| I allude to that concerning the mode
of rendering platina malleable Respecting, as I did, the
illustrious philosopher who invented the art, and who has left
many other claims to the gratitude of mankind, I esteem it no
disrespect to his memory to place that subject in its proper
light
An invention in science or in art, may justly be considered as
possessing the rights of property in the highest degree The
lands we inherit from our fathers, were cultivated ere they were
born, and yielded produce before they were cultivated The
products of genius are the actual creations of the individual;
and, after yielding profit or honour to him, they remain the
permanent endowments of the human race If the institutions of
our country, and the opinions of society, support us fully in the
absolute disposal of our fields, of which we can, by the laws of
nature, be only the transitory possessors, who shall justly
restrict our discretion in the disposal of those richer
possessions, the products of intellectual exertion?
Two courses are open to those individuals who are thus endowed
with Nature's wealth They may lock up in their own bosoms the
mysteries they have penetrated, and by applying their knowledge
to the production of some substance in demand in commerce, thus
minister to the wants or comforts of their species, whilst they
reap in pecuniary profit the legitimate reward of their
exertions
It is open to them, on the other hand, to disclose the secret
they have torn from Nature, and by allowing mankind to
participate with them, to claim at once that splendid reputation
which is rarely refused to the inventors of valuable discoveries
in the arts of life
The two courses are rarely compatible, only indeed when the
discoverer, having published his process, enters into equal
competition with other manufacturers
If an individual adopt the first of these courses, and retaining
his secret, it perish with him, the world have no right to
complain During his life, they profited by his knowledge, and
are better off than if the philosopher had not existed
Monopolies, under the name of patents, have been devised to
assist and reward those who have chosen the line of pecuniary
profit Honorary rewards and medals have been the feeble
expressions of the sentiments of mankind towards those who have
preferred the other course But these have been, and should
always be, kept completely distinct[It is a condition with the
Society of Arts, never to give a reward to any thing for which a
patent has been, or is to be, taken out
Let us now consider the case of platina A new process was
discovered of rendering it malleable, and the mere circumstance
of so large a quantity having been sent into the market, was a
positive benefit, of no ordinary magnitude, to many of the arts
The discoverer of this valuable process selected that course for
which no reasonable man could blame him; and from some
circumstance, or perhaps from accident, he preserved no written
record of the manipulationsHad Providence appointed for that
disorder, which terminated too fatally, a more rapid career, all
the knowledge he had acquired from the long attention he had
devoted to the subject, would have been lost to mankind The
hand of a friend recorded the directions of the expiring
philosopher, whose anxiety to render useful even his unfinished
speculations, proves that the previous omission was most probably
accidental
Under such circumstances it was published to the world in the
Transactions of the Royal Society But what could induce that
body to bestow on it their medal? To talk of adding lustre to
the name of Wollaston by their medal, is to talk idly They must
have done it then as an example, as a stimulus to urge future
inquiries in the career of discovery But did they wish
discoveries to be so endangered?
The discoveries of Professor Mitscherlick, of Berlin, had long
been considered, by a few members of the Society, as having
strong claims on one of its honorary rewards; but difficulties
had arisen, from so few members of the Council having any
knowledge of discoveries which had long been familiar to Europe
The Council were just on the point of doing justice to the merits
of the Prussian philosopher, when it was suggested that its medal
should be given to DrWollaston, and they immediately altered
their intention, and thus enabled themselves to reserve their
medal to Professor Mitscherlick for another year; at which
period, for aught they knew, his discoveries might possess the
additional merit of having been made prior to the limit allowed
by their regulations That medal was, in fact, voted at a
meeting, at which no one member present was at all conversant
with the subjects rewarded I shall, however, say no more on
this subject They erred from feeling, an error so very rare
with them, that it might be pardoned even for its singularity
I will, however, add one word to those whose censures have been
unjustly dealt, to those who have reproached the philosopher for
receiving pecuniary advantage from his inventions
Amongst the many and varied contrivances for the demands of
science, or the arts of life, with which we were enriched by the
genius of Wollaston, was it too much to allow him to retain,
during his fleeting career, one out of the multitude, to furnish
that: pecuniary supply, without which, the man will want food
for his body, and the philosopher be destitute of tools for his
inventions? Had he been, as, from the rank he held in science,
he certainly would have been in other kingdoms, rich in the
honours his country could bestow, and receiving from her a reward
in some measure commensurate with his deserts,--then, indeed,
there might have been reason for that reproach; but I am
convinced that, in such circumstances, the philosopher would have
balanced, with no "niggard" hand, the claims of his country, and
would have given to it, unreservedly, the produce of his powerful
mind
OF THE FAIRCHILD LECTUREFairchild left by will twenty-five pounds to the Royal
Society This was increased by several subscriptions, and 100LSouth Sea Annuities was purchased, the interest of
which was to be devoted annually to pay for a sermon to be
preached at Steonard's, Shoreditch
Few members of the Society, perhaps, are aware, either of the
bequest or of its annual payment I shall merely observe, that
for five years, from 1800 to 1804, it was regularly given to
MrAscough; and that for twenty-six years past, it has been as
regularly given to the Rev
The annual amount is too trifling to stimulate to any
extraordinary exertions; yet, small as it is, it might, if
properly applied, be productive of much advantage to religion,
and of great honour to the shop Society |