The Pittsburgh gazette. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1866-1877, June 24, 1868, Image 4

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PLIMMUD DAILY, BY
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 1868
TEE 'WEEKLY GAZETTE, issued on 'Wed—
nesdays and Saturdays, is the best and cheap
est family newspaper in Pennsylvania. It'
presents each teedc forty-eight columns of
solid reading' matter. It gives the fullest as
well as the most reliablemarket reports°, any
taper in the State. Its files are- used exclu
sively by the Civil Courts of Alleghtny.county
for reference in, important 1:98U418 todetermine
the ftling prices in the earkets at thi time of
the business transaction in dispute. I Terms:
Single copy, one year, $1.50 ; in clubs office,
$1,25 ; in dubs of ten, $145, and one free
to !hi getter up of the club. • Specimen copies
sent free to any address.
WE PRINT on: the inside pages of this
morning's GAZETTE : Second page: Inter
esting - Beading _Matter. Third page : Finan
cial Matters in 21rew York, Markets by Tele
graph Imports, River .News. Sixth page:
Finance and Trade, Home -.Markets, Pe
troleum Affairs. Seventh page: Brief
iVetes Items, Letter from Blairsville.
Beal Estate Transfers.
GOLD closed in New York yesterday at
4401.
- I rIS reported that Ilir. THADDEUS STEV
r.Ns is trying to revive impeachment, and
will shortly introduce new articles. "No
more, I thank you, Mr. FrLya - NS, without
it's sweetened."
IT is already ascertainad that about
twenty-seven 'persons, including seven of
the nine females on board, lost their lives
by the sinking of the Morning Star on Lake
Erie. Nor is the full extent of this tragedy
yet known.
TEE Sultan of Turkey. having placed
both Christians and Israelites as members
in;his Comacil of State, =Jounced to the
Rabbis and Pitriarchs, to whom he gave an
andience on'the 23d ult., his intention to
make no distinction among his subjects on
account of religious faith.
A ).LEETING of Commissioners, from the
loyal States having soldiers interred at An
tietam Cemetery, was rheld at Shrirpsburg
on the 17th, to consider the question of the
burial of the rebel dead in some portion of
the area of the cemetery. After a very
earnest discussion, the whole matter was
po - stponed to another meeting, to be held at
Philadelphia on the 17th of November.
THE forthcoming Amesty Proclamition
'will, it is believed, amount to but very little
more than extending certain pyivileges, im-_
munities and rights of property, and will,
owing to the large use of the pardoning
power in individual cases hitherto, reach,
but slew hundred additional persons. Of
course, everybody agrees that it is a mere
electioneering trick on the part of the Pres
ident.
THE contradiction involved in the two
paragraphs annexed is explained by the fact
that, in 1867, the Democracy wanted GRAFT
for iheir cand_ idate. but couldn't get him,
while in 1868 he has accepted the Republi
can nomination. Hence the incongrnity of
the following
"Nobody Is hardy enough to claim chit capacity
for Grant.',—Neto rork World, May, ]BB3.
di
sc
re
et
aWa D bl p h m n n sofG o ner h a e l
pGrrennt." , — In N t e h ro
York World, August.
THE friends of short-span bridges over
the Western navigable streams have caught
a Tartar. They summoned Gen. Wennxii,
• of the IJ. 5. Topographical Engineers, from
the West, to give evidence, as they suppos
ed, in their favor, before the Senate Com
mittee, but discovered after his arriial, that
he opposes the erection of any bridge with
less than five hundred feet span. Altho' he
has not yet been examined, his testimony
will be given in due .time, and must have
great weight with the public, if not with the
Senate.
WOMEWS RIOIITS - itave achie4ed an ex
treme illustration in the Paraguayan war.
LOPEZ has . organized and armed a;corps of
four thousand women, under the command
of Brigadier General ELrze iincrt, an Irish
woman, who is said to be 'the real, ruling
spirit in the bitter ,conflict . against the allied
invaders. To this brigade of AMEIZOOZ has
been entrusted the guarding of very im
portant passes and fords, , strategic positions
of too much consequence to he confided to
the less reliable sex. They will also take
part in offensive operations, and are said to
be remarkably fearless of expasuretabullets
and steel. .
Tam Senators from Arkansas were yes
terday admitted to their. seats. That State
has been unrepresented for about seven and
a half years, and she resumes her Senato
rial privileges under a government for the
first time, as far as it concerns her, thor
oughly Republlcsu2. Her. Senators with
drew from, a body .which Southern slavery
had ruled with an iron hand, not always
under a velvet glove, for over. seventy
years; they return to Senate which ac
knowledges its highest responsibility to the
whole Union, to Liberty, '‘ and to all the
Rights of Man. As Arkansas has,learned
thelesson, so her sister States In rebellion
will soon in the Same way realize that revo
lutions never go backward, and that the pro
gress which they would have retarded in
the interest of Aristo_critcy and ;Special
Privilege, has only been acelerated, biting
even themselves to ti higher and purer con
ception of Republican Institution& ,
SCIENCE - ••ITS PROGRESS AND HINDRANCES,
Baccalaureate Address Delivered by Geo.
Woods. - 141 L. D., Pre sident of the West.
ern University of Pennsylvania, Before
the Graduating, Class, dune 23, 1.8615.' .• ~,
A mere outline of the history of Science
would require volumes: Our purpose at•
the present time is barely to touch on a fer
.
points to show its progress and the obstacles
it has to encounter.
