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nCOBPOEAIED BY BOYAL CHABIEB. 
 
 i 
 
 Hon. Chief Justicb Robinsox. 
 
 §itiSt !K''ice»3piws(i^ent— Professor Croft, 
 
 ^WonJ) Vict'^xtiihmt — Professor Hind. 
 
 ©wa^uwr — Dalrymple Crawford* 
 
 Conrn^ponlltog ^cwetaijj — Rev. Professor Irving. 
 ^ewrtarg— G. W. Allan. 
 
 ©uiratoc — Professor Chapman. 
 ILi5icar!aiii — Sandford Fleming. 
 
 Council : 
 
 Professor Cherriman, 
 Alfred Brunel, 
 Thomas Henning, 
 
 Francis Shanley, 
 Professor Hodder^ 
 Professor Wilson. 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 THOMPSOK & C0<, printers, RING STREET. 
 U54. 
 
THE PKESIDENT'S ADDKESS, 
 
 ,. 
 
 (Delivered Jatmartf Wi, 1851.) 
 
 Gentlemen of ike Canadian Institute j 
 
 The duty which, by your appomtment, falls at this time upon 
 me, of saying something of the condition, objects, and prospects 
 of this Association, is rendered much more agreeable than it 
 might otherwise have been, by the prosperous state of ita affaire, 
 as exhibited in the last report of the council. 
 
 The liberal spirit in which the Legislature has patronised your 
 efforts at so early a stage ; the ready and kind attention of the 
 Executive Government to such requests and suggestions as havo 
 been made to them in connection -with the objects of the Insti- 
 tute; — the great accession within the last year of new members, 
 many of them gentlemen who from their position, public spirit, 
 and scientific attainments, may be expected to render you impor- 
 tant service ; the growing circulation of the useful and highly inter- 
 esting Journal published by the Association ; and the many valu- 
 able gifts of books, and of minerals, and other objects of interest in 
 various departments of Natural History : these circumstances have 
 all combined to place the Institute, even at the present moment, 
 in a position most gratifying to its members, while they aflford 
 grounds for very encouraging hopes as to its future usefulness. 
 
 But in venturing to draw from the past these flattering presages 
 of the future, we must not forget to make allowance for the advan- 
 tages which we have lost in the departure from the Province of our 
 late President, whose active and zealous services in behalf of the As- 
 sociation,have been so instrumental in bringing it to its present state. 
 
 It is not merely that his familiarity with rather a wide range 
 of scientific subjects qualified him for taking much more than 
 an ordinary part in the proceedings of the Institute; but his 
 eager thirst for knowledge, his ardent devotion to the interests of 
 science, his indefatigable industry, his strong religious sense of 
 the obligation which we all lie under tO( the common family of 
 mankind ; and as much as all these, his hopeful turn of mind 
 which made it always difficult for him to believe that any thing 
 
would be found to be impracticable by which a great public 
 good might be attained ; — these all made him an invaluable 
 fellow-worker with you, especially in laying the foundation for 
 your future system of proceeding. Some portion of his spirit 
 inevitably communicated itself to those with whom he was 
 associated^ and thoroughly unselfish, and disinterested as he was 
 seen to be in all his aims, he proved to be an efiicient applicant 
 on behalf of the Association whenever an occafiion offered, 
 being a suitor whom all were reluctant to disappoint, and all 
 willing to oblige. 
 
 I need offer you no excuse, T am persuaded, for not suffering 
 myself to be restrained by the domestic tie which exists between 
 Capt. Lefroy and myself from paying this just tribute to hia 
 services — That circumstance has but given me a better opportur 
 nity than I should otherwise have had of appreciating his 
 disposition and exertions. It can hardly, I believe, lead me to 
 take a more affectionate interest in his reputation than will always 
 be felt by those whom I am adcbcessing. 
 
