days
of the old 'Canadian Monthly,'[60] which, with all its imperfections,
contained much excellent work, all efforts in the same direction have
been deserving of little encouragement; and, in fact, if such a venture
is to succeed hereafter it must have behind it sufficient capital to
engage the assistance of the best Canadian writers, who now send their
work to American and English periodicals. Such a magazine must be
carefully edited, and not made the dumping-ground for the crude efforts
of literary dabblers or for romantic gush and twaddle, but must be
such a judicious selection of the best Canadian talent as will evoke
comparison with the higher class of periodicals I have mentioned. We
have only one literary paper of merit in this country, and that is
'The Week,' which, despite all the indifference that is too apt to
meet a journal not influenced by party motives, has kept its literary
aim always before it, and endeavoured to do such a work as 'The New
York Nation' has been doing for years under far greater advantages
in the neighbouring country with marked success and ability. In the
meantime, until a magazine of the character I advocate is established,
the 'Transactions of the Royal Society' cannot be expected to occupy
the same ground unless it is prepared to give up that important field
which it and the societies with which it is associated alone can fill
in this country. In one respect, indeed, the Royal Society, in my
opinion--and I have endeavoured to impress it on my fellow-members--can
reach a much larger class of readers than it is now possible by
means of its somewhat formidable though handsomely printed and well
illustrated volumes, which necessarily are confined, for the most part,
to libraries and institutions, where they can be best consulted by
students who find it necessary to inform themselves on such Canadian
subjects as the society necessarily treats. It is quite possible that
by selecting a more convenient form, say royal octavo, and publishing
the purely scientific sections in one volume and the purely literary
department in another, a larger inducement will be given to the public
to purchase its 'Transactions' at a moderate cost and in a more
convenient shape for reading, whenever they contain monographs or large
works in which Canadians generally are interested or on which they
wish special information. Of course, in making this change care must
be taken to maintain the typographical appearance and the character of
the scientific illustrations and the usefulness of the cartography. Not
only may the Royal Society in this way reach a larger reading public,
but it may stimulate the efforts of historic and other writers by
giving them greater facilities for obtaining special editions of their
works for general sale. As it is now, each author obtains a hundred
copies of his paper in pamphlets, sometimes more; and if the form is
now made smaller and more handy, to use a common word, he will be
induced to order a larger edition at his own cost. Even as it is now,
some four or five thousand copies of essays and monographs--in special
cases many more--are annually distributed by authors in addition to
those circulated in the bound volumes of the 'Transactions'; and in
this way any value these works may have is considerably enhanced. If it
should be decided to continue the large form, at all events it will
be in the interest of the society, and of the author of any monograph
or history of more than ordinary value, to print it not only in the
'Transactions' but also in a smaller volume for general circulation.
Practically this would meet the object in view--the larger distribution
of the best work of the section devoted to historical and general
literature. But whether this change is adopted or not,[61] I think the
Royal Society, by showing even still greater zeal and earnestness in
the work for which it was founded, by co-operating with scholars and
students throughout the Dominion, by showing every possible sympathy
with all those engaged in the work of art, culture and education, can
look forward hopefully to the future; and all it asks from the Canadian
public at large is confidence in its work and objects, which are in no
sense selfish or exclusive, but are influenced by a sincere desire to
do what it can to promote historic truth and scientific research, and
give a stimulus in this way to the intellectual development of this
young Dominion, yet in the infancy of its literary life.[F]
[Footnote F: In the course of a speech by the Earl of Derby, in answer
to a farewell address from the Royal Society, he took occasion to make
some remarks with reference to its work and usefulness, which have been
given in full in the Appendix (Note 58_a_) as the impartial opinion
of a governor-general who always took a deep interest in all matters
affecting the intellectual as well as material development of the
Dominion.]