Cleveland, Silnman, aruiliitchcock found—
..
ers, in this country,-oflilineralog,y Chemis .
try and Geology, have just died. We have
_
often-listened to:the - - iamied,. Lardner who
had asserted` that a ' steamer could' 'never
cross.theocuiri, and that a locomotive could
never be drivert - livee•forty zmiles -- ter . htnir.':
„ ,
He was brought to this country in a steamer
and 'was dirtied*inite - of otir Own 16COnio-
fives . st the rate.. of sixty Miles per hour.
,
Now they .are .driven .seventy miles per
hour, though less than fifty years ago Geo.
.
Stephenson, ' , whose name will ,exer be con
. la
motive
netted with the history of l lg:miv en:
gines; tieVellalat the4ute'of only elk miles
per hour.
The present rapid travelling in connection
with the recent 'discOveries L in Astriiriomy,,
giving us a knowledge of larger planetsthan
ours, and at enormous distanges, renders
men discontented with our own earth, once
I revered for its mysterious vastriess: - :f We
have often heard a distinguished Professor
of Chemistry affirm, in lecturing: on Magnet
. ism, that an iron steamer could never cross
the Atlantic, in consequence of theinflUence
of the iron on the magnetieneedle. The
raiiid multiplication of text books and:the in
troduction of new terms in Science, are evi
dence of progress. ' - • .
He who has omitted this, study, for One.or
two years-will hardly recognize' the terms
Cycloscope, Stomatoscope, ShyruograPh;
Pangenesis, Derraichthys, Toxodograph,
Bolide, Phonantograph,.Photomicrography,
words not to be found in our dictionaries.
The text book we used in Botanygave
sixty thousand as the -known .species of
plants; now, an able foreign writer places
them at three hundred and twenty thousand.
The known species of :birds have been in
creased from one'thousand to twenty `thou
sand; the various forms of animal life with
which the Zoologist deals are two million; a
single visit of ourillustrious Agassiz to Bra
zil,. added two thousand, to the known spe
cies of fishes- -'.• - '
Within a century, at least two if not
three planets and 97 asteroids have been
added to ,our solar system; the paths and
laws of many comets luive been discover
ed; the stars have been classified; improved
telescopes have extended our knowledge of
thesuniverse hundreds of millions of miles;'
Geology, in dignity and , grandeur. second'
only to Astronomy, has started into life,
and has read the history of our earth through
hundreds of thousandii\/ of years, disclOsingi
the gradual development of vegetable and,
animal life, and revealing to us the strange
and wonderful beings which swam our wa
ters, walked our earth, and floated through
our air, as well as making known the pres
ent . treasures beneath our earth's surface,•
a Davy, Volta, Faraday, Ampere,. and.
Rulunkoff, have raised Electricity from a
few facts to a science of the greatest interest
and importance, decomposing the most re
fractory substances,-giving
us new metals,
plating them without the•aid of beat, fur,•.'
nishing us the coil in power rivaling gun
powder, and enabling us to transact busi
ness, and converse with others in distant
parts of our own land, or in distant
lands, as if present; Chemistry has
been born; the valuable terminology and the
balance have been introduced into this.sci
ence by Lavoisier• heat has been applied as
lifting a moving force, our ores • from the
I mines, driving our mills, and propelling our
Icars; Daguerre has compelled the sun to
gives us instantaneous images, of marvellous
nicety and accuracy, of 'the human form,
the enchanting landscape, the lofty proci
pice, or the distant planet; and a kirehoff,
and Bunsen, using the same rapid messen
ger with their alkaline tests, have told us• l
the substances composing distant heavenly
bodies.
"To-day," says Dumas, "man has ac
-
gutted the right to•say matter and the force*
which it obeys contains no secrets which I
do not know '
or shall not be able at some
future period to discover; the history of the
earth has no longer any mystery for me; I
am present at its earliest ages; 1 reconstruct
the beings whom it hits nourished; I know
the precise date of the transformations,
upon Its surface; my eye - penetrates
the profundity of space; , I assig. n to each
star its place in the orbit in which it must
move; I weigh the sun; I analyze the sub
stances of which it lis composed, as if it
could be placed in m crucible, and I can
say of what elements the stars consist
which decorate the vaults of Heaven, even
those, the lights fro which require ages to
n i t
travel to the focus w ere the observer per
forms their dissecti n n upon our earth; I
play with the forces of nature; I transform
the light into heat, the heat .into light, elec
tricity into magnetisni, magnetism into elec
tricity, and 'all of these forms of activity
into mechanical power ; I convert one com
pound into another; I imitate all the pro
cesses of nature dead, ;and the majority of
those of nature living; I render at will the
earth fruitful or sterile; I give to ,it or take
from it the power to nourish the plant.
Life Is an open book where from. the em
bryo egg to, the death 'of the animal I read
without - obscurity the role of the blood
which circulates, that of the heart which
beats, and of the lungs which respire; that
of the musclea which obey; of the nerves
which convey the order; of the brain which
commands; of the • stomach which digests
of the chye which regenerates. „Ia fine.
apply to my use all of the forces and all of
gift&of nature."
