The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-25 00:00:00

THE miaow SA 1I EVENIM ' 1866.

fined the ppeeooys upon which, is his opinion, biebilizte
°tight to b.a, te their attention, holding it essential
that they should poison a knowledge of unliving things,
ad should be acquainted with chymistry and physic,
but that it wea not their place to inquire into the origin
of man. At the same time, although various opinions
might be entertained ea to the Darwinian theory, lie be-
lieved the name of the &litho, would always be handed
down with honour es that of a man who tried to eluci-
date so grave a question.
Professor Huniphry, Mr. Wallace, Sir J. Lubbock, and
other gentlemen offered sonic remarks in the same spirit
which had pervaded Professor Huley's address, and the
papers in the list were then prom .Ued with. Of these,
the Int and most interesting wan one by
The Rev. F. W. FARIILII. of Harrow, which was " On
the Teaching of Natural Science in Public Schools."
While admitting the priceless value of the study of
&maim, he said there was a time in the education of youth
when it wsa an unmitigated failure, and that the obvious
evil might be removed in great measure by the bond fide
introduction of scientific study. After a certain age,
youths wbo had one through Greek, Lavin, mathematics,
and the modern languages+ ought to have a fair opportu-
nity of studying sure of the sciences bearing on the pro-
fessions which they intended to follow.
Lord AN BERLZT and other gi.ntlemen present supported
the recommendations put forward in Mr. Farrar's paper.

Stenos D.—DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY.
In this department, under the presidency of Dr. Hots-
▪ Mr. Jolts Devr, DLD., F.R.S., read a paper "On
the Colour of Man." After enumerating the varieties and
colours of the human race, and their connection with lati-
tude and climate, he proceeded to the consideration of the
probable causes to which the difference of colour was to be
referred. Of these he placed first, exposure to the sun's
rays ; next, warmth of climate and an average high tem-
peraturep=hout the year, under the influence of which
there a to be a tendency to the accumulation of
carbon in the system, as indicated by the little difference
of colour of the arterial and venous blood under the expo-
sure of a high temperature. He adverted to hereditariness
or ativiam as deserving of attention in considering the
colour of races, and more especially its importance as to
the great cpestion of unity or difference of race sb origine
how, if climate should be found to have greater effects
than blood in modifying colour, unity might be inferred,
and rice versa.

