THE Central Literary Magazine. No. 6. It must be borne in mind that this Magazine is neutral in Politics and Religion; its pages are open to a free expression of all shades of opinion without leaning to any. APRIL, 1884. VOL. VI. Civilisation and happiness. OUR worthy and esteemed ex-president in his eloquent valedictory address referred to the solatium and mental refreshment he and many others had derived from the debates of the C. L. A., and the stimulus to reflection and inquiry which they inspired. What experience I have had of the varied thought and multiform arguments evolved in the course of our debates fully confirms his earnest words on "The leisure of business men ;" and on returning home from a recent discussion, to which I had listened with intense interest, on the proposition "That the happiness of mankind is not increased by civilisation," I penned the following reflections, some of which had been suggested to me in the course of the debate. Indeed, I was just on the point once or twice of giving vocal expression to a train of thought in my mind, and of indicating a line of argument which had apparently been overlooked, when a moment's nervous hesitation carried away my chance of utterance. The result of the voting, which showed that the majority of the audience were clearly of opinion that a return to barbarism would increase human |