Such are the disecivthies of modern sci
ence that they constitute a poem more sub:
lime than has ever yet been addressed to the
intellect and imagination of man. The
natural philosopher of to-day may dwell
amid conceptions which beggar those of
Milton. • •
The rapid succession of valuable inven
tions and discoveries during the past -centu
ry forms a striking contrast with the vast
periods intervening;between great discover
ies in former times. From the time of Ar-'
chimedes until the 'epoch of, Galileo, 2,000
years, the science of mechanics made abso
lutely no , progress. After the .first discov
ery of the fact 'of attraction and repulsion
of bodies.tincOr the influence of electricity,
some 600 years before Christ, for about 2,000
Tears hardly.any advance was made in this
important science. SO it was with astron
omy. The compass I WAS invented 2,009
years before Columbus thought' of entploy
ing it in order to discover; the New WOrld.
Seven hundred years - were required to
convert the fixed clock ;actuated by weights
into a portable clock.'• Cannon were not cast
till 700 years after gunpowder was brought
to Europe.
More recently Newton . and . Leibnitz
Simultaneously invent the calculus; ; , Caven
dish, Witt and Lavoisfer contest the discov
ery of the composition of water; Davy
and George. Stephensim, the invention of
the safety !amp.' MOW; Adams and Leverrier
simultaneously determine the existence ofa
remote planet, and calc late its place in the
heavens, - and ',MOM: "a, , Jackson contend
for the invention of 4heiitiagnetto telegrapht
Tyndal andrrofessora. v m. Thompsonnnd
PITTSBURGH GAZETTE , i WEDNESDAY; JUNE 24, 1868.
Taft eatry on - •"a - ,tnofit!acrirnbulo t f a .41ifielts.
sic%
as to: he comparative Merits_ of JOUIPt.
Seguin arid Mayer, founders of me
chanical theory of heat:'
As we follow a stream from its home on
some Mountain top, down its side; Widen
ing, - and- deepening, till it becomes the
mighty river,-
,sweeping, on to the ocean, so
can we trace the' different sciences from their
humble origin, a single fact or discovery,
through many centuries of the self-denying
toil of its friends, to:the-matured and useful
science. How have years and ages paseed
away with only . here and there a ray of
light to mark the pathway ! - •
' How have anxious-hearts yearned and la
ilbored,sometimes standing on the very verge
of the grandest result's. without being per
: nfitted to enter on the rewards! How much
fruitless effort till 'the true path was found!
How did the ardent and enthusiastic Kep
ler struggle on day and night forlong weary .
~years ta verify his theories, and then find
them, as he says, go "of in smoke." Noth
ing;tlaiintedi never -abating -in: hiiii-enthusi-..
asm one leitz—as vigorous on the moment
after failure as on the eve tat expected.,dis
covery;-Iree re - commentes"andpresses on
till his three laws arc discovered, when in
the gush of his delight, he exclaims, ,"noth.
ink holds me; I will. indulge in my. sacred
tbry; I will triumph over mankind by the .
honest confession that I have stolen the
golden vases of the Egyptians to build up a
tabernacle for my God far away from the _ 1
confines of Egypt."
The beginning of every science is form--
less,.chaotie. Slowly and gradually, preju
dices, discrepancies and contradictions dis
appear; ancla system harmonizing in all its,
points: and with other sciences, andbectuti
ful in its proportions is evolved. At first
the existence and character of every fact is
denied by one class, and its importance and
effects greatly exaggerated by another. The
latter would from a single fact, or a few
facts imperfeetly - understeod, deduce a con
clusion, Wholly un*arranted, and entirely
opposed to well established truths; the for
mer would deny facts certain and positive.
So with wild enthusiasm unrestrained by
reason on the one hand, and doubting un
belief, and stubborn adherence to opinions
supposed to conflict whlcnewly discovered
facts on: the alter, contending and struggling
science has advanded to its manhood. And,
it is a singular fact that scientific men de
manding the fullest credence to their fact!,
and theories have most - violently opposed
advances made in other departments.
The numerous and great inventions and
discoveries of the present , century have not
been without their direct and re
sults. There are other and higher
ends to be attained- by study than
immediate pecuniary gains. Yet these;
are not to be entirely overlooked.
Astronomy has enabled the, merchant to
send his richly laden ship across the track- 1
less ocean safely to the destined port. Geol-
cgy has opened the great store-house of I
earth's treasures, and Chemletry has ana-1
lyzed these substances, giiing to us the pure 1
metals, has contributed largely to the arts, '
"and has shown how to preserve and prolong
life. Had Science been mere carefully !uter-
I•rogated, much valuable time and larg
toe sums
of money would have been-saved those
who have sought to discover perpetual mo
tion, to collect alcohol from baking bread;
tourmaline would not have been mistaken
i
for coal, or snlphuret of iron for gold,
ast, and Science are mutual helpers.
Many of the arts require for their successful
prosecution an acquaintance with the higher
branches of science either in the workman
or the person who directs his operations,
and it is, equally true. that there are
important branches -- of science - which
could make no progress if the arts had not
been sufficiently advanced to supply the
philosopher who studies them with the ap
paratus of - which he stands in need. It is
especially to those arts which are susceptible
of great perfection and exactness in their
execution thatthe sciencestare most indebt
ed. The brilliant discovertes in Modern
times In electricity, magnetism, optics and
astronomy, and hi chemistry, phisiology
andnatural history would not, have been
made if the lasted not providedithe need
nary astronomical and- mathematical instru
ments, and the thousand ingenious 'inven
tions which furnish the philosophical appa
ratus of the scientific investigator. '
The improved - agriculture, complicated
and nice machinery, the inventions and dia
coveries in the minute and the' grand are
owing to the influence- of science on art
and art on science. A high, state of one will
beget a corresponding state in
- the other.
