The Sun.
London, England, 1824-11-26 00:00:00

LONDON Cil YMICAL SOCIETY.

The inauguration .of Qflicers of this Society
was performed last night: atthe City of London Tavern, in the
presence of a very numerous assemblage of Ladies and Gentle-
men,. the greater part of whom .had become members of this
institution for the promotion or one of the most useful and ht.
portant branches of scientific knowledge. .
Athalf-past. eleven-o'clock, 'the President; Dr. BritturcK
entered the room; accompanied by the Vice-Presidents and
Committee.

.
• Maiteco,. the Chairman of the C,ounittee, Wok the
Chair, for the purpose of opening the busineas of the Society.
Ile announced that the labours of the Committee for the for-
mation of the institution had 'terminated ; and the Secretary
then read their report, which. detailed the origin and prelim.,
nary progress of the business of Society. .
Dr. Btit Ec K. then took the chair, anddelivered'
an eloquent
introductory lecture, explanatory of the' objects of the &arty,
and of the general principles Of chymistry, -illustrating- as he
y PrtretriecawlaesxaPerpiellElT:pilitespittyh7i%aeltehmisentary parts 9f his
discourse.. Lorna eb. -lecture which was,
very creditable to the President.': He did not, after the fashion
of higher and more pretending names, consume a large per.
tion.of the time of his auditory with a disquisition upon the
etymology of the term chynastry, but went at once like a
practical flier), intending to convey as rinich.tisefid information
as • he tould through the popular and conipandious
(Hutu of a lecture,. to. apply the; principles of chymistry
to the great phenomena of nature, and to show their more
immediate and essential connection with the business of
life, at once stimulating and, directing those, who had taste
and application for such a pursuit, to those sources of inquiry
where alone they could competently obtain the information
which they sought. Ile described Abe Universe being pregnant
with unceasing variety, . and explained the progressive .de.
composition o; matter, which, is in constant action. Ile then
explained the' two distinct series of the phenomena belong-
int; to the planetary system, and to the animal world—the
one fixed and immutable, the other actuated by. motion,
perceptible and imperceptible. The object of chymistry he
described as being to discover and' explain the changes of
integral particles of diff'erent bodies, and their action on each
other ; and he enlarged upon_ the necessity of promoting that
object by such a co-operation as the present Society atibrded,
powhinini.f scientific withpractical men. Even the value of the
'aes in the pursuit of this stuiltite dwelt upon; and alluded to
the Wiirks of Miss Lowrie, to Mrs. lilarcet's Conversations on
Chnihdry, and to Mrs. Fulham's book upon comßustion, as il-
lustrative of their powerful assistance. It was in vain, he said,
to explore who were the, remote and antediluvian founders of
science, who invented the first plough, or hollowed* out the
first canoe, although it' was necessary to touch upon the histo.
rical progress of the particular science which this Society was
established to promote. The Learned Doctor then took a
rapid view of the operations of chymistry in the middle ages,
when in the hands of the alchymists, who worked so much
delusion by a combination of ignorance and knavery, and dis.
tin"uished the practical from the Impracticable parts of their
study—the failure :of their success in endeavouring to make
gold, but the importance of their discovery in making Dres-
den china. The first book of real practical information which
he quoted was that published in the year 1650, entitled Phytiea
Staterranea ; and from that he passed to the enumeration
of the labours of the illustrious Lavoisier, and from thence
to the experimental labours and discoveries of Sheele, Black,
Bergman, Cavendish, and Priestley, concluding the list of
scientific benefactors of our times with the name of Sir H.
Davy, upon whose important discoveries he pronounced a warsu
panegync. lie then briefly considered and explained the laws
of attraction and repulsion, and illustrated the former by ex.
hibiting two pieces of leak the smooth surfaces of which
were brought in contact by the adhesion 'of what is called
cohesive force, anne demonstrated the latter
by showing the
repulsion evinced by the butsting of the particles of a glass
drop, when broken in a particular manner. It was this prin.
ciple of repulsion which be explained kept gaseous matter in
-
a state of elastic fluidity. The learned-Docwr then explained
the principles of the. two kinds of attraction—of electricity
and magnetism, and their opposite polarities, and opposite
forces ; and proceeded to illustrate what is termed the attrac-
tion of composition, by exhibiting the combination of two drops
slto.
of mercury, and the mode of combining polder of magnesia
with water by a solution of nitric acid. He next. pointed out
the connexion between mechanical form and chemistry, by ex
periments made in the receiver of an air pump, by combining
the pressure of air with fluids, such as porter, water, Ate. His
n.
gioclpnewriermeenetxsterxelm)lealnyateuurrymourstisibeyprsihnecrigoftilelae..ltileoent:sopfearctts
particu-
lar combination of sulphur with a preparation of corer-
8,
.e 5 wtan"tc
h
producea detonation. The principle of
i what
th result
sscatlof
the a
)01.-
neous light he also explained, by 1
principle n
of chlorate of potash. He praised the .
cation of a drop of sulphuric acid upon two paerts sugar anti
newly-invented pneumatic engine, which wasstriking instance
y Ihe elastic
Learnedgas,
President next described the various qualities of alkali and
aaofpatlibelf
aefc tleaofdaialgirhtiaia
iriyaivrtaat ne' expansion f
acids, and illustrated his description by a number of very cu-
rious, and for the most part, successfully. conducted experi.
meats. Ile concluded by exhibiting specimens of the great
it' au
e burningoc
modern discoveries—portable gag, ' the; safety-lamp.; and • the
protection Of capper, bottoms 'from the decomposing power of .
salt water : he bestowed the warmest praise on
,Sir Humphrey
for these two last moat beneficial discoveries.
The lecture did not terminate until ten o'clock; and was
loudly and deservedly applauded.