Dr. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 14, 5 April 1911, Page 2

Dr. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE

An Intellectual Giant.

(B r

ERNEST H. RANN.)

THREE and fifty years ago there lay in the Island of Ternate, in the. Malay Archipelago, a young naturalist, stricken with fever. His enth.’s a m ior eolle.ting ?al i* *-v,d a sudden check, and his work was brought absolutely to a standstill- He could do ncthing out of doors, and inside the native house where he bad made his home he could only lie and ponder over the problems which study and research had suggested to his fertile brain. Ctee of the problems was that of the origin of species. whiA had engaged the attention of the greatest naturalists of all countries from time immemorial. The patient had convinced himself that one

species changed into another, but the question was—iiow? As he laid there in Ternate, he vailed to mind Malthus's exposition of the cheeks to increase cffoided by- war. p«estilenee. and famine; and then it suddenly slashed across his mind that this self-acting pwoeess would impwove the race—that the weakest would go to the wall, ami the fittest would survive. It was like a streak of illuminating lightning on the dark sky of ignorance and eemjeeture—the explanation of many problems for the solution of whi.-h scientific men had been groping for ‘.-usuries. Conscious of the stupendous nature of Lis discovery, the young naturalist iad perforce to wait for the temsinatsoa of bis *pa.-m of fever, until he eouid snake notes; and then, weak and feeble, he wrote out his ideas, and dispatched them with a ietter to Charles Darwm, then living in his quiet home in Kent. The young natural.st was Alfred Russel Wallace. The discovery was that of the principle of natural selection; the essay wr.tcen at Ternate was the communication read before the Linnean Society on Jnly 1. Ibafi. along with an abstract of a resume on which Darwin him•atf was staged. Jsnatlj they ahona*

that bosh, men, acting entirely tudepensJ* ently, and in ignorance of each other's labour, had conceived the brilliant theory which has freed us from the dogma of special creation, and has guided and sug-gest-td the work of every naturalist durins the last fifty yearsDarwin sleeps in Westminster AbbeyAlfred Russel Wallace still remains, a mid-Victorian giant, who. in spite of his 88 years, retains his intellectual vigoint and a measure of physical strensth which would do credit to many a mat of half his age. The Malayan habitation has been exchanged for a many-gabled warm briek hosise on rise so-jchern coast, perched on an upland rise from which tha ever-changing beauties of a

landscape, and the Sashing of waters of Poole Harbour, are always in view. It is an ideal retreat for this veteran of science; remote enough from the worli to give him security from interruption, and yet sumeiently near for him to keep in touch with every rooveasen; in its intellectual life. In spite of his trany, activities and achievements. Dr. Wailaca is by no means minded to rust out; ha strengthens with constant exercise, like a line blade' of Toledo make. ; Dr. Wallace was seated at his desk lit his sunlit study when I entered, but he rose immediately, strode rnpidlv across the room, an-i gripped my ha il in a manner that suggested no mere formal welcome. I have been familiar with his portaits and his work for many years, but his appearance, in its spring-like vigour and abounding vitality, came as a complete surprise. Despite hi» great age his figure st.ll bears traces of his eoiumandiug presence. The form is t«9 and spare, the shoulders are sightly, bowed—though not, I would from physical weakness, but rather from long etooping over the desk whencs M

•till sends forth his message to the

world. The head, poised with strength and dignity, bears the heavy snows of winter, and from beneath the bushy brows kindly blue eyes look out with alternate flashings of criticism and humour. 1 noticed, too, the laige development of the lobes of the ear, which ** an invariable accompaniment of great physical vigour and tenacity of life. This was the man who was co-equal ■with Darwin in the discovery of natural selection, the friend and confidant of Spencer, Huxley, Kiehard Owen, Mivart, and all the intellectual giants who have lilted science to the noble and commanding position which it occupies to-day. He holds the highest scientific honours that can be awarded—the Copley medal, the Linnean medal, and the first Dar-win-M allace. medal. It was, said the President of the Linnean Society, "really offering him his own.” By virtue of his achievements, Dr. Wallaee might have been dignified and aloof, but I found him singularly modest and unaffected, jealous of his own opinions, it is true, but open to every wave of thought that came moving across his mental sea, no matter what the direction and the cause.

