New-York daily tribune., 1858-07-13

! 5cur 1fpifsiic,
Al3 il Js1usy 70 snoiber member lie s,ys:
ar ven ave dore srd are d5irg "a ior A7s-i Al
s.;er e s1d ere ci 80 % be govsIet st,ge,hs-
by our Sceitifc Coutcil. We base Lb1uc5ei con
fSeu-s n them u sve,Yttirg srd ne vish them 70
-nsder "a es sn humble ns'-ureu- N their hard. in
csryirg fcr~'erd this great en<rprae. We have not
per=ousl Wit. object or interest 10 tbs natter. We
are vi lirg 70 sIN " swim, with Henry Psirce q
B.cie .nd Gould ss tie ony chance # inn tai
izi'g ourselves in this world.
WLsteyer the council msy haze thought Of Mr
Olcot:s chance Of being iumortllzsd with either
Bsche PeiIce, HenTy, or Gould, they Ger
talnly accepted tie Office tLey held With the under
.ardirs Of the respective relations and duties, ss
shown By these extracts. The conclusion they
hsve now REACHED, in the light of recent events
is that:
at "a eyidsn. ths. tie Trustees and the Scientific
C,u1cl have vlews OF tie Observatory incOmp pstiO'e
tn each other The sins OF tie two aIe az different
a. the motives Cf those who seek ere 10. re,y are
from tle motives Of thUse who seek true reputs,io0
The gres. tec of tie former seems 10 De 10 make
impTts'ion uicn the popular mind by means OF Dis
pay Of imposrg n.iruments end apps'a'us lie
clect cf TIE Scientific Council i 10 reader the Iss
'utiOI q msaps Of producing original additions TO
kucFledee, which Iaay Command TIE approval OF tle
scieut &c word ard confer lasting honor upon the OBJ
srvat,ry.'
IL this paragraph is the very gist Of the whole
controversy. If from tie statements Of both par
ties, which have now been given 10 the public, il,
cen be fairly oedu. .ed that this view OF the matter
as stated by the Council, be correct, then We have
key to the proceedings OF the Trustees in regsrd
TO Dr. Gould which leaves US no longer in doubt as
70 tie spirit By which they were governed. We
know, for the Board has go assured us, that they
do Iot now acknowledge the Council as co6rdi-
nate power. If il can also be sto gn that either
through Ignorance or vanity they have mistaken
the turpo,e Of the ObservatOry, utend to defeat
it. then there csn be no longer ANY question as to
whs re The right les in this unhappy trouble.
To make this clear is tie object of the pamphlet.
TIE extracts we have already given though not in
the order in which hey presented by the Coun-
ell, We think make it very plain what have been
the relations ard accepted duties Of tbe parties up
to recent period. They show the character Of
d. Gould and his assistants in the estimate of the
Council; and they give detail of the work ao-
complirhed-a detail too long and too scientific Il
be interesting to the unproiessional reader-by
those gentlemen The grave ch.rges which Mr. Ol.
colt bad brought against themt they dsproye seram,
and in a manner, ss it seems to US, which there IS
10 contrOvertDg. But they do more than tha. Ia
proving DIR. Gould innocent, they convict his ac-
cusers of several things the least Of which is g-
norahce. The controversy, it ia to be hoped, has
enlightened these gentlemen somewhat BY this
time, but it is very clear tina! month ago they had
The crudest Dotiobs of what constitutes the science
in the study Of astronomy. Only little month ago
Mr. Ocott could talk Of "paning for the unfold
ling glories" which it expected would be
reyesled by the meridian instruments, which
he seems to suppose were an Improvement
on the telescopes and he made very strong
point against DR.. Gould's eight clocks-used by
him in some most delicate and important opera
tiOns-.s "useless only as toys for the entertain
"ment of his Juvenile companions and of visitors.
A clock YVES clock to Mr.. Olcott, whether on the
kitchen mantlepiece, or 10 an astronomical OBJ
servatory. and what possible use DR.. Gould could
have for eight of them was a problem to be solved
in no OIher way than BY supposing him to be either
boy or villain. The same ignorance was displayed
in the matter of throwing open the grounds as pro-
menade, and providing duplicate keys for the uae
Of the Trustees In short, it was evident that, for
some nexplicable reasOD a complete msappre-
hension bad taken posse of the Trustees as to
the purposes of tie Observatory. Perhaps with
this there was some other reason which does Dot
appear strong dislike to DR.. Gould, and that that
prompted his election. But even if that we're so,
in the attempt to effect his expulsion, they have
only shown how utterly wanting they were in any
appreciation Of his labcrs, or even Of his duties
II was inevitable, therefore, that under such
circumstances, when the Board brought their
charges against him, they should, many of them,
be very absurd, some quite impossible, and all very
false. 1t only needed clear statement from
scientific men, who were cOguizant of all the
facts. 10 show that, wherever the legal power may
be in the controversy the moral right is where We
have supposed it to be from the beginning-with
the deit itndsnts. They had only to prove the
charges fslse against DR.. Gould, and they at the
same time conyi:t the Trustees OF their unftness
for tie post they occupy if they are permitted for
single moment to step out of its approp late and
restricted duties.
We cannot, Of course, undertake TO give full
statement of the charges ard their disapprovsl.
They sre chiefly of interest TO sciertifc people,
who will seek them in the pamphlets of the Council.