New-York daily tribune., 1858-08-03
THE DUDLEY OBSERVATORY.
ADDRESS OF THE COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS

plUnc WbtJ boS aHcooy Hoeo ~ - H'Ahoi 5Dh shc
public, ls,ger than ether Of the others, WHICH
l.ss for the merits Of o question than 10 see good
stand Up fsht well fought, will esch and al welcome
the spptu usroe CT this address 70 the citizens Of Al
barry and the dor ORE ard friends Of the Dudley Obser.
ys,cry Fl ON the Goa mit.ee appointed q, the recer.
m.e;ug IN ;hs. City. /, IL hardly possible for gno-
10 rise from its perusa unnstuc.ed, for SO
ir,irrced man 70 read j: without intense reseshment
end satisfaction, or for any msn who likes 70 pen
skllfuly baIdled By ns-:er Of that sort OF ,rcs
who draws blood at every turn OF the wespon 20 fail
10 60 through il with delight g, is mastery viglr aad
brilliant bardlrg. Many, peihsps, whose sense Of d
vine ply IL always modif.d and sometimes siulers-ed
wih mere humsn pity, will stop TO ooUr isserate
those urforu1a, members Of the Board Of 1ru.tses
Who, hitherto blaneess ard psctaoe men 10 their
,hops ard at their bsnk. counters, left them, MS
cradle cay, to bsbble OF beiiomeers and meridian
circles ard the unfolding gioies which they
"wsnte1" TO see displayed by these and other myste
rous Instruments, ard who must feel tina. the
mote st sbopcorIe the darkest bank vsut cannot
hide them from the mxed sugbter and indigt Atom
which will pursue them forever for their geo
rsr &c, ple,epsion and il.;emper.
Apsrptlet Of this sort ought TO settle deniivsly aid
autboItstively this wreiched and unforunSe cOntrO-
versy. 1t s sgred by some Of the lesdirg, uost ioh
entail and most cultivated mer Of Absny-men whose
names ore guaranty ell over the country, Of the con-
scieriious in psrtisliy with which they woutapproach
ctnroversy Of tbs sort and Of the severe sense of
Justice by which, when they felt Themselves a. lepgh
snd relucsIuy compelled to reuder judguent against
their 1eiehtois ard friends they would certainly be
governed II more than reasonable il lie an nev-
table CONCLUSION, that where tie public opinion of
place Of the tize Of Abany-n which men do not and
csp not sffod TO take antagopstic positions without
the stropgett Of strongly against Of
ts wealthy and most respectable citizens, and in favor
OF stranger whore influence whose relations, and
whose interests nothing in that community, that
in tuch case the public has judged most righteous
judgment. The p0puli s the divine voice when it
turns away from the Influence of social standing of
family ciop of wealth, Of position, and the thou
sand relations which neighbor brings to bear upon
neigh bor small community, and is raised in behalf
Of the young the poweress and the oppressed. Such
we trust will be the rflutnce of this Address that the
Trustees will see the wisdom Of bowDgto authorita
tive decision and gracefully retire. while there is yet
time from contest into whicb-we wish to be ust-
fed in believiDg-.hey have been betrayed By the
ignorance, the vanity and the unbalanced temper of
one or two Of their number.
The pamphlet s valuable, beside, for two reasons:
which the unscientic public could rot be supposed to
be informed; and secondly, because it takes the con
toyersy out of the field Of mere legal technic aties
and argues the question upon moral and scientific
grounds Alone Hitherto we have heard from party
concerned who could not easily speak Of their own SER
| vices and LAHORE. Now, we have q summing up OF
impartial Judges who unrestrsined by sense OF mod
esty naturally elt by those their own defense IN
fuch case recount the original causes Of the dif
fcuty ard properly characterize their growth and re-
| suit We cannot conceive how any candid and fair
minded man read the exposition OF the Committee
and come to any other conclusion than complete joe
tification Of DR.. Gould and his associates
The Dudley Observatory has for several years had
lee al existerce and name but up to the time when
CO npt con was formed between it as al institution
under a charter ard Scientific Council,
at consisted of an unfinished observatory building,
wholly fitted without matei changes Tor the uses
o be mace Cf it aud but for the connection oi tue
Scientific Council With il. would have gone TO decay
or would have stood ouy as an expensive and useless
COZ rtiivarce, in which the money OF its generous
ouI ard benefactress sacrificed What BOsTd
of Trustees could do alone in building up std managing
al Observatory had been sufficiently tested. IL was
in every sense dead enterprise, when wa taken 10
hsId by the Scientific Council.'
But at a meeting Of the Scientific Association a.
Providence 10 1885 al understanding wss eDterei nto
thnt heEomeer q very rare instrument, should De
procured for the Obserya atory in charge OF Professor
B,che az that Professor Bsche should place there
rsr sit instrument from among those belonging to the
Coast Survey for his and the use of the Obssrvs-
tory, and supply observer from among his assist
anti. To purchue this instrument, Mn. Dudley was
relied Cd, at whose expense the otherwise useless
buildings of the Observatory had been erected with
out this arrangement il would have fallen into utter
useessness and decay. Soon after this the scIenthc
Council were namsd, ard then followed the muuincent
donation Of Mrs. Dudley of fifty thousand dollars and
! the Inauguration OF 1856. On this bsss other dOna-
tiors were solicited and obtained. In short, ssys
the Committee everybody knows tina. the very eA-
"isteIce Of the Observatory to-day, as practical
thing for al that it has promised to be or to do, in
any degree profitable or creiitabs to scenee is due
absolutely, to the understanding referred TO with
"Prof. Bsche, the arrangement with bin aud his
associates, az Scientific Council, and finally the
pr.serce and abors of DR.. Gould and HE ASSISTANTS
| 4" on the premises.
Soon after, Dr. Gould went to Europe IN the service
Of the Observatory receiving for this service no remit
1erstion and paying out Of his own pocket one half
of the Necessary travelling expenses. When the time
came for preparing the buildings in Albany Cor the re-
ception of the instruments, he made frequent vsis
there to superrtend the work But when the financial
erils of last year overwhelmed the country all hops OF
put.iIg the Observatory in working condition seemed
at On end ard the President of the Board Of Trustees
presented to DR.. Gould the alternative Of either abau-
dopng il altogether, Of rendering IT, with corps OF
assistants grstu,ous assistance for two years 20 core
He did not hesitate, bu. accepted the trust sni the
President Of the Board then declared by letter that the
nst,ution was "in the entire and exclusive charge OF
"Dr Gould, subject only to the Scientific Council"
| p-. 4, sLnuI he reuenh hersd. al this time Dr.