The Sun.
London, England, 1838-10-23 00:00:00

l.

THE PRESIDENCY OF THE itcri
SOCIETY.
(From the Literary Gazette.)
Last week's Literary Gazette contained a list -of tists:
Presidents of the Royal Society since its foundation ; thas
following remarks are submitted as a sequel:.- Many erro-
neous statements have been lately put forth Withrespea to.
the expense and state attendant upon the proikii
nified discharge of the office of its President. To that
large and enlightened class of persons who know the facts
of the case, those statements signify nothing—they only ex-
cite a smile ; indeed the incorrect manner in which many
of the distinguished names, mixed up in the obnoxious ar-
ticles in question, are spell, is quite sufficient to show that
the authors know as little of the matter as they do of
science or of scientific people. We need not go back to.
the days when Newton filled the chair of the Royal
Society, but date these remarks from the Presidency
of Sir Joseph Banks. The Society meets, vith a short
vacation at Easter and another at Christmas, every
Thursday evening, from the middle of November
till towards the end of June ; the expense to each
member is one shilling per meeting. When Sir Joseph
Banks was President, he gave frequent conversazioni in
his house (now occupied by the Linnwan Society), in ane
of the corners of Soho-square ; these conversazioni were
attended by hundreds of scientific and literary persons ;
Sir Joseph, ardently attached to science, and to suit his
own taste, rallied around him every traveller and person of
distinction in England ; for it is a well-known fact that no
collector ever left these shores without having a carte
blanche from him to purchase the rarest specimens in na-
tural history that could be found. As a proof of his suc-
cessful labours, we refer with national pride to the Her-
barium of the British Museum, and to Robert Brown, A
man distinguished by more scientific honours than perhap%
any other British subject. What were the expenses of Sir
Joseph's many and well-attended meetings? A few dozen
cups of tea and coffee, and slices of bread and butter, were
the viands ! The President and Council immediately before
each meeting may dine together at the Crown and Anchor,
in the Strand ; it is a small dinner, a bit of fish, chicken,
chat, and two or three glasses of wine ; the charge for
which is about five shillings per head, paid by each person
who dines. Sir H. Davy, though rich, gave no conversa-
zioni at all, nor was his presidency less popular on that ac-
count. When Davies Gilbert was president, that kind-
hearted and accomplished man, though also very rich, had
no town house ; for years he lodged in a small first floor
shove Assereti's toy-ship in Bridge-street, Westminster.
Having no town house, as has been stated, Mr. Gilbert in-
vited the Fellows and a friend or two to take breakfast with
him on the Thursday mornings, during the Session, at the
Thatched-house Tavern, St. James's ; the breakfast was
simple to a degree—" a raddish and an egg," we had al-
most said ; it was, in short, the usual breakfast of plain
people, a few water tresses being the chief luxury. His
Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, who succeeded
Mr. Gilbert in the chair, gave a serious of conver-
zationi at Kensington Palace ; these were nume-
rously and magnificently attended ; within the noble
building there was scope and verge enough for all
corners. The expenses of these meetings,-and of the more
restricted dinner parties which preceded them, together
with about 451. a session for tea and coffee in the li-
brary at Somerset-house, were always paid from the Duke's
own pockat—at most of the other scientific societies the
latter item is usually paid by the members generally.
His Royal Highness will leave the chair with the respect
and affection of every Fellow of the Society ; not merely
for his urbanity and great kindness of heart, but also for
the substantial good he has rendered to the Royal Society.
Warmly attached to his brother, his late Majesty, William
I V., his Royal Highness was the means of successfully urging
the claims of the Society, andobtaining from that liberal Mo-
narch a sum of moneyto defray the annual expense of the two
royal gold medals of 501. each, which had been granted by
George IV., but whose illness, and perhaps other causes to
which we may not allude, had prevented the investment of a
fund to provide for the medals ; and owing to that omission
tl:e Royal Society for a time had well nigh incurred the ridi-
cule of our scientific neighbours abroad, to some of whom—
De Candolle, Berzelius, Mitschterlitch, and others, medals
were voted, morocco leather cases supposed to contain which,
were, on the mornings of sundry anniversaries, handed over
to the proxies of the distinguished foreigners with all doe
form. There are several persons who will remember the
annoyance which such a course caused to a high-minded
man, whose name we purposely avoid mentioning, and
ho had to dispense the honours. " I don't like," he ex-
claimed, " this beggarly account of empty boxes." The
Duke of Sussex, however, was the honoured means of put-
ting all straight ; a sufficient sum was invested, a die was
sunk, the medals were immediately struck, and forwarded
to those to whom they had been voted years before. We
could mention many more acts of good done by his Royal
Highness to the Society, but it might savour of flattery, and
we therefore abstain.

