Charles Babbage delivers a fierce, witty indictment of English science, arguing that Britain is falling behind Europe through neglect, complacency, and bad institutional habits. He cites leading British and continental authorities, praises the rigor of French and German scientific publications, and insists that open criticism is necessary if truth and reform are to prevail. The work is both a defense of accountability and a warning that science cannot thrive where prestige matters more than serious inquiry. At the center of the critique is the Royal Society and the broader system that supports science in England. Babbage attacks its finances, its distribution of offices, its leadership, and its wasteful spending on engravings, publications, and lavishly printed Greenwich Observations, even when working astronomers struggle to obtain them. He also traces the decline to education, arguing that universities overvalue classics and narrow mathematics while neglecting practical and scientific knowledge. His proposed reforms call for broader examinations in history, law, political economy, chemistry, geology, zoology, and botany, so degrees reflect real learning and prepare students for modern life. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.