The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-25 00:00:00

trick, artifice, and pretence, to recommend itself to
public notice.- Its counsels, liwever, are stigmatized
with mismanagement : wherein this is shown, remains
to be proved. The duty of the Society to the public,
is to promote, to the best of its. judgment, sound
knowledge and useful science : if it does this, the
public can have no ground to complain of misma-
nagement. If the internal administration of its private
concerns were ever so corrupt, still if this public end
were answered, the public have nothing to complain
of. And as to such internal administration, if it be-
come thus corrupt, it, is the fault of no one, but the
Fellows at large, since the council, in whom the admi-
nistration is vested; are, it is welleknown annually re-
newed by free and open ballot of the Whole Society.
It is, we do not scruple to assert, without the shadow
of a proof that the writer of the remarks in question,
has chosen to vilify this distinguished body, and to
hold it up to vulgar abuse, as in no way capable of
exalting the national scientific character in the eyes of
strangers, or of exciting their admiration for national
talent. Whereas, supposing that the Fellows were such
fools as to allow their internal affairs to be ever so
grossly mismanaged, no scientific stranger could attend
the meetings of the Society, without seeing himself
surrounded by a constellation of living talent, and
without hearing, however coldly read through, the
most brilliant productions of
.philosophical genius.
From the accusations against the Society at large,
we proceed to those brought against its President.—
Our Cotemporary, indeed, gives Sir H. DAvy
credit fOr resplendent genius and gigantic ability in
lids line, but doubts his fitness to fill the Chair of the
'ociety. His line, be it observed, comprehends a
most extensive department of Chemical and Electra.,
Chemical Philosophy, including the fundamemal laws
of material combinations ; and his acquirements are
not less varied and extensive than profound. As to
other qualifications for filling the Chair of the Society,
we should be glad to see any man Letter qualified,
pointed out to the notice of the Society. We know
the experiment was tried at the last vacancy, and we
kttow the result was Sir Hum PHREY's unanimous
re-election.

-
from these general charges, however, we must
proceed to the more particular point, which in fact
gives the sting to the whole accusation, and is the
°nus of the whole weight of objection. Mr HERA-
PATH conceives himself injured by the Society, and
Particularly by its President ' • he has challenged them
°Pe*, and he thinks they flinch from the encounter,
and have recourse to underhand dealing and specious
subterfuge. Formidable denunciations are thundered
forth by this gentleman in his letter, and an answer-
able challenge- has been proclaimed. Sir H. DAVY
Is formally accused 'of shmss in meeting 'his oppo-
nent'Uf " subterfuges to hide incompetence," of cah
"Istilig upon his adversary exhausting his patience,
lanastl d rdiyh mg upon " things thus dying away," and
y of complete failure in his mode of preserving the
eoppering of ships
Now the whole of this mighty matter is this :
Mr. HERAPATH is a gentleman of considerable ma-
thematical and philosophical attainments, who does,
or
did, keep a school at Cranford; near Hounslow,
where young gentlemen are genteelly educated, and pre-
Pared for the Universities and professions. A few years
since this gentleman constructed an elaborate theory
of heat, which, according to his own profession, was
simply a theory, and comprised no new facts or expe-
riments. This he presented, through the President,
to the Royal Society ; but the business of this Society
being professedly confined to facts and experiments,
and not to theories, he was politely advised by the
President and other leading members to withelsaw his
tPaPer. At this he became excessively indignant, and
13, " shame t 6 fools," lucubrations in the
thelanais
envious,'
of Philosophy, where they may be read by
together with various critiques upon them,
4..114 the whole correspondenCe relative to their -rejec.
i!an by the Royal Society. He has subsequently
thought, fit to renew attention to the subject by putting
forth problem, involving the truth of the first prin-
?Ties of his theory, upon which he is willing to stake
14
; and to try conclusions respecting which,
he public y challenges Sir H. DAVY and the Society.
11°w far they are under any obligation to notice sUCII
lehidienge, will doubtless appear pretty clearly from
Nat we have said.
ti Such, then, is simply, the point at issue. Such is
hie "which Mr, H.
"sage, the exceeding ill usve,"
" experienced. The President and Council are
uo. übtless fully sensible how much it concerns their
d 01!
gnity and u T to attend to a challenge, the subject
w neli
The
is so Ymuch within their province. Y doubtless trouble themselves exceedingly to find some
I(JOP.hole for , escape ; and evidently cannot be more
',:tlxjoLlß that the affiiii should blow over, and that
hings should die away," than their opponent is to
Inea!is of keeping them alive. Moreover, Sir
Doxi success in preserving ships' copper from
having been so complett as to allow a per-
lous adherence Of barnacles, &c:, we are unfbr
7
u}atiely driven
_either to regard Mr. H. s` knowledge
wh_tne subject in no very favourable point of view,
the" he tells us of a failure in that invention ; or, from
,Inaiw,Y in which the allusion is lugged in, to feel some
ta~suspicion as to the quarter, and the motive, i 1
similar low, ignorant, and ill-natured at
(a ICS have originated.

liot Private I.4ters from Meci Mete that the Govehtm
WOW viability consolidating the ent
pover the
_Lich
Re uhlic and had
before them the regulations for en Intended new
.Tarnt, by
'the ditties, on imported goods would be lery considerably reduced,
report says nearly meik.lf:
4. It is with great' 4' ern we lea'rit b"-y
private letters,
received from his INl.,,qty's Niiip, w, •
that the most lively fears are entertaitiePd'
for the' sal ie. Itil;
,of the Martin sloop, Capt. Thos. Wiho„.
Abrtin sailed from the Cape of Good Hope, for the
.10)Ist Indies, some short time before the Rainbow, and
although at the date of thtse letters the Rainbow
had becin two months in India, no tidings had then
Been heard of the Martin.
A passenger in the steam-boat from Hamburgh, ar-
riyed on Monday, states that when the vessel was
under sail, a report was brought on board of an ex.
t 1 havin arrived, with accounts of the assassina-
°ll of the Grand Seignior, at Constantinople.
A letter front Marseilles states, that Lord Cochrane,
°ll,..his way from Malta, drOpped anchor on the 15th
IN! Neptember, about half a league from the port of
jarseilles. He was in a galliot, which belongs to
41141, and had on board a crew of 14 men and 10
Passengers.
COliN' AND FLOUR C P
~Vetting of the Shareholders tool: place.yesterday ut
teemason'ai Tavern, to take into consideration the
I.4lopriety of dissolving the Company. After a long
desultory debate between Mr. Cassels (Chairman)
iiLit toe Secretary, the report was read, and proving
iu hout unsatisfactory, the Company was declared
; the Directors were then instructed to wind
up their accounts.