Botany, entomology and physiology , are
greatly indebted to the microscope' astron
omy to the telescope and clock; engineering
to the steam hammer and theodolite; chem
istry and philosophy to the numerous instru
meats requiring the greatest ingenuity and
skill for their construction.
Even each study as a professional man
may be able to give to , the sciences will
tend to liberalize the mind and to free it
from the groundless fears and bitter pre
judices often indulged in by, good men, and
men, in other departments of knowl
edge, Intelligent. „
There are many men self-styled conserva
tives, fossils of another period, exhibitors of
the efects of a retarding force on society,
who consider the opinions their fathers held
as the only ones eVer to be 'cherialted, and
who most obstinately oppose all that is new,
as false, heretical and pregnant with the
greatest evils. If only such men lived all
progress would cease. They have the spirit
of the persecutora of Galileo, two centuries
ago, and would, if the times permitted it,
most willingly join in stepping all advance
at whatever cost. Their spirit is shown by
the "authorltave
.eider" who, when
the great and good Midland, early
in the present century, was sent to
E the Alps and Italy t remarked, "Well,
I I3uckland has gone to Italy; thank god, we
I shall hear no more of his Geology;''- or bet
ter, by the young German, Martin Horkey,
who said, when lie refused to look through
the teleaeope of the vene.rable Galileo,
whose head was white with his llelightthl
watching!, of the heaven*, "I -will never
concede his four planets, though I die for it."
"Repose-loving man care* not to be die
turbed by discoveries; he prefers old opin
ions, as Solder' liked Ins old allppersbeeaUsa
they were easier for his feet,"
There have ever been men not - , especially
skilled in science who halm °Witted to til
rect what Men may, army not.bellove, We
have often been pained to find some of these
in the most useful and noble of all prays.
sions. History will not by any means ini
quit them of all intolerance - and want) of
fairness, learned and liberal AS most Of t . houi
are. Everything differing from their Vinws,
however false, and however shallow their
knowledge,` is - violently 'denounced, To
claim that the earth Is more/ than (IMO
years old, thatdeath took place on it belbre
this comparatively recent period, that, the
heretofore cominonly received interpretation
of the Mosaic record is not strictly true, Is
hereficaland wicked.
The) mpute Batman folly to the Almighty
in coati. ding that he made attempts through
long periods to create living beings, and
that we have throughout the different strata
of the earth an infinite number of example!,
of his fidleires to do so. Recently one who
holds one of the highest ecclesiastical posi
tions said, "Ilere, too are Darwin and
Huxley with insidious Pedantry of pretended
science training up man from the oyster and
,the clam. Then comes that broader geller
,alization of the atheistic formula; - the corl
`relation offoro* driving the creator cut af
creation, and slak ing the tontine `and tha
eirt.fethoughtliziff being, Man had Go,d, the,
testdis_offorce !"' :Here is .an example.;of,
the choice eplibiti of scorn Which small"
men, or men-ef; no , elevation at all, cast
most gladly as those whom they do not un
derstand. The author would. be classed by
Babbage among those whose contracted in
formation renders them eminent examples
of the fact that the extent of human knowl
edge is very limited. •
The opinions of such a man'as Darwin.
ranking high among the -most scientific' of
English scientists, and universally beloved
for the geniality of hi nature, the honesty
of his purposes,-and t ie modesty of his tit
i
terances; who has ost industriously de
voted his life to a particular subject, are not
.refuted by'the aspersions: ii: ignorant Meri t :-
whatever their raisition in Church or State.
Declamatn is no argument, . No one who,
is at all fa m iliar with writings, .however
opposed hMay be to his theory, will ques
tion his t orough knowledge of his subject.
Standing s his theory does unproved, there
exists no ecessity for , harmonizing it with'
revelatio : - -.-•
.
The ews of such men as we have re
ferred t do not•now control publicephilon.
The wo ks and opinionsef men Who are the ,
best inf ' ed on the sfibjec4 on Whichthey
write :'w 11 be read and considered. The
mind is ree. ,Dictation is not submitted to.
Facts 1 ell established. will-.he believed.
Evidencr sufficient,' 'and. more than sullif
dent, to coivince impartial' en will bere- ,
ceived. ; Some may- doubt, deny, and op
pose. The greatest discoveries h avev met
with opposition—and reproach' and suffer
ing have been the rewards of their authors.'
Marvey, Jenner, and Fulton suffered and
were derided—scorn and obloquy were ,
heaped on them. ,
"Some day the King's mails will go by ,
railway, and railways will be the great high-1
ways, of this country," said George Stephen- •
son, and for thinking - and saying so he was '
hounded as a "mischievous fool: ' "To inect:
die with the corn laws would be madness,"
said Lord Melbourne, then Prime Minister
of England. To denounce htnnan slayery
as a crime and sin, a few rears ago, exposed
the author to the anathemas of priest and
people—to disgrace:and imprisonment. ,
Men will not now refuse to believe that
two bodies of the same Matter, of unequal
size, fall in equal tiniee if they see it,
through fear of the consecluenceti. Truth is
not harmful. Opposition May serve to sift
out the truth, and to reject ill-founded the-
ories. The tendency has been to build
theories on insufficient data, and to assign
as causes what are not really such. Men
like to give reasons for phenomena, The
early theories of heat and electricity were
wholly &ice, but these theories led
to experiments, full of good fruits. A
long time elapsed before sufficient facts were
known to establish correct theories, yet
when these were announced they were'
stoutly opposed. The fruit has not always
been what was expected.. Good has been
found where evil was apprehended. From
Astrology came Astronomy; from Alchemy
came Chemistry. As the most beautiful
colors are extracted from the most nnat- .
tractive substances, and sugar from rags, so
we may not despair of gleaning some good
even from - the crudities and arrogant as
sumptions of Mesmerism and Spiritualism.