The room, lighted from the south and west, bore every trace that it was meant for use rather than for ornament. Most of the walls were covered by the shelves of what Sir Walter Besant delighted to call a "working library,” every book being intended for use, and showing that it was fulfilling its purpose. There was a strong array of scientific works, many of them presentation copies, a “file” of a well-known periodical devoted to gardening, an assertive row in blazing red of a certain muchadvertised history in twenty-odd volumes, many novels, poetry down to the latest editions of Barnes, the Dorset poet, and solemn “Fortnightlies,” mingling with the latest penny productions of the Socialistic Press.

Prominent on the south wall was a large, almost life-size portrait of Herbert Spencer. “Spencer, in spite of his vast learning, was not a well-read man,” said the. Doctor. “In fact, he read very little, and once he had made up his mind that a book was built on false premises, he would go no further with it. I remember asking him, when Buckle’s ‘History of Civilisation’ was making a stir, whether he had read that work, and I was surprised to hear that he had not. He had differed from Buckle on the question of the influence of mountains and plains and other natural features in forming human character, and had laid down the book in indignation.

“No, Spencer was more a thinker than a reader—a born thinker, if ever there was one; and I have never met any one who could evolve such conceptions from the depths of his inner consciousness. If was no effort for him to think, and perhaps he was right keeping his reading within limits and giving his attention solely to his philosophy. He was a terrible sufferer from insomnia, but his ill-health, following the break down over the writing of his book on phychology. was real enough, and sufficient to excuse his economy of mental effort.” From Sociology, as expounded by Spencer, it was an easy transition to Socialism, according to Dr. Wallaee himself.

“Take the proposal of the Socialist M.P.’s for dealing with the unemployed problem,” he said, as he roused himself from the fireside easychair in which he was reclining, and leant forward in vigorous assertiveness. "The mistake they make is in suggesting a new state of society on a protit-making basis, instead of arranging that each man should work to produce tae chief necessaries of life for" himself. In the co-operative community such as I would have it, there would he no profits at all. They are trying to solve the question of unemployment on the old and false lines, but in a recent article I hsve, I think, shown them the lietter wav.

“One of the chief troubles at the present time is that we, as a country, are too little self-contained. We import hundreds of things which we could very well do without—tea and coffee, for instance. Until the time of Elizabeth these were unknown to the common people, who were content with beer, /nd the same with sugar; why should we not return to the •Id-faahiuned

honey, or, if we must have sugar, make it at home, as we could do from the ample supplies of beet that could be grown if the land were put to its proper use?

“While importing what we do not want, we export such valuable assets as coal and iron, which I consider to be a crime against posterity.” From (socialism we passed to Spiritualism, which Dr. Wallaee holds as firmly as ever he did. He admitted that scientific men were, perhaps, not quite so materialistic as they were half a century ago, and that there was a marked change of attitude cowards psychical questions, owing to the views of Sir Oliver Lodge and others. “But then,” he said, with the air of one who has long settled the question for himself,” they are only coming round to accept the possibility of what we know.”

“I am afraid that on another subject,” said the Doctor, “I am still misunderstood. That is vegetarianism, in which I thoroughly believe; but although it may appear inconsistent, I am a meat-eater myself, as I have found that meat-eating, in the way I eat it, is, with a diet regulated in other ways, a remedy for a troublesome complaint from which I suffered for many years, and might be suffering now, if I had not changed my mode of living. You cannot alter the habits of mankind in a single generation. Vegetarianism is a reform which will come, but it must come gradually, when people have learned that there are other foods than those to which they have been accustomed. You cannot force the pace; if you try to do so, it simply gives a set-back to The movement.”

Like Darwin himself, Dr. Wallace is a firm believer in novels, but he prefers to read the books himself instead of having them read to him, and he does not trouble so much about the happy ending as Darwin did. ‘Scott and Dickens lie ready to his hand, and he confessed that though familiar with them he could begin the series over again with undiminished interest. Modern novels elaim a generous share of his attention, and he is young enough in spirit to admit that the present day has no reason to be ashamed of the general quality of its literature.