 It is abundantly evident, gentlemen, that the Canadian Insti- 
 tute, from the zealous efforts of several able aud eflScient sup- 
 porters, is occupying at this moment a more considerable place 
 in public estimation than it could have been expected to- attain so 
 early; h\.^ if we stop for a moment on the vantage ground that 
 has been gained — to look round us, and to glance at the past a& 
 well as at the future, I believe we may come satisfactorily to the 
 conclusion that if it shall be the good hrtwm of this Association 
 to work out any important good for Canada, it still need not be 
 seriously regretted by us that it did not begiti its work sooner, or 
 rather that such an Association was not sooner formed. 
 
 Many things seem to have concurred to render the time chosen 
 for its commencement an auspicious starting point, and it wilJ be 
 more favorable perhaps to its future success that the Institute has 
 had from the first a vigorous growth, and has occupied early a 
 position recommending it to public countenamce and favop, than 
 that it should have been forced into existence before it cowld have 
 found adequate support. It could only then have lingered in a 
 sickly state, not attracting much attention, nor giving rise to any 
 sanguine hopes ; — and it would have been more difficult to have 
 
infused life ami energy into such an Inatitution, than at a fitting 
 time to create a new one. Leas competent, as I am, in other 
 respects to form an opinion upon this point than many others 
 who are present, I have the advantage of being able to judge 
 perhaps more clearly, from actual observation, of the past condi- 
 tion of Upper Canada; and I do not believe that much time has 
 really been lost, (if any has been,) in making this kind of effort 
 for the advancement of science. 
 
 This is pretty well proved, I think, from the small success 
 which was found to attend some exertions of a similar description, 
 though less comprehensive in their character, which have, from 
 time to time, been made in Upper Canada. 
 
 And hero we may naturally ask ourselves whether it is, or is 
 not, to the discredit of this country that up to this period more 
 has not been done by voluntary efforts for the promotion of 
 science, and more distinction gained in its pursuit? I should 
 be glad to bo able to provo, quite satisfactorily, that we lie under 
 no peculiar reproach in that respect. At all events let the facts 
 be fairly stated. 
 
 Two generations have passed away since a civilized people 
 began to occupy Upper Canada;— our own Journal, in a late 
 article full of interestin<j matter, informs us that for twenty years 
 of that time we have had a population over 300,000— for ten 
 yeai-s exceeding 500,000, and we may be certain that at present 
 our numbers are beyond a million. — Upon the first impression it 
 would seem, on a comparison with other countries, that, under 
 such circumstances and in all this time, some native Canadian 
 might have been expected to start from the canvas more dis- 
 tinctly than any has done;— that some one gifted with pecuUar 
 powers would have gained for himself a name likely to endure, 
 and would have conferred celebrity upon the country of his 
 birth, by some striking discovery in art or science, or at least by 
 a proficiency in some liberal pursuit, that would have attracted 
 general attention, and established even abroad a deference to his 
 name as an authority. 
 
 We might refer to some other countries, particularly in the 
 North of Europe, where, in communities not so populous, there 
 have, from time to time, arisen men so dii^inguished by the 
 
gifts of genius, and by the uso they made of them, that their 
 names have been handed down from age to age, and are regarded 
 now with a veneration scarcely diminished by the splendid 
 modern discoveries which have disproved some of their theories, 
 and rendered useless many of their inventions. 
 
 But we must consider, on the other hand, that these men have 
 f^enerally flonrished in older communities than ours; that the 
 discoveries made, and the distinction obtained by many of them, 
 were the fruits of a " learned leisure," which in Upper Canada 
 hitherto scarcely any have enjoyed; and, besides, that these 
 shining lights have commonly appeared at distant intervals in the 
 course of centuries, with larger spaces of time perhaps between 
 them than would cover our whole history as a people. 
 