They may open the why to the noblest and
best of Sciences, affording the greatest com
fort and joy to the heart. The lull in Sci
ence now is but the marshalling of her forces
for fresh and great victories. We see no
reason why her discoveries and trioniphs are
not to increase, and her harvests be
come more abundant and richer. Long
ago a distinguished Christian scientist
affirmed that "a time may arrive, wheu
by the progress of knowledge internal evi
dence of the truth of revelation may start
into existence with all the force that can be
derived from the testimony of the senses."
Count Rumford ' little thought, when he
was producing heat by friction, of the grand
results to science in the dynamical theory of
heat, as developed by Tyndal and others.
Neither did Galvani dream I that his simple
experiments with the frog •ofild result in
flashing correspondence' t m continent to
continent, and in a science rich
in practical fruits. relation to
t iv,
divine truth,' people too ' often feel
that we have no right to think differ..
ently, or to express the same thoughts differ
earl r from established custom. The -mantle
. of charity which ourholy religion provides,
is - often so contracted in length and breadth,
as to becoree invisible. We at once, ascribe
horns and hoofs to those who differ,
from us in sacred . things. If the
'torch cannot be applied, fierce' exe
crations Can be given, social excommunica
tier practiced, and the termsinfidelity, athe
ism, wo ks of the devil freely used. .
The bibl as well as science must be read
,by theires alone, either without - specta
cles or w th but one pair, and interpreted
by their Inds alone. In this enlightened
(7
age they manifest the spirit 'of those who,
two hundred years ago, at Hamilton, Scot
land, burned for a witch Jean Nasniyth, of
the family of the distinguished inventor of
that name; because she read the bible with
two pairs of spectacles. The past history
of science and the lasting shame of its op
posers are wholly forgotten. The weapons
are ever bright for new crusades against
any who may dare to advance anything
new. No fact will be admitted in Spiritu
alism, Mesmerism, Correlation of forees and
no new theory in natural history;,even if
they "die for it." ,
With the greatest solemnity we are told
that in the last days,"evil men and seducers
shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and
being deceived," that' flier° will be 'perilous
times—that there will be attempts to turn
men from the faith; and then they affirm
that them aro the times, and these the men
reftirred to in Holy Writ._ They - do,notglye_
unto faith the things that belong, unto faith.
They rittect the p r inciple ' laid down by Ly
ell, that "we should pot explain facts. by
suppose I causes of which we know noth
ing," n id attribute all they cannot other
wise tte mint for to the agency of the devil.
The e cur has been.and still is in suppos
ing that we have the correct interpretation
-of ever) text of Scripture. The'exegetist
with tit greatest assurance affirm that this
la exit° ly the moaning of Scripture, and
that till is not the Stet, and this is not the
truth ii science. Ho forgets that there: is
proves In religious as well as in physical
;truth, noof the most distinguished cite
pasta ir land Willem produced was pro
verbial for changing his views of different
texts,'. Discoveries in science have com
pelled different interpretations of Scripture.
- Said Galileo, more than two centuries
'ago,"l am inclined to believe that the in
tenton of the sacred Scriptures is to give
mankind the information Accessary, for
their salvation, and Whlelt surpassing all
human knowledge, can by no other'
means be accredited than ,by the
Jaunt,' of the Holy ,Spirit. But I, do
:not hold it necessary' to believe ,that' the
same God who has endovied us with senses,
with speech, anti with intellect, intended
that we should neglect the useof them, nor
seek by their means for knowledge, which
they are sufficient to procure us; especially
in a science like astronomy, of which so ,
little notice is taken In the Scriptures, that
none of the planets_excopt the Sun and
Moon, and once.or twice - only Venus, tinder
the name of Lucifer, are so much as named'
Mei°. This therefore being grtutted, I
think, ' that in -the ' discussion - of
nataial problems we ought not to begin at
the authority: Or texts of:l34tnie, but at '
sensible experiments and neseassry demon-,
strations; for,fromtize Divhrelrord i Bscred
beptt fr e s and nature did both alike pro-
I_conceiye that ~Cancerning-,natnr
ateffects; that —. Odell either sensible" expe
rience sets befi:ire our eyee, or necessary
demonstrations prove unto us, ought not
upon any account to be called in question,„
much less condemned upon the testimony of
Scripture texts, which'' May under • these
words crouch Senses; seemingly contrary,
thereto." . • - - '
The two books of Revelation and nature
are to be iiiterpreted so as to harmonize.
