New-York daily tribune., 1842-11-30

more wafer carried into The caspian than Is evap-
GRATED so that it keep. its level.
BuRkHARDr says that the water OF the Dead
| Sea once flowed out into the tide water OF the
| Ocean, as he thought he found sufficient evidence
of the fact But DR.. RoB1ssoS con,roverted this,
since the water now flows in opposite d!rec-
tioa This is very natural however, upon the sup
position that the Dead Sea has been greatly lowered
It is beyond doubt that the Dead Sea was once
as high its banks are now, for these are com
posed of limestone, which could not have been
otherwise formed than by sheIl-hsh-which re-
! ouires a depth of water. The suppositlon that
the Dead Sea formerly an arm of the Red
Sea, and that sudden upheaval between the two
took place, explains the whole matter. The Dead
| Sea could not have been the site OF Sodom aid
| Gomorrah, because the theory stated would have
! left the Sea at the time of Abraham in the same
state it is now in.
There is current setting out of the Atlantic
into the Mediterranean, running at the rate OF 4
miles the hour, miles broad and 500 feet deep
upon the average. The consequence is that
great quantity of salt water-conaining two-thrds
of cubic mile of solid salt, as DR.. S. had COM
psted it's carried into the Sea every day, or $50
cubic miles Of salt to the year. This has evidently
been geing on for many thousand years-cer;ainy
it was in the time of Moses What has become
| of the immense quantity of salt thus carried in
Mr.. LYELL thinks it is crystazed in the Sea !;
but this DR.. S. thought contrary 10 the law of
| chemical action. There must. he thought, be an
under-current flowing from the Mediterranean;
| and the water at a great depth in the Strait OF
Gibraltar is found to be much salter than at the
surface: thus proving, at least making proba-
bic, the truth of the supposltion.
1t seems TO be agreed by historians that .judea
|
this would naturally result from the supposilion
| first becoming dry it would Of course be more fer
tile than afterwards
The subject of the next Lecture, DR.. 5. said
would be the Geology of this Country-and esPe-
| cially of this Island.
| N Rev. S. X. LATHRoP's Lecture before the
Mercantile Library Association last evening, on
the Progress and Prospects of Society, was u
graceful and ncllifuous analysis of the Social his
tory Of our Race from the earliest period down to
the present time bringing out in bold relief the
influence exerted by Christianity in ameliorat'n5
and eevatiRg the condition of the Mass OF Mankind,
and in increasing the of human Virtue, Intel
ligence and Happiness. The Lecturer maintained
that the boosted Civilization of the most illustrious
States and Cities of Antiquity began and ended In
the culture and refinement of a very few, leaving
| the great mass in ignorance, debasement and
wretchedness. Christianity has mainly effected
this happy transformation, aided somewhat by q
natural tendency to progress inherent IN the hu-
man race. These influences are still at work, and
gather strength with add ed years: the bounds OF
| Chrstendom constantly enlarging; the spirit
of Christianity becomes in each successive age
mere difased and potential; and Mankind are
steadily advancing to a state cf comparative re.
fnement, virtue and happiness. Passing from tbs
sphere of history into that of prophecy, he reviewed
in succession the aedged obs tacles to Social Pro-
gress, the grounds fer apprehending its Interrupt
ton, and the dangers of recession toward barbar-
ism, and pronounced them all futile, predicting a
continual increase in wisdom and goodness until
wrong, strife, ignorance and wretchedness shall be
banished from among men, and the loftiest hopes
Of the Poet, Philanthroplst and Saint be realized
| in the actual condition of Mankind on earth-The
Lecture was smoothly written, fautessly delivered,
and, being Of an eminently popular cast, was re-
ceived with favor by liberal audience
Here perhaps we should stop; but fidelity to
our own convictions forbids. We think the Lee.
ture, dealing in pleasing haf-truths, was cacula-
ted to exert pernicisus influence by ulling men
to acquiescence in apathy with regard to the
ahysses of vice, blindness, degradation and misery
which yawn every side in Society, and which, if
somewhat less numerous ard al-pervading than
they were, are still frightfully prevalent and
| loIl I,
courage the we'll placed and comfortable in society
in shutting their eyes to the wrong want and wo
which surround them on every side, demanding
their ardent efforts for its extirpation and sailing
pleasantly down the current of Life baskins ia the
sunshine which invests them and lightly regarding
the rayless darkness Of thousands, less fortunate
who surround them and vainly mpore their assist
ance. 1t is not, we humbly conceive, by such
soothing appliances that the Social evils which vet
afiiict the are to be removed and the true
dignity and Office of the Human Race made mani
| fest in all the walks and ways OF Life. But we
intended only Protest not an argument.
The EcLEcrIc REvIEw.-The Philadelphia
North American, in notice of Campbels Foreign
Monthly Magazine, speaks of the ranslations which
it gives of valuable papers from French and Ger
man Reviews, and remarks that this is feature
belonging to no other American periodical We
are surprised at ths-as the Eclectic Review,
since its first appearance, has made this one of its
prominent points Important articles on Science
and various departments of Literature have been
translated for It's pages, and have added essentially
TO its value. We are pleased to know that this
feature will be preserved and rendered more per-