Volume 1

[Report of the Council respecting the publication of A. Nasmyth's papers on the structure of the teeth].

  • British Association for the Advancement of Science. Meeting
Date:
[1841]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: [Report of the Council respecting the publication of A. Nasmyth's papers on the structure of the teeth]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/24 (page 10)
    was presented from Dr. Roget, addressed to Mr. Yates, Secretary of the Council:— “ Dear Sir, “Bernard Street, January 21, 1841. “ Dr. Rees and myself, having taken into our consideration the letter which you wrote to both of us the day before yesterday, beg, in answer, to refer you to the letter of Dr. Macartney, of the 12th instant, addressed to yourself (which we return inclosed), and to express our entire concurrence in the opi¬ nion he there gives on the subject of the new reference made to us by the Council of the British Association. The question at issue between Mr. Nas¬ myth and Mr. Owen being one of considerable delicacy, we have thought it right to protect ourselves from all suspicion of being biassed in our judge¬ ment by ex parte statements or representations; and we have accordingly scrupulously avoided having any communication with Mr. Owen, either di¬ rectly or indirectly, on the matters in dispute. For the same reason we must decline the proffered interview with Mr. Nasmyth, and the more so as we feel that the question, on which the Council request our opinion, would be¬ come more involved and difficult of solution by the introduction of matters really foreign to it, which would unavoidably result from such an interview. The simple question, as it appears to us, turns upon the matter contained in the original memoirs, in the identical state in which they were read to the Sections of the Association at Birmingham. Mr. Nasmyth having subse¬ quently made many additions and alterations in these manuscripts, and not having consented to restore them to their former state, as proposed by Dr. Macartney, and having declined to place in the hands of the Referees the ori¬ ginal memoirs, as desired by the Council, we are consequently unable to exe¬ cute the task they have requested us to undertake. “ Dear Sir, faithfully yours, “ Rev. James Yates.” (Signed) “ P. M. Roget.” Dr, Macartney’s proposal referred to by Dr. Roget, contained in his letter of the 12th of January to Mr. Yates, was as follows:— “ If any reference be made to the officers of the Medical Section, the best thing Mr. Nasmyth can do is to efface all the additions and interlineations made in the original paper (having first taken a copy of them for his own use). It could neither be desirable to him, nor to the Referees, that any new or unpublished matter should be exposed, nor can such exposure throw any light on the subject. I, for my part, shall beg to decline the reference if any writing be submitted to me, except what Mr. Nasmyth can assert existed in the paper when read to the Medical Section.” The Council then adopted the following Resolution, and requested Mr. Yates to communicate it to Mr. Nasmyth :— “ The Council having at a former meeting taken Mr. Nasmyth’s a]3plication into consideration, and having referred the question to the authors of the re¬ port to the Council, dated November 16, 1840, who have been unable to give an answer on the points referred to, regret that they feel themselves incom¬ petent to take any further step in the case*.” The members of the Council having received a printed communication from Mr. Nasmyth, dated 20th of March, 1841, addressed to themselves, a meeting * In a printed communication from Mr. Nasmyth to the Council, dated 20th of March, 1841, in which this resolution is quoted, the words “ regret that theyare omitted in the quotation. These words were, and still are, in the original minute which Mr. Yates was desired to com¬ municate to Mr. Nasmyth, and were accidentally omitted by Mr. Yates in transmitting the Resolution to Mr. Nasmyth.