They have the Same author, an, infinitely
wise Being, who cannot be inconsistent
with himself. We have no right. to deter
mine his will and character from his works
, wheil he haa'given us a clearer revel
lation; 'neither are we at liberty, nor is it
just= to r Him, to' reject the ' feachinga•of
'works .; 1, Neither the scientist nor the exegete
alone, is 'tii' interpret both these . 1 olinueS:
Should .Darwin's theory of seleetionAie
' proved, to be true, we have no fear for the ,
Bible. 'We Zhave stronger Italian it than
r those seem to, have who-tremble and are fill
ed with the direst- , apprehensions at every
advance in science, lest the rocks or the
'.stars shall tell us there is no God, or that
the Bible is not. his word. Remembering
the past; and cherishing the tiniest confi..
!deuce in the , author of all thin'gs, we
, have no doubt that whatever . scienfic in
.vestigatior's inaY, be developed, science will
'be found' to:b e ,the ally and friend of the
. Bible., Those so apprehensive do discredit to
the Bible and to God,
_as if He might pen
tradict, or be inconsistent With, himself. ;;It,
is said that there have been erroneous:mid
false theories .deduced from science. =We
admit it. - So it has bedn'-with the .Bible; . the
numerous denominations all deriving 'their
creeds from the same book provd it; and all.
have; at different times more or less changed
their views of Scripture.
There are still many passages which no,
one can explain to the satisfaction of all.
The Archbishop of Dublin has 'well said,.
"As we must not dare.to withhold or dis
guise revealed religious jxuth, so; we must
dread the progress ,of no other, truth: , We
must not imitate the bigoted•Romanists who.
. imprisoned Galileo, and step - forward, Bible
in hand, (like the.profane Israelites carry
ing the ark of God into the field of battle)
to check the inquiries of the Geologist, the
'Astronomer, or the Political Economist,
from an apprehension that the cause of re
ligion can be endangered by them. Any
theory on whatever subject that is really
sound can never be inimical to a religion,
founded on truth; and any that is unsound
may be refuted by arguments drawn from
observation and experiment with Out (tailing
in the aid of revelation." •
Resting titan securely in God's revealed
word, and acknowledging with gratitude.
the discoveries made in science, revealing to'
us new sources of wisdom, joy' and wealth,
we wait patiently for future discoveries to
correct fake theories, and to,'harmonize all
discrepancies and apparent contradictions.
As the age of dogmatism has nearly
passed, so an age of• scepticism. has succeed
ed. Side by side with those who blindly ;
and wilfully
_insist on interpreting science
by their own narrow vocabularies are to.be
placed- those who can stand in,God's.tem
pie, behold the evidence of his being and
power, and still deny his existence and re
fuse to believe in his"written word. Spend
ing their whole lives in developing the pow
ers of nature, they practically worship dead
matter, rather than the living God. They
reject the Bible and a great First Cause.
Hastily seizing on, the discoveries of the
great and on the few facts they have learned,
they exhibit particular delight in inter.
preting these facts to suit theirlioslilitv to
religion. The same objection they bring
against the opposers of science—that they
interpret the Bible independently of the
teachings of. nature—may be urged with
;,equal force against them. They in
'erpret the works of God without
any regard to'his clearlyinitteil - will. They
would refuse assent - to the Bible till all
science is fully understood, and' all discrep
ancies between the two yotumes are com
pletely reconciled._ Because , it may be, they
cannot fully cbmprehend revelation, they
reject it, and admit all the" teachings •of
science which they . still less Understand.
They forget the - remark of the eloquent
Robert Hall that "a religion without its
mysteries would. be- a temple, without its
God." , Their Clod is , blind law—matter.
Ifdriven from one position they eagerly
seek' and delightedly find another. It.the
- nebular .theory of Laplace, greatly 6 their
disappointment, is found to supportinatead.
of contradicting" revelation, then they
betake themselves •to Geology: . If
convinced that it requires' the same in-'
finite intelligence to create 'universe by
process of development as by a single fiati,
and that therefore there - is nothing in the.
Geologic, opposed to, the Mosaic Tecord_,
then they seize' the unproved theories,of .
"antiqiiity of man," and "natural selection."
If driven by Ehrenberg with, his powerful
.microscopmfrom the: position 'that: certain:
forms of animal life are spontaneously pro
duced, they, retreat to lower forms and to`
the simple - cell from which the various forms
of .animal lite are produced.. 'Having
reached 'the present limit of , investigation
they joyfully exclaini,.' nee intersit dew,.
They find in Darwin'a theory what lie him:
self does not assume..',' A few May hope to'
strengthen their scepticism by the doctrine
of cerrelation of forces. They. for
get. , that the r , monad, the . primary
germ, is to be accounted for; that there are
mysteries connected with life:toward which
science offers no clue whatsoever; that'our
ignorance of the silent power which bids
the oak spring from the acorn; or builds rib
from the simple cell the widely • differing
formi of life, - is Complete: Na
ture's. infinitude and -:man's 'littlenead
_they do, not see. They have opened'the'
great volume, of nature, and, have failed to
learn its greatest and most Valuable lessons.
One whine knowledge and position en
:title his opinion to great weight, in a letter
to me says: "I cannot conceive that: the
glorious truth of the unity, of force can con. ,
taro anything of Atheism., Rather does It
to my mind establish more 'firmly a one
great first cause, himself the q-source - of all
which call forcer For , no physicist has
ever asserted the unification of force to be
final; no one had ever claimed' that wriCan
dispense any the more with an intelligent
Director because, of No! Science can
only be Theistic. Upon every portion of
this fair creation is written in letters which
glow and glitter with holy fire, "There. is a
God."
