MR. BABBAGE.
THIS gentleman, as our readers are aware, is a candidate to re- present the borough of Finsbury. Some of our contemporaries have objected to his fitness, on the ground that scientific attain- ments tend to disqualify a man for the duties of public life,—that a philosopher, in consequence, cannot be an efficient member of the House of Commons. This doctrine proceeds on the supposi- tion that a man of science must necessarily be unacquainted N% i h the world,—that his thoughts are so wholly engrossed by abstract speculations, as to render him incapable of attending to the ordi- nary business of mankind. Whether this be, or be not, true of philosophers in general, we need not stop to determine ; it is not true of Mr. BABBAGE. How is that gentleman best known to the public? By treatises of direct practical utility—his work on As- surance of Lives; his Calculating-engine ; his fearless exposure of humbug, ignorance, and jobbery, in his essay on the " Decline of Science in England;" and by his interesting little volume on Manufactures. Of his other labours in the field of science, we
shall not speak. His book on Life Assurance, which contains a practical analysis of the conditions of every Assurance-office in London, has produced a decided reduction in their terms. Is this an abstraction ? It has been translated into German, and has led to the establishment of an Equitable Society for Assurance of Lives in Germany, which already comprises about a thousand as- . surers to the amount of a million of money. Is this no subject for the consideration of men of the world ?
Mr. BABBAGE'S Calculating-engine is admitted to be one of the most extraordinary inventions of the age; and its advantages are exceedingly practical. Of the supreme importance of astronomy to navigation, every one is aware ; every one is aware also, that accurate tables are indispensable to astronomical calculations : but no tables have hitherto been published free from errors, of the com- puter or the printer, or of both. The Calculating-engine not only computes all such tables, but it engraves them !* Here, then, is the application of scientific principles to daily, nay hourly prac- tice, in a department of knowledge on Which the safety of the lives of thousands, and of property to an enormous amount, is dependent. In Mr. BABBAGE'S excellent little book on Manufactures, his varied scientific attainments are, in every instance, directed to the advancement of practical knowledge. The reasoning and calcula- tions of the philosopher are everywhere made to illustrate and as- sist the labours of the humblest workman, imparting interest and dignity to all mechanical operations. Thus much for the immediate tendency of Mr. BABBAGE'S dis- coveries and publications; which have obtained even from the organ of Tory politics and of Anti-Innovation principles, the Quarterly Re- view, the admission, that though "lie ranks among the first mathe- maticians of our age, he is not merely an abstract calculator, spending his time in solving problems of transcendental geometry, constructina'5 algebraic formulae, or raising infinite series to the sith power; but a man of general science, of varied talent,—and cne who to his other acquirements adds that of being a good practical mechanist."
Can it be a matter of doubt that such a person will be a va- luable and useful member of the Legislature, where questions of vital importance to the manufacturing and commercial interests are constantly discussed, and where ignorance on these matters has hitherto been most disgracefully remarkable ? Those who contend that one of the members for Finsbury ought to be a com- mercial man. would do well to consider whether a candidate, who, though independent of all commercial transactions, possesses a thorough acquaintance with their principles, details, and exi- gences, is not preferable to one whose judgment on many questions must be biassed by his own individual interests,—whether, in short, knowledge without prejudices is not preferable to know- ledge with prejudices?
Mr. RAaa&aa is in possession of an independent, though not a large private fortune ; he is an active and zealous Reformer ; an uncompromising detector of corporate abuses. 'Who that has read his Decline of Science but must desire to see him placed in a larger arena and with more important enemies than a Royal So- ciety can afford?—to see the same scrutinizing sagacity and un- shrinking boldness applied to the detection of some Government job—the examination of some Secret Commission extravagance— the exposure of quackery and ignorance, in place and out of place? But Mr. BAB/MGR is not a practical man of business. Is it for- gotten who it was that organized the opposition to the Tories at Cambridge, and that acted as Chairman of the Committee by which the first and second elections of Mr. CAVENDISlit for that Univer- sity were secured ; or who so materially aided the election of Mr. VOLRYCHE WHITMORE for Bridgenorth ?
So desirable do we consider the presence of a few men of high scientific attainments in a Reformed House of Commons, that we should be disposed to advocate Mr. BABBAGE'S election even were he a Tory'; but when such eminent qualifications meet in the person of a long-tried Reformer, the advocate of Liberal opi- nions on every subject, the hater of monopolies, and a powerful advocate for the diffusion of knowledge, it is impossible to see how the electors of Finsbury can make a more judicious choice.
* The following are the words of the President of the Astronomical Society respecting the Calculating-machine, on presenting a medal to Mr. BABBAGE, in 1824.
"In no department of science or of the arts, does this discovery promise to be co eminently useful as in that of astronomy and its kindred sciences, with the various arts dependent on them. In none are computations more operose than those which astronomy in particular requires; in none arc preparatory i facilities more needful ; in none is error more detrimental. The practical as- tronomer is interrupted in his pursuit, is diverted from his task of observation, by the irksome labour of computation ; or his diligence in observing becomes in- effectual for want of yet greater industry of calculation. Let the aid which tables previously computed afford, be furnished to the utmost extent which mechanism has made attainable through Mr. Babbage's invention, the most irksome portion of the astronomer's task is alleviated, and a fresh impulse is given to astronomical research." " The question is set to the instrument, or the instrument is set to the question ; and by simply giving it motion, the solu- tion is-wrought and a string of answers is exhibited. Nor is this all ; for the machine may be rendered capable of recording its answer, acd even multiplying copies of it. The usefulness of the instrument is thus more than doubled ; for it not only saves time and trouble in transcribirrg results into tabular form, and setting types for the printing of the table constructed with them, but it like- wise accomplishes the yet more important object of insuring accuracy, avoiding numerous sources of error through the careless hands of transcribers and com- positors.* t Not, as some Papers have stated, Lord PALMERSTON'S Committee.
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