SECTION D.—DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY.
In this department Dr. Jan. HUNS read a paper on the
principle of natural selection applied to Anthropology, in
reply to views propounded by some of Mr. Darwin's
disciples. He contended that Professor Huxley and Mr.
WaLace had put an improper construction on Mr. Darwin's
works, when they represented his theory to be that man
originated from an ape or monkey. Dr. Hunt's view of
the subject was that man had originated from • plurality
of sources, viz., from many and various apes or monkeys.
Szerrote E.—GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY.
In this section Sir CHABLIS NICHOLSON presided at the
Mechanics' Hall, where it holds its sittings. The hall was
crowded in every part ' • indeed, there was not standing
room. The desire to hear from Mr. Palgrave's own lips •
description of his travels in Arabia drew the bulk of the
members and associates to this section, which is generally
regarded as • most interesting one.
Mr. W. G. PaLeitavg delivered a long and interesting
address to an andience of at least 1,200 persons. He
mid he was astonished during hie travels in the East at
the ignorance which prevailed in those countries about
Europe. Even in Damascus he had heard the whole of
Europe reduced to one confederate kingdom governed by
seven kings, who iulininistered the affairs of the villages
forming Europe. However, to an Arab from Central Arabia
the ideas of Englishmen as to him would not appear, more
correct. As illustrative of the ideas that prevail in the
east of Europe, be told the following anecdote :—At the
time peace was concluded after the Crimean war he was
the guest of a chief in Syria, who said to him that he was
glad to hear peace had been established between
the emerors of France and Europe. He (Mr.
Palgrave by appearing ignorant of the fact induced
the chief to give his views of the cause why peace was
concluded, which he did in the following terms :—lt had
pleased heaven to bless the Emperor of the French with a
son, whereupon the Emperor of France ordered the village
of France to be illuminated and guns to be fired. The
Emperor of Russia looked out of his window, and seeing
the village of France illuminated, called his prime minister
and asked him the cause of this. On being told, he said,
" Well, we are all Europeans and Christians, so let Russia
be illuminated, and letguns be fired in honour of the event.
The Emperor of the French, on looking out, saw the
illumination in Russia, and sent to know why
Ramie was illuminated. On being informed it was in
honour of the event that had taken place in France,
namely, the birth of a son to the Emperor, he sent to the
Emperor of Russia, and asked him to become godfather
of the boy, and the two Emperors consequently met at the
pariah church half-way between the two countries, and
there made it up, and a truce was agreed to. He then ex-
plained that there was a perpetual and determined feud
between the northern and southern inhabitants of Arabia,
which led to frequent fights, the northerners fighting
under a white flag, and the southerners under a red one.
So great was the hostility that • southerner meeting a
northerner would pick up a white flower and trample
it under foot, the northerner would trample on a
red one, wools ensued, then stones and blows. In
connexion with this hostility, a story existed in the
country of this kind, where the two parties were ranged
opposite each other and high words were going on, when a
young man worn with fatigue rushed to the front and
recited some verses, which be (Mr. Palgmve) had read,
and they were very beautiful, and told the young man's
love for a lady of the opposite party ; he having concluded,
a beautiful girl then rushed to the front, and in her turn
recited some impassioned verses. The two then, in the
approved fashion of lovers, rushed into each other's arms,
and fell down dead clasping each other. The feud was
hushed, and the parties agreed that those whom death had
joined should not be separated, and so a grave was dug
on the spot, and the two were buried clamed in
each others arms. The inhabitants of the north he de-
scribed as having quite a Jewish appearance, and so strict
in their observance of the Koran that the use of tobacco
was forbidden, as the Koran did not allow the use of any-
thing that would intoxicate. In the south the people were
round headed, and there was nothing of the kind, they
having no more religion than the negroes. Aa a proof
of the strictness with which the use of tobacco was con-
demned, he instanced the case of the Arabian Chancellor
of the Exchequer, who having been found smoking in his
own palace, was, in spite of the efforts to the contrary of
the Sultan, at once beaten to death. The Arabs were
not quite so particular with regard to strangers, those not
born in the country, but he never offended his
hosts by smoking his pipe, although he did it
privately. There was equal strictness in the matter of
religions worship ; this was enforced especially in the
capital, where every one had to attend the mosque, and
this was fortunate for him, foe when he was under sentence
of death he escaped from the town during the evening ser-
vice, when the guards were absent from the gates and at
the mosque. Every one belonging to a mosque had his
name called out, and must answer in Arabic, "present."
If he was not there a cominiadon, armed with pain sticks,
went to his house, asked why he was absent from the
mosque, and they then proceeded, as they called it, to
" purify his hide ;" a process that may be readily under-
stood, seeing the instruments necessary to it in vigorous
hands, palm sticks, and • convenient hide. The country
to the north and the central was comparatively barren,
it bad no river, and was utterly unimmovable, as were the
people themselves. In the south the country was ex-
tremely fertile, and the people much more impressible and
improvable. The Arabs proper, not the Bedouins (who
were the gipsies of Arabia), were most honest ; for a year
and a half he had travelled, carrying valuables and • con-
siderable sum of money, certainly hidden, but only
amongst his other property, and not under lock and key,
and he had never lost a single article, and when any of thZ
patients he attended heard he was about to leave the
villages, they would harry to him to pay if be had cured
them, the medical art being there carried on on the prin.
elide et "No cure, no pay." If any medical gentleman,
or any gentleman with a very limited medical
knowledge, could not get on at all here, he might do well
in Arabia, for in the Mayfair of the capital a house with
three rooms and a kitchen, a garden in front with • tree
in it, and every convenience, only fetched • rent of Is. 2d.
a month. That was the rent and character of the house
which the Sultan gave him, and he might here remark,
that the Sultan subsequently offered him a much larger
house and grounds, together with " domestic felicity," but
bad he accepted this offer, and taken one or more wives,
as was there allowed, he could never have left the
country, the bonds which joined • man to his partners
there binding him also to live there. He thought
parents here would not care to send their children
there for they would not be allowed to play
at marbles or anything of the kind, the only amusement
permitted to them being to perform a mimic of the reli-
gious service of the mosque. Having thanked the
audience for the attentive hearing which they had given
him, he resumed his seat amidst a tremendous round of
applause.
On the motion of Sir R. Meacflisoz, • vote of thanks
was accorded to Mr. Paigrava, whose re-appearance to
acknowledge it was the signal for another burst of
hearty applause.
Mr. JOHN CRAWFORD contributed an interesting paper
" On the migration of cultivated plants in reference to
ethnology."
A vote of thanks was returned for the paper.
Remote F.—ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND STATISTCS.
In this section, Professor Wltuaneole brought up the
report of the committee of the British Association on
scientific evidence in courts, which in substance stated that
in 1832 a committee of the association recommended that
in cases where scientific matters arose, judges should have
associated with them scientific men as assessors, whose
opinions should be taken before decisions were come to.
No legislative action had been taken on the point, other
courts of law were still at the mryof • class of scientific
witnesses, who might be called ' active witnesses," who
temilled on either side with • tendency to the side of the ques-
tion on which he was retained, his evidence being thus
confined to one view of the matter. It so happened, there-
fore, that the best class of scientific men declined to give
evidence in the courts, as it was inevitable that they
should be pythons and might be premeds; un-
truth and tnjuetioa No reason was shown why the