 The more rapid and general spread of knowledge, too, has 
 liad the eflfect in our time of placing educated men upon more 
 e(iual ground in regard to their attainments; so that a striking 
 elevation is not so easily gained. And there has been another 
 more formidable impediment peculiar to our condition as a new 
 countiy, for Upper Canada may still be called such, though it is 
 fast losing any claim to particular allowance upon that score — I 
 refer htre to the fact that among the million who now inhabit 
 this upper portion of the Province, even those who came hither 
 in mature years from other countries, with minds highly culti- 
 vated, have, with verj' few exceptions, been unavoidably engaged 
 like the multitude around them, in the anxious labor of some 
 profession or employment, by which their daily subsistence was 
 to be tamed. Those born in the country have had their time and 
 their thoughts equally engaged by efforts to gain for themselves 
 a competency which few have had the fortune to inherit from 
 their fathers. And so it has happened, (though I think not 
 entirely so) that Upper Canada, if I may assert this without 
 seeming to disparage any just claim to excellence, and distinction, 
 can not yet be pointed to as the birth place of any who have won 
 for themselves the celebrity that waits on genius successfully 
 cultivated, nor perhaps even of any who have greatly signalized 
 themselves by an enthusiastic devotion to art or science. When 
 I hesitate to say that we can wholly and clearly ascribe this want^ 
 
 •<i^.i 
 
 v^ 
 
K« 
 
 Xv\\\c\\ I think wo must acknowledge, to the influence of any or 
 All of the causes that I have mentioned, it is because I can not 
 forget that in other countrias we <lo see, every now and then, 
 starting up, as if to rehcvo the monotony of life, poets, philoso- 
 phers, mathematicians, mechanics, hnguistjs, artists, whose very 
 existence hjis seemed bound up in some one particular pursuit, 
 who, under every disadvantage of position— oppressed by want 
 —disheartened at times by neglect— unaided by instruction, and 
 having access to no advantages which may not be enjoyed here, 
 liuve worke<l their way to eminence, and have made their name* 
 like house-hold words, likely to endure to the end of time— men 
 
 Wliose honors with increase of ages grow 
 As streams roll down, enlarging as they flow. 
 
 I suppose after all, the solution is that we must look upon 
 these prodigies as the gifts of Goii vouchsafed to a Country when 
 he thinks fit; and that in the order of Providence, the day of 
 Upper Canada has not yet come— for we must say of genius, as 
 the Poet has said of taste, — 
 
 —This nor gems, nor stores of gold 
 Nor purple state, nor culiure can bestow, 
 But God alone, when first His active hand 
 Imprints the secret bias of the soul. 
 
 It will not, however, I trust be long before Canada will have 
 her sons whom future generations will have a pride in remem- 
 bering, for as respects her political condition, and the public 
 provision made for instruction, such is her actual state, and such 
 the prospects of the future which are opening upon us, that we 
 can scarcely name a country of which it can be said that those 
 who are to be born in it will have fairer opportunity and 
 freer scope, for the cultivation and use of their intellectual 
 faculties. 
 
 We can not, it is true, hope for many years, or, should I not 
 rather say, for many ages, ta possess seats of learning which can 
 rival the time-honored universities of the United Kingdoms; but 
 in what portion of the British Empire is instruction more accfs- 
 sible to all ?— I mean instruction to such an extent as is necessary 
 for developing and cherishing any latent spark of genius, or 
 
4iecovering the germ of any peculiar talent, and for facilitating 
 the early progi (^ of youth in the pursuit of any science to which 
 their nature may particularly incline them. 
 
 Throughout a large portion of Upper Canarla, and in many 
 entire Counties, the diflficulties of a first settlement in a thickly 
 wooded Country have been overoomo by the patient, though 
 tedious and toilsome labour of the axe-man, for which the 
 inventions of science have not yet provided a substitute. The 
 second and third generations of farmers are now occupying fertile 
 lands, cleared by the toil of those who have gone before them. 
 Very many of these are in comfortable circumt-tances, able to 
 appreciate and enjoy the advantages of education, and not without 
 the ambition to improve them, and to ascend to positions among 
 their fellow-men, which, in Canada, as in other portions of the 
 British Empire, are open to all. Our commerce, too, expanding 
 with the rapid and enormous increase of our productions is 
 accumulating wealth — and wealth brings leisure. We shall soon 
 have a larger class of men among us who, having succeeded to 
 something more than a bare competency, or having secured an 
 independence by their own exertions, will be exempt from the 
 daily toil which is the common lot; and some of these we t.iay 
 hope will be inclined to devote themselves to the pursuitt of 
 Science, and to encourage and assist the efforts of others. 
 