BISHOP PHILPOTTS AND THE REV. Mg.
INAD.—The course adopted by the meek and forgiving pre-
late of this diocese to vindicate his offended dignity, and the
supremacy of his high office, over the prostrate Mr. Head, has
excited but one feeling of mingled disgust and pity—disgust
for the unvarnished hypocrisy which pervades the spiritual
address, and pity for the mind that could take such satis-
faction as the Bishop drew from the humiliation of a fallen
brother. Mr. Head had, unfortunately for himself, aban-
doned any claim which he might have had on the sympa-
thies of the public, by the readiness with which he threw
himself upon the mercy of his spiritual father; but we he-
her there are many circumstances of a palliating nature,
which, if they would not wholly justify, would go far to
excuse the Rev. Gentleman for the course which he had
adopted. But without entering into any matters of a private
nature respecting Mr. Head, we can state that it has come
to our knowledge that the clergy generally view the pro-
ceeding, on the part of the Bishop, not only as unnecessa-
rily harsh in itself, but unjustifiable as to the mode adopted.
They say that for clerical offences the proper place for re-
buke is at the visitation, when the Bishop assembles his
clergy together, and not at a confirmation, when the laity
rre present to witness the humiliation of a member of that
Church, which the public should be taught to regard with
eneration and respect—and which their common interest
demands. We confess, however, that we have not much
mpathy with them, for no class of men have exhibited
greater servility than the clergy of this diocese have to
their spiritual head—there are some honourable exceptions
of a few independent men, who have manfully stood up in
defence of their common rights—but if not crushed in the at-
tempt, they have certainly not owed their safety to any coun-
tenance from their brethren.— Western Tinies.

PROTESTANT POPERY.—There is a schism in the

- ---
Established Church. One party proceeds on the true Pro-
testant principle of a free interpretation of the Scriptures and
private judgment ; another has lately started up, with him
of Exeter at its bead, and the Doctors of Oxford and its ex-
pectants for disciples. These latter teachers are bringing back
all the old Popish notions of the Divine right of Bishops, ab-
solution for sin, Apostolical ordination (where did they get it
themselves ?) In fine, if this party succeed (and to judge by
the Bishop of Llandafrs speech in Merthyr church the other
day, it is likely to do so), the Church of England will become
Popish in every thing else but the express acknowledgement of
him of Rome; so that we are to have a She-Pope, and the
Romanists a He-one. In other words—our National Church
it o become a copy of the Russian- Greek Church. Spirits of
Latimer, Ridley, Farrer, Hooper, could you anticipate this
apostacy when you gave your bodies to be burned ? Tillotson,
S,illingfleet, Barrow, Seeker, is this the Protestantism 'you
preached 7—Silurian.

D UNDEE.-TB, A DE.--0 az' flax, yarn, and linen
markets continue as last noted, without much doing in any
of these articles, though there is rather more demand
fur yarns, but certainly not any advance. The stocks of
linen are certainly not increasing, and common Osnaburghs
are scarce, having been mostly picked up. There has not
been the usual demand for the better qualities of Osnaburghs
about this time—for what are called the " estate orders ;" the
putting an end to the negro apprenticeships having done away
with this demand, as the negroes, being their own masters,
can supply themselves where they choose, and the planters,
of course, do not order for them, and will not until they come
to an arrangement about wages.—Dundee Courier.
STORM AND WRECKS.—The storm at the close
of last week, which has been productive of so many disas-
ters both in Scotland and England, has been the cause of
some damage in our neighbourhood. We detail the loss of five
vessels on our coast; on land there are also severe losses. The
corn which was uncut has had a great part of its produce
wasted, while in some places the heads have been cropped
from the straw. In a field near to the beach, the crop which
stood in stooks was carried wholly into the sea. Although
this week we have not had such winds, yet on the whole it has
been unfavourable for the conclusion of the harvest, which
with us might be accomplished by a week of dry weather.--
Berwick Advertiser.

ACCIDENT ON THE LIVERPOOL AND MAN-
CHESTER RAILWAY.—On Thursday evening last, between the
hours of eight and nine, as a heavily- laden luggage train was
proceeding from Liverpool towards Alanchester the engine
was thrown off the line, at the Newton junction, in conse-
quence of the man, whose duty it was to shift the rails after
the Birmingham train has passed, neglecting to do so. The
result of this carelessness was calamitous in the extreme, a
poor fellow, named Hannon, being killed on the spot, and the
" breakman" so dreadfully injured that his life is despaired of.
The escape of the engineer and fireman was miraculous.
Hannon was riding in a carriage with a number of pigs in-
trusted to his care, 30 or 40 of them also being killed. Had
it been a passengers' train, the mind cannot conceive the hor-
rible consequences of this culpable piece of neglect, and, as
it is, the loss sustained by the Company must prove very
great, as goods of every description are crushed, intermixed,
and utterly ruined.
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On their arrival they asked for their luggage, which
was refused them, and carded on to London, and the com-
plaints of the females replied to by the officers' with much in.
solence.—Northampton Herald.