existing partial whores should be planed in the position
,of arbiters of cams at law. The system oscillated between
' two points ; eensidered imparnally it =lett advance
the Walt of untruth, and if taken as partial it was prac-
tioslly neutralised. What the committee desired wee
that certain skilled persons should be attached is indepen-
dent petitions to the courts, and bold the character of
judicial witnesses; and their action might tend to limit
the operation of the active and partial witnesses. They
could test the accuracy of the evidence of those witnesses.
Thais judicial witnesses would confine themselves to the
special matte ton which they were expert, and not inter-
jure generally in cane. Another sugg•estMn was that
dges should be assisted by assessors instead of judicial

In a discussion which followed, Mr. F.Dvnu HILL urged I
that there should be assesson and judicial witnesses also
Bic J. Bownutc hinted that the probable obstacle to the
adoption of the proposed system was the supposed om-
nismenoe of the judges
Professor LEONE Levi read the report of the committee
of the association "On Uniformity of Weights and
Measures." It stated that during the year steps of great
importancehave been taken to
_promote the adoption of
one common decilastem of weights and measures
both at home and abroad.
Professor LEON' LEVI submitted the report of the com-
mittee of the British Association on uniformity of weights
and measures. The report explained very fully the pre-
sent position of the metric system and the progress which
had been made during the past year. The committee
looked forward to the Universal Exhibition of Paris in
1867, and to the meeting of the International Statistical
Congress which was shortly to be held at Florence, an
occasion when international conferences on the question
of uniformity of weights, measures, and coins might be
held with advantage. At home the committee stated :
"The law is in a very anomalous state. Although the
Metric Weights and Measures Act of 1864 has rendered per-
missive and legal the use of such weights and measures, the
inspectors of weights and measures are by law bound to
seize any such weights and measures not duly stamped; and
since no means are now adopted for stamping them, the Act
is rendered inoperative. Seeing that the system is being
extensively introduced in many arta and manufactures,
and in commerce generally, it is much to be desired
that the law on the subject may speedily be amended.
The adoption of the metrinl system was advocated by
Mr. Yates Thomson, Mr. Fellowes, Mr. Stoney, Dr. Tom-
linen, ha
Mr. Yates explained the' instrument of Mr. Casella,
mentioned in the report. Mr. Casella also spoke on that
subject.
SzcnoN G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE.

A paper, which raised some rather animated discussion,
was read by Professor Reliance, " On the influence of Fric-
tion on the Cylinder on the efficiency of Steam," the prin-
ciple which he advocated being that the friction prevented
a waste of heat which would otherwise occur.
The next paper was by Captain NOBLE, R.A., " On the
Penetration of Shot and Resistance of Iron-clad De-
fences," which stated that he bad recently taken port in
some experiments on iron plates, which had been made by
the Ordnance Committee, and stated their results. The
experiments in question were directed to the solution of
the power of resistance of iron plates to steel shot ;
and though they had been only partially carried out,
enough had been done to prove that in the main penetra-
tion we. the rule. The experiments had been made on 44
and 55 plates, with shells and spherical shot; and
it was found that the plates might be perforated by heavy
shot at low velocity and light and high velocity ; while
the latter was probably the more effectual agent.
These results had been obtained by direct firing ; and
in regard to oblique firing, it was found that a much
greater force of shot was required to perforate. The diffe-
rence between cut-iron and steel shot wu marked in fa-
vour of the latter ; and in fact it was almost useless to
employ cast-iron projectiles against armour plates ; but
Pallinw's chilled iron was found to be as good as steel ; the
latter would be used only for shells. In regard to the
form of shot, the pointed-shaped was found to be superior
both to the flat-head and the hemisphericaL On the whole,
the result of the experiments which had been mad, was
that iron plates could be, as a rule, penetrated by steel
projectiles fired from a 12 ton gun, whether heavy at a low
velocity or light at a high velocity.
This paper was well supplemented by a communication
from Captain Galton, R.E., on the Chalmer'a target, and
another from Captain Wynanta on barytic powder.
In the discussion which ensued, it was stated by Captain
Calton that the latest iron ship builtbyithe Americans, the
Donderberg, was ship-rigged, stood out of the water, and
carried broadside guns, her sides being sloping ; she
had only one fighting deck in her bull; and this description
was confirmed by the Marquis of Lorn. In reference to
some severe strictures which had been made by the presi-
dent on the defective state of our national defences, Ge-
neral Lefroy elaborately defended them, stating that our
war-ships were superior to those of all other countries, our
guns in advance of all other artillery, and our fortifica-
tions the admiration of foreign scientific officers.