The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-19 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Timee considers that the organisers of the British
Association wisely provide that. as far as possible, a n 385,
ter of a different section of science shall preside at 0117
successive meeting. An experimental clivmist, an astr°.
nomer, a botanist, a physiologist, a practical- mechanician,
are by turns elevated to the post of honour, and, as esell
reviews the progress of knowledge from the point of vi
most familiar to himself, the world is instructed in
th
latest discoveries of natural philosophy. Professor St4BB
has fulfilled this judicious law by delivering at Exeter
admirable survey of the new branches of knowledge
which astronomers have added to the queen of sciences'
the modesty of a true student, the Lucas°
Professor of Cambridge did not tell his hearers,
what share he bad himself taken in conduct"
the researches he explained, but the ease and clearness
his exposition, and the ardour of his enthusiasm, 005
have convinced those who may have been previously non;
familiar with his fame, that the President for the Yea
was no mere relator of the speculations and invcstigati
of others, butwas revealing aspects of new and unexpecte
truths which he had been among the earliest to tinf'll(l:,
It is impossible not to be moved by his picture of In%
taking the sun into his laboratory and sefaching out
composition, and mounting to the stars to find out
NLat
they are, and whence they are going. Nor is it to be for'
gotten that investigations such as those traced by prof
fessor Stokes are all of recent origin, and that sone
them have barely been formulated. They have opened Her
fields to the explorer, and no one can fathom the res 3-,
before us. A knowledge of the composition and cliaog;
of the sun's atmosphere must teach us much of
chymical forces at work upon its surface, and lead fat
discovery of the nature of its inner mass. The g.,rn
problem of the system of the world may be on the P°lm;
being unravelled, the evolution of the planetary °r for
explained. We may pursue our inquiries fearlessly',
the more completely we compass the laws of maters
o
phenomena, the more subject they become to the inter'
gence of humanity, the more profound must be our APP
hension of the mysteries of humanity. The more cr
terkii,u° f
of the matter the more elevated must be the als'Le
mind. "Science," said Professor Stokes, " e3l) fro.
expected to do but little to aid us here. since the ip IC
ruent of research is itself the object of investigation. 4
can but enlighten us as to the depth of our ignorance,f7
lead us to look to a higher aid for that which most ne'"

concerns our well-being," •
tisti
The Daily News declares that the British Asscel:stee
for the Advancement of Science is one of the Ws; -tbe
cessful institutions of the time, because it is one of
most characteristic of them. It represents both lo
manners and the modern spirit. It appeals very str,ifellos
to feelings which are both the strength and the weakit
of the ago. As a kind of annual scientific holio.sJeo,
gathers together both the lions and the lionisers of °ebb%
--the great men who do the scientific work of the Pc
isaj
and the quidnuncs who do the scientific crowditubit
staring, and questioning. It is the most Ptof
of holiday gatherings. Holding its annual 1° city,
every year in some large provincial town or AO
it confers distinction and receives hospitality
it As
many towns compete for the honour of entertaining 000
competed in ancient days for the more mythical Pfortf
of having been Homer's birtliplaco. It is not Yetvotet
years old—its thirty-ninth meeting was opened at bed
on Wednesday—and it has already become an OW.; it
institution. As a peripatetic Parliament of Sciellii.e4:ich
performs for science one at least of the functions
sage
other Parliaments perform fur politics. Since thee rope
uttered the maxim "Know thyself," and even sine roper
paraphrased it in the celebrated words, " The r gas
study of mankind is man," we have changed all that. oriel
needs not only to know himself, but to know the that
he is in, and the motto of the British Association 'sroino
a proper study of mankind is nature. ir° oet
an interest in the study of nature ; to excite effort
„rime',
more knowledge of the universe ;to draw the c-et it
intellect away from barren study of itself, and ledge
searching the remotest corners of Creation for kn°svf tile,
of the Creator's ways, is the peculiar function °e'tion,
British Association ; and it is in performing that fun.eetoe
in making scientific methods common, and °Ad
habits popular, and scientific knowledge general, '—
finds
The t a once its popularity and its usefulness. 's
Standard says that the Bishop of Llandag,lity of
first of the Welsh prelates who has had an opPortlll;videS
formally reviewing the condition of the Church in ode
since it has been announced that an attempt will be wish'
next session to bring it within the scope of the disests
rigid
ment policy. The right reverend prelate observes A frish
silence both as to the fate whieh has befallen the
rli
ie
Establishment and that which menaces the Cilneeroie
Wales. On the other hand, we are favoured with ese of
statistics as to the position of the Church in the diu.eesensi•
Llandaff, width go to shew that the bishop is net,olPtlY be
ble to the nature of the attack which will s"-1. Dole'
directed against the Establishment in Wales as a Isref tba
We are strongly inclined to think that the defence olds.
Church in Wales must not rest on mere local gr% the
It is part and parcel of the Church of Pngland,
ta
distinction which Mr. Watkin Williams "%On"
is nut known to the law. The State and the Legio
have no cognisance of any such corpori.tionbioent.
" Church of Wales," or the " Welsh Estahlis on 14
There was some colour for setting up such a distill- 100 it
the case of the Irish Church, although in the loilemt
involved nothing less than a mutilation of tiler ota);
Union, but there is no pretext whatever for seleglil
the case of the English Church in Wales from the_twn
Church elsewhere. They must be dealt with togn oleo
at all, unless the advocates of disestablishment nl.ltiobetB
are to be allowed to set up a precedent for disestavurl.es,ioe:
the Church bit by bit, by dioceses, by archdese%
by parishes. To-clay it is the State Church ;shire, to,
which is to be pulled down, to-morrow 14.3.11,e„tionisint
Yorkshire may be fastened upon by the -1-'1"" tbei)° t?