 The current hterature of the day now circulates as freely, and 
 almost as cheaply in Upper Canada as it can do any where. The 
 system of education in the Common Schools, extended as it is to 
 the remotest parts of the Province, brings instruction within the 
 reach of almost every household. The formation of public 
 Libraries in connection with this system ; the multiplication of 
 grammar schools; the establishment of Colleges fully adequate 
 in number to the wants of the Province ; and the formation in 
 most of our large towns of Mechanics' Institutes, all show a 
 population alive to the importance ojf intellectual culture; and I 
 believe those who have acquired experience in Europe and in 
 Canada in the business of instruction, will not hesitate to declare 
 that there ii no want of good natural capacity in the Canadian 
 youth. 
 
I 
 
 What useful part may be taken by this Association in encour- 
 aging a taste for Scientific pursuits, is in some measure fore- 
 shadowed in the numbers of the Canadian Journal. 
 
 Besides the papers read and discussed here by members, which 
 form, properly speaking, the proceedings of the Institute, we find 
 collected in the Journal, and presented in a convenient form, 
 notices of important discoveries in the Arts and Sciences, and 
 discussions of various scientific questions, which have engaged 
 the attention of learned bodies, or of individuals possessing a 
 profound knowledge of the several subjects, and the advantage of 
 every aid which the most favorable circumstances could supply. 
 
 Some of these discussions relate to questions which are not of 
 a nature to be aflfected by any peculiarities of situation or climate, 
 but have an universal interest, so that the truths which may be 
 ascertained, and the results arrived at, are useful in one country as 
 -well as in another. Others may turn upon particular divereities, 
 arising from local causes, and may from that very circumstance 
 furnish grounds for useful comparison. It is a great advantage 
 W) have such facts, and the reasoning upon them collected and 
 presented in a convenient form, unmixed with political and other 
 controversies of a merely temporary interect, and unincumbered 
 with the crowd of advertisements which swell the bulk of daily 
 and weekly newspapers. In a Country, too, which is advancing 
 by such rapid strides in population and wealth, and which is 
 making such remarkable exertions to procure for itself those 
 advantages which till lately were confined to older and more 
 opulent communities, it is deeply interesting to collect and pre- 
 serve for future comparison and reference, the history of its 
 developement Those who come after us will feel that no light 
 obligation has been conferred upon them by the Association which 
 has taken the trouble of recording the first movements made in 
 our great public enterprises, thus enabling them to see the time 
 and manner of originating them, and to compare the predictions 
 of their promoters with the results which have followed. Again, 
 the early history ot our settlements; the gradual growth of 
 our towns aud cities; the increased and improved quality and 
 the varying proportions of our agricultural. productions; — the 
 
10 
 
 unforseen turns which the trade of Canada will have taken under 
 the freedom of intercourse permitted to her; the extension and 
 improvement ^f our navigation; the stupendous railway under- 
 takings; the introduction and growth of manufactures; and 
 what i^; really more important than all, the developemeut of civil 
 and religious institutions; upon all, or most of these points, the 
 pages of the Canadian Journal may be made the means of 
 disseminating and preservin[v much valuable information,— as I 
 think we may say they have already done, in regaid to several of 
 the subjects whicli I have alluded to. Some of these, though they 
 refer to facts and topics of gr-at public interest, may not (except 
 in their bearing upon questions of political economy) bo con- 
 sidered to come within the range of Science, which has^ been 
 defined to be "Art, attained by precepts, or built on principles," 
 and they may not come directly within any of the objects 
 Bpecifie<.i in the first section of the regulations of the Canadian 
 Institute; yet information upon them cannot but be useful and 
 welcome to the public, and in disseminating such information by 
 the circulation of the Journal, the Institute will be felt to be 
 rendering a valuable service, and a service to science, in 
 that wider sense by which it may be understood to comprehend 
 every species of knowledge. For valuable papers relating to 
 several of the physical sciences, we shall, I hope, continue to be 
 indebted *o a class of gentlemen who ?-iade, indeed, the first 
 movemant towards the establishment of the Institute. I mean 
 the Civil Engineers, whose profession compels them, in the study 
 and practice'of it, to look below the surface of things; to devise 
 new applications of mathematical principles, and mechanical 
 powers, and to consider and make allowance for the groat laws of 
 Nature: for it is upon her mysterious and unerring laws that 
 many of their operations are founded. We may expect too, that 
 their opportunities of research, and their habits of observation, 
 will lead to valuable contributions being made to our fnuseum of 
 mineralogy, and to the study of geology among us. Wo can not 
 indeed, presume to say what description of physiological researches 
 may not receive some assistance from the cause I allude to, for 
 there is such an affinity between the several branches of natural 
 Science, that there is always a prospect of good, especially m ft 
 large and imperfectly explored country like this, from any circum- 
 