Very few profoundly learned in science
are worshippers of the finite—undevuut
and mad. Hitchcock-, Dana; Kep
ler, Newton, Pascal, Boyle , Black, Dalton,
Whewell and numerous oth'etit did not fail
to see the Creator in.his.works etc Well' its in,
his written word; but were His 'humble and
devout worshippers. No pantheistic
osophY, dreantof the materislist ststaiii
ed the grand gifted old 'philosopher, By,
David .Browster, the high priest of science,
`as with unclouded intellect he.pa.ssed
lessly through, the valley -,of , death; the
all-simple rand all-suilicient- faith,... of ;a
very child sustained and gladdened him.
These scientists considered the evidence
'from both sources:/ They "fdund in the Bi
ble itself:evidence of its , truth, and in na,
Lure torroboration of its truth. They were
not ever seeking for Proof that''the Bible is
a - fable and God, a li Tyne ; scleace and
true relief:afar° iniePatable; Boleti;
flat who. attempts . a sePointion. likjnres
own;cause.been' said that !`sel
enee Koppers (*flatly in prOpiiiikdiaitisite.
,The great &Oda of philosophers
have been lee's the fruit of their intellect than
of.the directi 6 bn,nf • that infrilect ...an.emf.
, -
neatly religi ,us tone of mind. Truth.has'
yielded herself ratherto their Patience; their'
love, their single heartedne.ss and their self
denial thanf t 'O• their Icigical 'acumen.
We are no prepared to assent to the gen
eral assertion that the tOndency of scientific'
studies is to Scepticism and infidelity. If
instances cad he cited 'of those who have
made great a ttainments in science, who weft.
sceptical, wanswer the same may be said •
of even, mo re who were not so distinguish_ ,
ed.: ' DeductiVe science may have this effect.
3fathematical studies a're said make rum
'insensible to moral evidence.' `Theo pposite '
ffi
is armed- of Inductive Philosophy. • 11 1 6- :
"ascending frO great in facts to general prin
ciples is far' sable to a belief in a great
First Cause. • But few,. howevery-lave•
;distinguished i themselves `in'-tlus - de.
depaiitne,rit' f ••philnsopliy. ' There' have'
.been but few eat discoverers iii the whole'
histOry t- of mill 'Species, while eVertage has
furnished several ~ gbod „mathematicians.
In'ldolling liiek - ".over, the:path by whick
Science hassdvanceffto its present position,
we see the naines of great discoverers shine.'
out lihe lumitihries,-few and scattered-along
the ling by fi the'-largest: Portion of the'
space is filled ley thnie•Whose'comparatively
humble office 1p was to` verify, to develope,
to apply thettrieral truths Whi6h discover-
ers brought to light. Galileo, ,is the father of
modern lifechanies,.Copernicus,, Xepler and
IlewtOn are the geeat_names,that mark the
prigresi of Astronomy.'.: -= -a;; , -:- '- ' • :
Bonaparte; observed- of Laplace, when he •
was placed 11114 public office of , considerable''.
importance, that he did not diseharge it in
so judicious and clear-sighted a Ingnner as
his - high intellhetual lathe might 'lead smile
to expect .. "He smight," said that 'great .
judge of chtiacter,' "subtleties in every
subject,- and- - rried into his official employ
ments the sPiiit of the medieffof infinitely
small quantitie'a bY Which the Mathematician
solkes his more abstruse prohlerns." '
If this viewlhf this department of philos
ophy be true, hrr the- opinions of its stu
dents / on•religi „ ,
us miners should have less
weight than otherwise. • Even if it -be not
true their opiiiions are not oracular. , - Be- '
cause they may have seen a mailer body'
with the - niicipscope, or 'a larger one with,
the telescope"br elder hones-Of an extinct
species of anithali, than others, they are not
consequently hetter fitted than other men to
decide whethe, there be a God, or whether
the Blble be true. There is too strong a
disposition 114 certain class- to i receive as
true whatever is affirmed by scientific men
great or small, Hugh Miller said, "Thefe.
is a species of superstition - which inclines
men to taken trust ~whatever assumes
the name of ' science, and which
i
seems to be a e-action on, the old supersti- .
tion that had faith in Witehes, but none in.;
Sir Isaac NeAon, and •• believed in ghosts, - •
but feared to i:credit the. Gregorian Calen-.
dar.” More ; Ism:illy : than formerly. the
masses credit cience and reject the Bible, -
and therefore the More careful should ,
scientific men be, not to assume from in- .
sufficient data; theories really or apparently . •
i
opposed to the Bible.
_They, should see
how many,',iliScoverles and theories once
alPPosediie te ei t itl7 ; th n iile ' have
beerfound;onlc,anCoize witk but to shed new
light upon, its teachings.,
The Bible shOuld be • studied as • well as
nature; a Butie r i; j and a Paley, as well as a
Lyell and a D in; and if the Bibletested
by all the rules of evidence is found to be.
true, then. we Should ''not-allow anything
I to
to diminish Our faith in it - i
Nc n
terpretations roc a feir 'fragments of
God's worksshould - tiiiisd -us to reject it.
-We do not sefi aside hriman wills, plainly , .
written and shown to be authentic,' because
we cannot , with all the works
of their authorS; performed many years be.
fore the wills were made.
