The Express.
London, England, 1867-09-07 00:00:00

PROFESSOR TYNDALL'S LECTURE TO WORKING

MEN.

At eight o'clock last night a meeting of working men
was held in the Kinneird-ball, in connection with the
meetings of the Association. to hear a lecture by Profemor
Tyndall on "Matter and Force." The hall was densely
crowded with working men. The Duke of Buccleuch
presided. On the platform were Lord Kinneird, Sir John
Ogilvy, M.P., Mr. Grant Doff, M.P., and Sir John
Lubbock,
His grace was loudly cheered on taking the chair. In
introducing the lecturer, be expressed pleasure at seeing
so large a meeting of intelligent working men willing and
anxious to receive instruction._ _

Professor TYNDALL delivered • long and interesting lec-
ture illustrated by numerous experiments, showing the
attraction of one magnet by another, the power of magne-
tised iron, the mode of reducing water to its constituent
gases and again bringing them together decomposition
of nitrate of silver by electricity ; all being shown by
an electric light when required, which light was
shown naked at the close of the lecture. In
closing his lecture, Professor Tyndall said :—One fun.
daniental thought pervades all these statements—there is
one taproot from which they all spring. This taproot is
the ancient maxim that " out of nothing nothing comes"
—that neither in the organic world nor in the inorganic is
power produced without the expenditure of other power—
that neither in the plant nor in the animal is there a crea-
tion of tome or motion. Trees grow, and so do men and
hones, and here we have new power intmaantly produced
upon the earth. But ite source, as I have already stated,
is the sun, for he it is that separates the carbon from
the oxygen of the carbonic acid, and thus enables them
to recombine. Whether they recombine in the furnace
of the steani.engine or in the animal body, the origin
of the power they produce is the same. In this sense,
we are all souls of fire and children of the sun. But,
as remarked by Kelniboltz, we must be ocatent to
share our celestial pedigree with the meanest living
thing. The frog and the toad, and those terrible things
the monkey and the gorilla, draw their power from the
same mums as man. Some estimable persons present
may possibly shrink from accepting these statements.
They may be frightened by the apparent tendency
I towards what is called materialism—a word which to
many minds expresses something very dreadful. But
it ought to be known and avowed that the physical
, philosopher as such meet be a pure materialist, and his
inquiries deal with matter and force, and with them
alone. The action which be has to investigate is nem'-
, szari
nacottitt,anottimmotfanmeoauts action—the
ter enforce—and
transformationw
tever
be the forms which matter and force may 'Jennie, whether
in the organic world or the inorganic, whether in the coal-
beds and forests of the earth or in the hand and muscles of
men, the physical philosopher will niche good his claim to
investigate them. It is perfectly vain to attempt to • stop
investigation as to the actual and possible combinations of
matter end force. Depend upon it, if a chemist by grind-
ing the proper materials together could produce a baby, he
would do it. And why not ? There is no command forbid-
ding him to do it. His inquiries in this direction are limited
solely by his own capacity and inexorable laws of matter
, and force. At the present moment there are, no doubt,
persons experimenting on the possibility of producing
what we cell life out of inorganic materials. 'Let them
pursue their studies in peace. It is only by such trials
that they will learn the limits of their power. But while
I thus make the largest claim far freedom of investigation,
while I, as a man of science, feel a natural pride in the
achievement, while I regard science as the most powerful
instrument of intellectual culture, as well as the most
powerful ministrant to the material wants of men—if
you ask me whether science has solved, or is likely to
solve the problem of this universe, I must shake my
head in doubt. We have been thinking of matter
and force; but whence came matter! whence came
force? You remember the great Napoleon's ques-
tion. When the somata who accompanied him to
Egypt discussed in his presence the problem of the uni-
verse, and solved it to their own apparent patidaction, he
looked aloft to the starry heavens, and said, " it is all
very well, gentlemen ; but who made all these?" (Cheers.)
That questioa still remains, and science makes no attempt
to answer it. (Cheers.) As far as I can see, there is no
quality in the human intellect which is tit to be applied to
the solution of the problem. It entirely transcends us. The
mind of man may be compared to a musical instrument
with a certain range of notes, beyond which, in both dime-
tiona, we have an infinitude of silence. The phenomena
of matter and force lie within our intellectual range ;
and so far as they reach we will at all hazards push our
Inquiries. But behind, and above, and around, all the
real mystery of the universe remains unsolved. Fathom
this mystery as you will. With that I have nothing to
do ; but be careful that your coneeptinn of the Builder
of this Universe is not an unworthy eoneep ion. Invest
that conception with your grandest and highest and
holiest thought, but be careful of pretending to know
more about it than is given to man to know. Be careful,
above all things, of professing to see in the phenomena
of the material world the evidences of Divine pleasure
or displeasure. (Cheers.) Doubt tLose equally who
pretend to see in cholera., cattle plague, and bad harvests
evidences of Divine anger. Doubt those who say—and it
requires courage to say this in Scotland—doubt those who
say that the depreciation of railway scrip le a conse-
quence of railway travelling upon Sunday. They know
nothing about it. Say to them in substance what was
said by the mightiest Seotchman living or dead—Thomas
Carlyle—(applause)—to the followers of Dr. Pusey
The Builder of the Universe was else.
He formed all souls, all systems, planets, p
The plan he formed his worlds and aeons by
Wm—Heavens thy small nine•and.thlriy articles t
(Loud and prelonged cheers.)
• -- • - ••

. -
The Duke of BUCCLZUCH, in proposing thanks to this
lecturer, said that if he thought the cultivation of science
would create doubt or scepticism, they would nut have seen
him in that chair. (Cheers.) People might talk about
inex.rable laws of nature ; but whatever idea we attached
to the word nature, we must be obedient to nature's God.
(Cheers.) His grace expressed gratification at presiding
over so vast a meeting of working men, and said that so
long as the same spirit animated working men that ant•
mated all present, what wa. called the aristocracy of
labour would always keep its place. It signified nothing
in what sphere a man might he born, his position would
be determined by himself. (Cheers.)
Sir Joint Omer proposed a vote of thanks to lb*
chairman, which was enthusiastically given, and the meet•
ing separated.