The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-18 00:00:00

lAYS•

viously repored lost or in distress in the Straits,
and the Maria Isabel was ordered to search for her,
and offer any assistance required. She was in
sight of the San Jorge when the accident occurred.
A French ship had brought a number of Sisters
of Charity and two priests to Valparaiso.
The British ship Salvadora arrived at Valparaiso,
reported having passed on the 28th of November,
in lat. 36 south, the American sloop Antoinette,
boarded her, and found her deserted, took a few
articles from the vessel, which soon afterwards
went down.

The republic of Bolivia, under its provisional
President, appeared to be at present quiet. The
Government was engaged in reforming the postal
service. The pay of the army had been reduced.
Signor Carbajal, Consul of New Granada, had made
a reclamation against the Government for 9,000
dollars, being the amount stolen from him when
General Cordoba attacked Cockahamba. It was
said that Mr. Dana, United States Minister, was
about to resign his mission.

PROFESSOR FARADAY ON "STATIC

INDUCTIuN."

Professor Faraday the other night delighted a
crowded audience of ladies and gentlemen, in the
front of whom sat his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, with a discourse on "Static Induction."
" What is Static Induction 1" was a general inquiry
by the ladies before the lecturer commenced ; but
the gentlemen interrogated could give no satisfac-
tory explanation. They fenced with the question as
best they could, but it seemed pretty clear that they
knew little or nothing about the matter. When the
gi eat philosopher appeared, he twisted a large stick
of sealing-wax in a flannel cap, and told his audience
that was static induction latent. He separated the
cap from the wax, and static induction was developed.
He put them together again, and it vanished ; he
held up the flannel cap, and said every one present
was then thrown into 'he condition of static induc-
tion. The stick of sealing wax was put into a
vessel of sulphur, in'o glass jars, and into metal
ice pails, but neither sulphur, glass,. nor metal
could obstruct the action ; nay, the thicker the in-
terposed mass the More freely was static induction
produced. Neither solidity nor. thin air could.
oppose resistance to the passage of dris mysterious
force through apace. Everything in Nature is,
according to Faraday, more or less under its in-
fluence ; and yet, if the educated classes of this
country were submitted to a competitive examina-
tion, and were asked to explain the meaning of
static induction, how few of them would. escape
plucking !
To save them from that disgrace we will cram
them for the occasion. In the dictionaries it will
be found that Statics "is the science which con-
siders the weigh's of bodies," and that Induction
"is the act of taking possession of an ecclesiastical
living ;" but the candidate under examination
would nevertheless commit a grievous error were
he, in answer to the question, " What is Static In-
duction ?'' to say that it is the taking possession of
a rich living. The matter he has to consider is
absolutely without weight, and has no relation what-
ever to Church preferments ; therefore, let him not
be misled by the explanations of the dictionaries.
It has to do with electricity, and with that peculiar
condition of the force which is developed on the sur-
faces of all bodies in the presence of an excited
electric, however, distant they may be. That such
a little thing as a stick of sealing-wax, should have
the power, when rubbed, of producing that action
in distant bodies through the intervening air and
through solid masses, wonderful as it seems, is in
reality no more marvellous than it should possess
the power of falling to the ground. • But that is
not the point to which our examination tends ;
nor does the condition of the intervening particles.
by which those actions at a distance are supposed
to be transmitted, come within the present range
of questions. What the candidate would next be
called upon to explain would be, why the pro-
duction of electricity at a distance, by rubbing a
stick of sealing-wax, is called Static Induction. In
answering that question the safest course would be
to look wise and talk big about " static electricity,"
" positive and negative," "resinous and vitreous,"
and the "inducement of opposite conditions." If
the candidate introduces these phrases adroit:y, he
will be sure to pass, but be must be careful, above
all things, to avoid exprest,ing the opinion—however
strong may be his conviction of its truth—that the
term "static induction" is absurd and unintelligible,
anti has little more relation to the subject than
" the taking possession of a rich living."
In the numerous discussions that have taken
place on education, the teaching of " common
things " has been one of the propositions which
has met with moat general acceptance ; but to teach
common things, it is necessary to use common
words. It would be advisable, therefore, to hegira by the adoption of a more simple form of language
for the teaching natural science ; and it might not,
be amiss, in the promotion of that object, to have
an educational establishment for teaching scientific
men the use of their native tongue and the right
application of terms. Most of them might with
advantage be sent to school to learn again the
tlemenfs of the English language, and be sat to
write exercises in words of one syllable. We might
then hope that the wise men who write books, and
now use long, hard names that are not to be found
out, would tell us what they mean in nice short
words such as all of us know. The last sentence is
offered as an example to guide them in their tasks.
The jargon of technicality ought to have disap-
peared with full-bottomed wigs and gold-headed
canes, and when learned doctors threw aside the
di ess of charlatans the charlatanry of technical lan-
guage should have been discarded. Not only
would the puldic in general be benefited by the
disuse of technicalities that give a distaste to
scientific iuquiry, but science itself would. be
the gainer by the substitution of correctly de-
signating names for terms concocted from the
dead languages, which not urtfrequently serve but
to disguise, by their unfamiliar sounds, senseless
absurdity or the veriest puerillity. Many of the
names that astonish the million by their grand
sounds, and are accepted without dispute, when
stripped of their Greek disguises, and re-
duced to their simple meanings, resemble rather
the designations of the nursery than the nomen-
clature of science. Such combinations of nouns
and adjectives as "a great creature," "a big bird,"
to be found in early reading lessons we should
scarcely expect to be applied to specific terms by
men of science, nor would they venture to do so in
their native language • but, under the guise of
" megatherium" and "Clinornis," childish prattle
is received with the deference due to wisdom.
But to return to our starting-point, where we left
the Prince Consort and a crowd of ladies and gen'
denten assembled to hear a lecture on "Static In-
duction." We have endeavoured to explain the
urunedaenrincgomofptehtiattivteeremxamifornatthieon; benefitbut w
ohfycatuhdaitdcaptnes.
con-
dition onoofwen ingenuitylectricityshtoould
we
eoulledft
giving only general instructions to look wise and
beststifi tehde, y
explainb be
s a ms
y
ta'k bg. Those instructions were based, be it
understood, on the assumption that the examiners
knew as little about the matter as themselves, and
would be equally puzzled to give a satisfactory.
explanation. The full-bottomed wig and the gel'
headed cane have indeed, not altogether departe
and the habits of former times still cling unconsci-
ously to those most opposed to charlantary, o,
which fact the title of Professor Faraday's lecture
affords an illustration. Hence the necessity of
native language in its simplicity, beitti
sending our philosophers to school,
orchool, e
learn
they ean
m
successfully undertake the teaching of " comon
things."--Morning Post.