11 
 
 stance which sends abroad among the works of Nature a number 
 of men whose minces have been turned and tramed to tlie 
 observation of her laws, and who have been accustomed to reason 
 and to act upon what is known concerning them. 
 
 In connection with some of the speculations and studies of 
 natural philosophers, Cana<ia will always present a very interest- 
 inrr field from the circumstance Uiat a large portion of it to the 
 northward, while it is even now easily accessible by means of its 
 numerous chains of lakes and rivers, and is becoming ever>' 
 year more so from the nearer approaches of railways, yet from 
 its inaptitude for cultivation, continues, and is likely to continue 
 in it« primitive state, exhibiting to the lover of nature, and to the 
 inquiier into her works, her romantic woods, rocks and rivers, 
 her shrubs, mouses, insects, and all her wonders, animate and 
 inanimate in their aboriginal state, undisturbed and unal!ected by 
 the operations of man. 
 
 It will be felt, I think, in future times, to bo a great charm of 
 this country that rature, on so ^ast a scale, can be seen in all her 
 majesty and freshness, by so ready and easy a transition trom a 
 contiguous territory, i.opulous and fertile, and abounding in all 
 the comforts and advantages of civilized life. 
 
 It is, perhaps, no disadvantage that I have little space left, 
 without wearying you, to sa^ any thing of the future prospects 
 of the Canadian Institute, for in speaking of the future we must 
 be dealing, more or less, in uncertain speculation. 
 
 The degree cf success which has been obtained in so short a 
 period of time, gives at least good encouragement; and as I have 
 already stated, the attempt to gain some foot-hold for scien- 
 tific discussion, seems to have been made at a juncture very 
 favorable. 
 
 The public mind is at present little distracted by angry politi- 
 cal discussions^there has been a long period of tranquility 
 which may crAate stronger confidence in the stability of our 
 Colonial relation. The greater activity of trade, and greater 
 abundance of capital arising f-om various causes, occasion Canada 
 
V 
 
 12 
 
 to be more looked to than formerly at a country presenting ad- 
 vantages for the profitable investment of money. 
 
 The progress which is being made in the construction of rail- 
 ways (there being now, in Upper Canada, nearly 400 miles of 
 rail-way in use, where ten months ago there was not one mile 
 completed,) must inevitably give to the Province a very different 
 position in the estimation of other countries, and cannot fail to 
 have a great effect in attracting to it men of liberal minds and 
 means. There must be many, no doubt, who not having been 
 under any absolute necessity of emigrating, are yet very sensible 
 that] they might find their advantage in doing so— but have 
 been deterred from taking the step so long as they must have 
 submitted to the many discomforts and disadvantages insepara- 
 ble from bad roads and the consequent difficulty of access to 
 market. Men of cultivated minds, and accustomed to social 
 comforts and enjoyments, will, in future, hesitate less to disperse 
 themselves freely over all portions of this new country, when a 
 few hours travelling, unattended by fatigue or discomfort, will 
 transport them to and from the large towns. Such persons will 
 soon be able, without subjecting themselves to any severe priva- 
 tion, to make their choice of a place of residence i i Canada, 
 according to their preferences of climate or soil, or proximity to 
 lakes or rivera, or guided by the price of land, or by the descrip- 
 tion of settlers whom they would choose for neighbors, or by any 
 )ther predilections— for it will be in their power to consult their 
 peculiar tastes— without condemning themselves to exclusion from 
 what others are enjoying. 
 
