th what zeal he brought his trained intelligence to
bear not only on his own province of scientific education, but on the
wider problems of general education, and yet the time he gave to these
was only a small part of that which he spared from abstract science
for affairs. In scientific institutions as in others, there is always
a considerable amount of business, involving the management of men and
the management of money, and Huxley's readiness and aptitude led to
his being largely occupied with these. For many years he was Dean of
the Royal College of Science at South Kensington, and for a
considerable time he served the Geological Society and the Royal
Society as secretary. In all these posts, Huxley displayed great
capacity as a leader of men and as a manager of affairs, and
contributed largely to the successful working of the institutions
which he served.

In England, when troublesome questions press and seem to call for new
legislation, it frequently happens that the collection and sifting of
evidence preliminary to legislation is a task for which the methods
and routine of Parliament are unsuitable. The Queen, acting through
her responsible advisers, appoints a Royal Commission, consisting of a
small body of men, to which is entrusted the preliminary task of
collecting and weighing evidence, or of making recommendations on
evidence already collected. To such honourable posts Huxley was
repeatedly called. He served on the following Commissions: 1. Royal
Commission on the Operation of Acts relating to Trawling for Herrings
on the Coast of Scotland, 1862. 2. Royal Commission to Enquire into
the Sea Fisheries of the United Kingdom, 1864-65. 3. Commission on the
Royal College of Science for Ireland, 1866. 4. Commission on Science
and Art Instruction in Ireland, 1868. 5. Royal Commission on the
Administration and Operation of the Contagious Diseases Acts, 1870-71.
6. Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of
Science, 1870-75. 7. Royal Commission on the Practice of Subjecting
Live Animals to Experiments for Scientific Purposes, 1876. 8. Royal
Commission to Enquire into the Universities of Scotland, 1876-78. 9.
Royal Commission on the Medical Acts, 1881-82. 10. Royal Commission on
Trawl, Net, and Beam-Trawl Fishing, 1884. This is a great record for
any man, especially for one in whose life work of this kind was
outside his habitual occupation. It was no doubt in special
recognition of the importa