TiII LATE LIEUT. SALKELD.—We are happy to be
enabled to state that the Court of Directors have granted
an annuity of 1001. a year to the family of the late gel-
iant Lieut. Salkeld, payable to his father, the Rev. R.
Salkeld. The character for liberality towards their ser-
vants which the company have always sustained beg
suffered no diminution under the recent heavy pressure
upon their resources. In such instances of well-directed
rewards, the administration of the company presents at
advantage over that of the Queen's Government, which
has no fund at ifs command for similar purpeles, and is
obliged to obtain the sanction of Parliament for any
pecial grants, however meritorious the claitas may be.
Grindlay's Home News for lnaiet.
_ _

On Monday tote marriage of the Rev. J. S. Moffatt,
-,on of the celebrated Robert Moffatt, and Miss Emily
Unoin, daughter of Mr. J. S. Unwin, of Brighton, took
place at the Union-street Chapel in that town. The
eerenuomy acquired an additional degree of interest front
r. tie presenc,, of Dr. Livingstone. The newly-married
couple will accompany Dr. Livingstone to Africa.
Mr. Salisbury has paired i❑ favour of Sir John Tre•
lawney's measure on church rates with Mr. Mainwaririf
atza,n,t ; a,,d in isentor of the Indian Bill, with Mr.
Pal intr (ivlayo) against.
THE ENOINhEE tiENRY WATT.—The following is
copy of a despatch received from the Foreign-office, by
Mr. William Watt, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in reply to
a letter addressed by Mr. Watt to Lord Clarendon,
requesting the government to assist him in reaching his
brother, so long the victim of Naapoldan oppression
" Foreign-office, Feb., 1853. Sir,—•l am directed b
the Earl of Clarendon to acquaint you, in reply to your
letter of the 19th instant, that if you will present your-
self at the Foreign office, Downing-street, in the after-
noon of Thursday next, the 18th inst., you will be sent,
free of expense, to - Naples, in company (as far as
Messina) of one of her Majesty's messengers, who will
be despatched i❑ the evening of that day ; and I am to
add that Lord Clarendon has much satisfaction in thus
complying with your request.—l am, sir, your obedient
ser►ant, E. HAMMOND. To Mr. William Watt,
Sbieldfield, Newcastle."