Why not be frank and courageous, and begin et
weal' re
where, according to their theory, the Church venues 1:10
We mean the City of London, where the ruse/ and 'mB
most abundant, the churches most nuttier° %rage tbs
work almost nil. It is cowardly to assail a h wile°, of
Church, or, rather, the outposts of the Ch,
bran
faults alleged against it are found in another aLith,
the same Church and linked with power and weoo
d andle•
" Not guilty, but the prisoner had better min
the pst
do it again.". Upon no other hypothesis, sn,Ysof the
graph, is it possible to make head or t°ll,l -.arch lees'
announcement which has issued from Scotian"? Wiecioes
official statement was published in our issue Police
day, to the effect that " the Commissioners ran
tine
transferred Inspector Wade and Sergeants ed ic •eif•
Coucher, and Todtnan, the constables engngo Cliar!ioe
affray between the police and the clerks of th c di
cross branch.of the National Bank, from thfn the lileed
to various metropolitan districts." Now, be P the
of common sense, what interpretation co
b .•
" e wen tore
upon this statement? The matter , e, e
constables and the clerks was not of steep` bee,a Os
that, by possibility, both parties might rev_ eot
blame. Anybody who has taken the troubl.e: 'ear eso,o
evidence adduced at Marlborough-street 010 eate
in the assertion, that the sole question Al beellowe'
whether wilful and deliberate perjury hnif the rtbetil
mitted by the officers or by the young men' uP°l!s,
men are not guilty, it is monstrous to place A utie
heir goy it
the stigma of being unfit to discharge t Are ,
transferring them to other districts ; if tHeJefenr.`eg
the punishment is utterly inadequate to the „. be/ be.
tbe" lice 00
is impossible to suggest any reason for ,
transferred, unless the Commissioners (4,bey I'o7
lieve that, individually or collectively, " traeLoreg
be trusted. If they swore to what Was end Pjf tha
are they to be dispersed over the metropoli,, r ?
hindered from acting in concert with each istl_ef eolieriilP
swore to what was false, why are a number ...we by too,
who do not hesitate to support a false Chitl e the
perjury to be placed in different portinlloymorsl tiny
where their example and influence `'.'t even OW
other members of the force? There is a liyal tht SO
absurdities permitted to the Home Office; ilreselli'boolb
is reached when Wade and his subordinates
_4O or
remote suburban beats for having, in gr. 13rue
feel
done their duty and told the truth. At OS eei.
The Post observes that as the station-lllster -oft be Aos tbe
has coriessed that he was in heel at the tiroeieutoe:
dent, the question suggests itself, at lynr,e 19,i, led
duties of this officer terminate? It IllaY
f oto • tr
idea, but it is an obvious one, that part o.,.eir po ~010
see that all the other functionaries are at theydo
what they ought to do. There is no doubtet_irro, hiSof
man was either not at his post or did not.Pe reotainf„ust,°_,
Can it be possible that he had followed fl} e bad, it le'•in
station-master, and had gone to bed ? 11. eio of ,t el
remembered that he had been on duty notLrourrenc lehe
morning till wit would minutes of the !is., he cld_rfce
accident, This not excuse him. al his ", bll;
should not have undertaken it. But, on,'„rolving;, see,
himself competent to discharge the
odffitictei_ers;hltoiltih,oer.:lettotpol:
it is only fair to observe that an
prolonged 'over a period of fifteen ho_l, nod 001,
condemned in any branch of emploYnle.° °sten of ell'of
daily in one where an alert attention lreductive srite be
where the want of it has so often been rwill, te At be
mitosis results. If railway compan e
i heir servs° whet, 3.,0
repeated warnings, persist in fagging t question__ ovalf,s
risk of stuefinthem, it will become n`ie Pella
the
pr Legislature
e o f
is to the person employed, and, at the
I'.lilsoy
_itecl 1,10
involve any of those accidents to winch
en. Ins n. till
.t 1,1.0
should
cntootry interfere
ets. 7ts
riloot1:0:06
is subject. In the one case, tenths te'roviefnti, tkis
hours of labour would mercy
,°P
na its r °l;t4
other, its mercy extend far be?•° are ncleopis.lo.
objects. The services of jaded energeesc „ale.ie 11
much ; but it is not only a folly, ti
but .012.„ence
them to duties on whose punctilious pert ri"
of others depend. special ieeP
tit suc" sto `vas
commissioner to Ireland, and asks, it
borne by a professedly impartial
I Avila
The Herald quotes the opinion of,. the total, the
existing state of Ireland compared. , „aciitionr,lers
some thirty years ago, why shoulan 'the ow,? Asitellt?,
lation to remilat transactions be
f eckew
should the progress of such unheard-of e
verericii
fered with, and the industry of the P_(2.l).ieb ea% for 51.0 t
occupiers of soil he now conshtvreeed necesVeY in 14
holding out visionary expectations
.11't'adrocal teeefo,
realised ? The Herald has ever been the
ensate wile;
a length of tenure as would ample covP,_., of
for his outlay in the proper culti.naltlendvet_cvy
and we have ever held that to leave_hior Lfifithe lberaeletrt;
caprice of an inconsiderate land,leortlll,
greatesb real concono
grasping one, must always prol _ aricultll_ons
the prospects and improvement of an
rei:4ll-1-
• h them desirable objects might es, t
accomplue • te rights or a
without a violation of privet
evenership of property,
—but such a change the nature of•lri.eh__t!i!i7b.eooeflioe°ol/1