 The tendency of this great change, to people Upper Canada 
 more generally, and in more e(iual proportion, with a class of 
 educated men, is an advantage by which suoh an institution as 
 this can hardly fail to profit. And I believe, without meaning 
 to disparage any advantages which other colonies may present, 
 that we may expect to gain no inconsiderable degree of wealth 
 and intelligence from a re-action which seems inevitable, of that 
 movement which of late years has been carrying such multitudes 
 to the Australian Colonies. It has seemed as if the sacrifice of 
 the live^ and health and fortunes of thousands were necessary 
 
13 
 
 to produce a conviction of ther ratLer obvious truth- that the 
 circumstance of gold being among the natural productions of a 
 country, does not ensure the acquisition of wealth, nor even of 
 independence to all who can make their way to it,-but that, on 
 the contrary, it has a tendency to place many, if not most, of 
 those in a fklse and distressicg position, who rush thither m the 
 eager spirit of adventure; 
 
 Now that so many are retumiog with disappointed hopes, 
 many more must be warned by their example not to run so 
 perilous a hazard; and of ihose who have rational motives for 
 seeking new homes, but may hesitate hereafter to wander to 
 countries so remote, upon very doubtful prospects, we may expect 
 to have the pleasure of receivmg our fair proportion; and what- 
 ever may be the accession of intelligence that may accrue to the 
 country from this cause, some portion of that gain, I trust, will 
 be felt by the Canadian Institute. 
 
 In contemplating any extension of the labors and objects of 
 this Association, and considering in what additioral manner or 
 de«rree it may be made to contribute to the advantage and 
 enjoyment of those who have leisure and inclination to indulge 
 in scientific pursuits, we must find ouarselves at onoxi embarassed 
 by the want of a suitable building belonging to the Institute m 
 which its proceedings can be carried on, and its library and 
 museum accommodated and arranged with a due regard to order 
 and convenience. This want, too, we must apprehend, may soon 
 press with greater force than at present, since it is uncertain how 
 long we can be permitted by the kind consideration of the 
 govCTnment, to occupy the spacious, and, in some lespects, con- 
 venient building which we are now in. Perhaps a carefal 
 examination of what we might reasonably hope to be able to 
 accomplish, might convince us that we need not long delay taimg 
 measures for providing for the Institute a permanent home of ite 
 
 own. 
 
 .Ti-... 
 
 There are many reasons which should stimulate us to make 
 such an effort ; but it may be safely left to the Council to consider 
 the proper time and manner of proposing it. 
 
14 
 
 I owe* it to myself, gentlemen, nut to coueludo without assuring 
 you that if due credit had been given to my earnest protestations 
 of unfitness, I should not now have been found inadequately 
 filling a place, of which the duties could be much better discharged 
 by many whom I see about me. I beg, therefore, that 
 you will be just enough to make this allowance for me; 
 that I am here by no fault of mine ; for I am but too 
 conscious that I have the least possible pretensions to 
 Science, excepting whatever knowledge I may have gathered in 
 the course of a long application to one particular science which I 
 apprehend may not be universally in favor. In the regulations 
 first promu' ,'ated by the Council, I saw it stated "that there 
 were three classes of persons who might with propriety join the 
 Institute." In the^rst of these I was well aware thac I could 
 not claim a place. In the second clasi?, which was stated to con- 
 sist of "those who may reasonably expect to derive some share 
 of instruction from the publication of your proceedings in the 
 Journal," it seemed to me that I might be included; — and 
 perhaps also in the third, which was defined as consisting of 
 " those who, although they may neither have time nor opportu- 
 nity for contributing much information, may yet have an ardent 
 desire to C( mtenance a laudable, and, to say the least, a patriotic 
 undertaking." I confess 1 wjis amused by observing the delicate 
 tact with which the framer of these regulations substituted in his 
 description of the third class the word " opportunity" for "aitYeVy," 
 which was plainly in his mind ; but being willing to understand 
 and accept the word in its hidden sense, I ventured to enter by a 
 door so widely and considerately opened ; but I entered it only for 
 the purpose of recei\ing instruction, not with any idea of com- 
 municating it 
 
 THOMPSON A CO., PRINTERS, KING STREET.