Then Hopkins stumbled into the controversy when Tyndall had asked him to send him all von Mayer's papers but he was as pro-German as Tait was pro-British when he published an article in 1868 stating that not only did von Mayer have priority but so did the German nation.
Pagkatapos Hopkins stumbled sa pagtatalo kapag Tyndall may nagtanong sa kanya upang ipadala sa kanya lahat ng von Mayer's papeles ngunit siya bilang pro-German bilang Tait ay pro-British kapag siya nai-publish ng isang article sa 1868 na nagpapahiwatig na hindi lamang did von Mayer magkaroon ng prayoridad ngunit ito ay ang German bansa.