Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-02-20
MEN AND MONKEYS.

O. oHAUNcEY BURRe REVIEW OF TIE DARwINIAN
THEORY.
The Opera House, last evening. contained
small but appreciatve audience to hear Hon. @.
Chauncey Burr deliver his interesting lecture call
ed "Men and Monkeys" Tin refutation Of the Oar
winian theory Of the transmutation of the spe-
cies until man is formed. The lecture was GER
tainly mastery production, which evidenced
deep thought and critical research ON the part
of Mr.. Burr, and II is to be regretted that so few
were present to hear the mastery arguments
in defence Of man against the monkey.
Mr. b., at the outset, said that his subject
was not intended to be amusing but instructive,
and he regretted that so little desire was mani
tested on the part of man to know more of man.
In ancient times, over the temple Of Minerva.
was inscribed, in bold characters, Know Thy
self !" but at the present day, with the exception
of one Anthropological society in Europe, there
ia no place set apart for the study of man, and
it Is left science not only eliciting no respect,
but actually despised by men.
Mr.. Burr then explained to the audience Oar
wins theory of the transmutation Of one species
OF creation into another, and instanced many of
the arguments Of Darwin and his followers
in support of such theory. Amongst the many
arguments of Darwin in support of his transmu-
tation theory, Mr.. Burr noticed q flock of
sheep, OF which the,weak and sickly will die out,
and the strong and healthy will transmit their
species until monkey Is formed, and then an
ape, and then man,
The giraffe noted for its long legs and still
longer neck, had become possessed Of these by
continual looking up, and browsing upon the
limbs Of trees This transmutation process,
however, may have required thousands Of
years.
Mr.. Burr, then, in mastery manner proceed
cd to adduce arguments refuting this transmu-
tation theory, and commenced with the Zoologi-
cal Zones. Each species OF animal and plants
were created for seme particular zone, and the
80 ft,Ifa
to any other zone than the one for which it was
created and all over the globe, wherever there
is new for@, new species OF man is found.
The Esquimaux was Indigenous to the Boreal
Zone, aud the Indian Is distinguished from any
other species OF man in the world When Aus
tralia was discovered, an entirely different flor@
was found to exist, and 40 distinct species of
animals were discovered, which were never
known TO exist in any other discovered country.
The native Australian was found to be entirely
different from any other species Of man, and al
though often tried nothing could be made OF
him. aud no Improvement has ever yet been
made in his condition but place him upon the
dissecting board, and he was still found to pos
sess an Osseous nature and his whole compost
ton proved that he was still man.
Indeed, said the lecturer, all Australia seemed
to 20 by the rule Of contraries nature appeared
to be upside down. The trees, instead Of being
sustenanced from the earth, through the roots,
were keep alive by the foliage inhaling the At
mosphere surrounding them.
The question of mans derivation from the
ape as advocated by Darwin, is entitled to due
credit, and we cannot avoid the fact that the ape
strongly resembles man and also Ithat during
the middle ages, the whole anatomy OF man was
only known by that of the ape. He also called
particular attention to the fact that young apes
and young children 80 much resembled each
other and acted 30 much alike as to be very en-
barrassing, but he laid particular emphasis upon
the fact that the older the APE got, and the
more fully developed he become, the more he
was unlike man.
Mr.. Burr then exhibited charts of the skull
Of a Gorilla, an African and Roman, which
could be traced back for period OF 5000 years,
and were precisely the same in formation and
development as those of the Gorilla African
and Roman of the present day. This fact alone,
Mr.. Burr thought, should disprove the transmu-
tation ideas of Darwin for il 5000 years did
not produce the beginning Of difference in the
formation of man, 1t was not likely that 3O,OOO
years would be any more percephble. The con-
quest Of England by the homans was alluded TO,
| at which time the Druids inhabited the North
and were distinguished for their literary attain
ments. Julias CBsAr was noted general, and
| the most learned astronomers OF which history
furnishes any account existed 10 those days, and
vet the osseous nature OF those nations nave
undergone no change.
History leads us back 500 years, and in no
instance can we discover that even man had any
/ afilation with monkeys or apes, but have al
/ ways been distinct species, and their develop
| ment perfect
For poetry, we yet study Homer, who existed
eight hundred years before the coming of Christ,
/ and for perfection in oratory we refer to Demos
Il themes away 600 years back OF the Christian era
i In those days the ancents were distinguished
for lite rary attainments, and in our day man is
Il noted for mechanical ingenuity.
| As reinforcing the arguments advanced, Mr.
Burr referred to the futile attempts to settle
Il Africa with the inhabitants OF other zones, IN
| which attempts 800, 900 persons have fallen vic
| Tins, from diseases from which they were en-
tirely free in their native CLINE, Mr.. Burr then
| delineated the physical formation OF the African
| to show that he was exactly adapted to the torrio
| zone for which he was created. The formation
| Of the foot showed his adaptability to treadin6
the hot sands, and his fiat skull and matted weo
to protect him from torrid sun.
we. as a people, have displaced the Indian
the rightful inhabitant of the zone in which We
live and as a consequence are subject to dis
eases not peculiar to our natures and Tor whict
we must con tinue to sufer.
Mr.. Burr would not refute the truths OF holI
| writ; he would not sweep away the hope upoI
which is based so much OF human happiness, ant
the hope of blightful immortality, but he woul'
| not be going too far, when he said, that do'
| might have created more than one Adam, ant
that every species OF creation was Iully aterS o.
| during Gods labor OF six days, after which n
pronounced it all very good-perfect.
The concluding portion of the lecture was gran
and sublime, and although he had spoken owe
two hours, there were many in the audience VIII
would gladly have listened Tor TWO hours more
---
Two more Irish priests have been acquitted o
the charge of using spiritual influence in th'
Galway elections.
Dufaure's resolutions to provide for two house
of the National Assembly of France has bee
adopted by the Committee Of Thirty.
The colored men of the United States are sti
, actively urging President Grant to accord belle
erent rights to the Cuban rebels.
II Al Proyidence r. L. last night, the room
Harry ID. Goldsmith, traveller for New Yor
honse, was entered at the Oity Hotel and robbie
? OF $11, 500 in watches and jewelry.
The Democratic State Convention Of Connect
l cut met at Hartford yesterday and nominated
! State ticket, headed by Charles Il. lngerson it