Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1851-09-10
THE DRYING UP OF THE SEA.


There is an interesting discussion in progress,
in the National InteIigencer, respecting the pro-
gress of the coral fOrmations--reducng the WA
tiers of the sea to solid land. w. ID. Porter in
troduced the discussion, and he has been replied
to by II. K. Schetterly, our correspondent MIR.
Porter maintains that the ocean has diminished
in liquids, by the amount of the solids formed
by the zoophites and shell fish, and that the
shores and lines of coasts have changed their
form in cons equence of this subsistence of water
caused by this diminution The zoophites sur
round the world in a belt, extending 80 degrees
from the equator each way. They are constant
ly forming solids from the liquid ocean, They
have already formed sixteen millions of square
miles. And liquids when reduced to solids, gen.
orally occupy less space. Mr.. p. says:-
Where rolled many millions of waves, now
stand many millions of miles of firm rocks, their
bases fast to old oceans sand, their tops peerng
above old oceans blue waves"
Mr.. Schetterly in reply maintains, that tho
there is subsistence of waters, it must be from
other causes--the actual quantity of water on
the globe has not diminished. He thinks dim
mutton Of the sea, would diminish the amount
raised by evaporation, and falling in rain, and
would be destructive TO vegetable life. This
sort of reasoning is not satisfactory against
matter of fact Should great changes take place
on the face of the world, Providence has resour-
ces to make one thing balance another And
agencies of which we have no idea, might come
in to do the work of sprinking the earth, after
the submarine land makers had exhausted a
considerable portion of the sea. 1t is evident
that the world is yet to subsist u population
vastly greater, than it now does; and that God
is making room for them. And we read that in
the new earth which is to exist after the disso-
luton and reconstruction of this" There acaS
no more sea"
And there for ought we know, be grad
ual dlminulon Of the sea, to make way for the
vast population which is to fill the world in the
millenia state. At least we need not shrink
from allowing the actual progress of things
towards such result, TO have its weight on our
minds, for fear that God cannot spare the vast
ed waters, or cannot preserve the life and health
of the world without them. The earth before
the flood appears to have been watered in diff
ferent way from what it now is. And it very
much limits the resources Of Him who made
the world, and who set TO work the zoophites
making its solid land more ample, to assume
that he has no other means of watering the sol
id earth, than TO devoting to it so large pro-
portion of the earth's surface, as is now covered
by the sea. Puritan Recorder.
We understand by our worthy contemporary
that it believes in MIR. Porters theory and draws
from the Bible an argument for the necessity, or
rather probability of its correctness, against Mr.
Schetterly, that although the waters of the sea
and evaporation were diminished, Providence
has other resources to make one thing balance
another. 1t throws out the hint that the in
crease of the earth may be for the vast popua-
ton of the mileneum, but surely Providence
which can make new way Of supplying the
earth with moisture, could also find way to
sustain the vast population of the earth with the
present extent of dry land. The earth was wa
tered before the flood just as it now is, by evap-
Grafton and condensation. Before man was Gre
ated, it is said there was no rain but mist, and
from this we would infer against Biblical critics
that after man was placed in the Garden before
the flood, there came rain,-" showers that ush-
cred in the spring and cheered the thirsty
ground" The Books of Moses are profound
philosophical works, not false philosophy, and
In no case do we find them contradicting sound
science. The hypothesis of MIR. Porter, we be-
heve, is founded on very slender data The
seas have no less waters to-day than they had
four thousand years ago; they are constant
quantity. 1t is true that some reefs and islands
have coral foundations but if the dry land has
made Entertainments on the sea in some places,
the sea has made encroachments on the dry land |
in others. Where the cities of the Plain stood, |
there is now the deep Dead Sea; the waves roll
over the walls of ancient Tyre. Where Port |
Royal stood, the shark sports, and where the
quay of Lisbon once lifted up its solid walls. |
alas they now are fifty fathoms deep below
The sea has been making, year after year, great
entertainments on the coast of Norfolk, in Eng |
land, and where once the large and fine island
of Norand stood in the German Ocean, there are
only three small islets In one tempcstuous
night, the sea buried the most of it beneath its |
waves.
We could cite various other instances of the |
seas incroachment: England was once united !