Both ihe clashes of which tie have spoken
are equally unwise and 'are" arraying oppo
btion against w t they themselves hold to,
The evidence in each case [ is independent,.
La
but being by' the same author will not, be •
fourid to be eintradictory. Our faith in -
ll:ie.:Bible as, God's word . can never be .:
shaken: his wirks can never . contradict
it. When full, understood they will bring -;
their well earn' d gifts and pour them on the
altar of religion:'' -•- ' -: -;' ' - - ' " -
Having faith then in the' continued. pro
/real-• .
ai of s cience; believ ing iit.iti nece s sity to - -
improVement in - art, :in ' the benefits
,bf. the :..,
.study to mind ittid ,heart, end, having firth,: :-'
~that
confidence i a more full and clear reve-. •
lation, evidence' of the truth.of which is in- . •
dependent of seience i let usrwillirigly . and -1
:leagerlyliaten th its teachings. • - - .
We delight in , the , works of 'thotil whom
:we leove;•• . inn& more . :Should '' we 'find" I '
pleasure and profit in . the works of a Being
infinite l& all" is Perfections:— They are,
"eminently fitte if studied in a prOper man
ner,, with &de ; to, learn , the truth, ,to af
ford : s
ford us pure, pleasure, ~t o enlarge .the mind
and heart and hring, us near to Him whose ..
"goodness is urfsearchable;) and • 'his ways
past findinpitit." l - ,' - ' ' ! ~- •
Let us learn to look from The 'finite ito the
Infinite, rejoicing that 'we 'rile - nOt. limited,
to truths revealed in GOrri' works;'. grand
and'gbiriOus as they 'are, but above and.be
pond even thes we may . leiirri„ to know
Rini whom to ow , aright is life eternal.
,
following was unanimously adopted
by the Louisvil e Board of Trade yesterday:_
_-
"Whereas, the General• Government ;du
ring the preSent session . of 'Congress,
through the Committee on Appropriations,
has reported irilfavor ' of granting• certain
sums for River lend Rarbor improvements,
including specified sums for overcoming_
the rapids of WC Mississippi, and towards
dompletihwthe 'work of the enlargement of ,
the Louisville and Partiiind Canal,there
fore be it, R4soiveci, by , the Louisville
hoard of Trade,litbat nrgently request
our • Representatives in Congress to en
deavor to carry out 'the objeet of the Corn
mittee onApprdpriations for, the contem
plated River arid; •Harbor,improvements,
and especially the enlargement of the Lou
isville and Portland4mM!
-`• 1,
,
MARRIEDi . • ; ' - •
" 1
BARB-:-MerAll AND,--Ozt the 4th 'Of May, at
the brldiraincithi etis, `by, Bev. JQbi Wagner,
M. BARB; el Plttsitiegh; and 'ISADIM b. 'BicPX.It t
LAND, cif Shailyairie;. ; -• L L • -
DIED:_
- • POWERB.-On Bator
Penn
20th, lot Intl:tries
'received on the Weetern - rrntta:. Railroad, on the
18th of April..,nlLl) Mr, THOMAS POWE.It. of
Pair view, 'lndiana township, Alleghenyeounty, Pa.,
In the 69th -year OA, .-- • •
'TOWER.Mondi i ti,' Awe; 22d, -1868, BIRDIE,.
infant slauehter of A, U. and ItebeqC42oWer, aged
veara and 1 moo , • •p. •
. 4 • •
Fut:karat. from,ho reeidettee, 3 . 1A4
Fourth' street. •at S, 0 7C 1 °4' P:M: YrEtP"Ai-,
( 'arC re
2ilth Ertetianny spectfidi
y
Invited te' ittend n. 1
.-
?r ihe
BR'ADF4ORD-OlLlTnesdat eveillrui, ...lune 23d, at
, 614 o.olook p, WILLIAM ORD. •
The futieral will take plaiO front th residence of
his mother, • NO.'l!7' Beaver .Acenite,'. Allegheny
tier, Ott TIIIIRSDiir MORITINO., 2 1 .the - 25thi at , lo
'invitad to attend:
Weloak:. -Tile:Mende of the 'family 'are respectfully
. ,
, 11 -.01 : 11 1RAN.-Cha itLonday morning., - atter a brier
.iness,. J 4 4 4 tEit.C1JRWi l *nth° With : yearof ;his
line funeral t eplkif from tlie,..ett4ence of
kite mother'," (iind tater, gra,: InineiMio,):Nevillo •
atreet,-.4omotegb NtrEptc4o4.4x Ito,ttm2to; 21th
Met.; at 10 oYeI6OXI ThiCfrlet!dit or titeffirnl4; ara
reepeitfolly tnilltetto ahead,
• (Mr. Outran had Ohlxreeett:tfy'returoed from Oal.g.
tfornta, after an atOenee of aeferat"yeara, I the
prime of maattotitt,lfhil Of holm for a ith harettefot
ithiliTraeut •autnaroui:pri tuf o and
4 0 ,1818 .R 0 mearr l mimed ease mart bla Aaaiva_
WY.. 'Tex* alait'llt the Intdat, of Ate." ha. been
mtxte,lasairede weloolite awaited Mai on ail
eines; amaall .11artotber Irorkttbadahhn batten.
tblthav ,atow Qua mural .ralototag. Wt. aro •
forayer tir
,t at our oFit haa, left( 1141‘44
Aland fOrsirar:lA - . , ; A •