New-York tribune., 1874-09-21
TyNDALL CRITICISED.

MANAGED IRISH NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. bAEh-
RIENcEs OF THE ASSOCIATION.
lFRoM THE KEeuLlR CORRESPONDENT THE tribune
belfast Aug. 27-Prof Huxley. whom business
called away ON Tuesday, was not allowed 10 eeV
away without parting shot from the PresoyteriaD
guerrillas. lie seems to have been followed 10 'he
railway station and to the very door OF his carriage
by that astonishing Professor OF Systemauo Inc
ology who made himself famous by turning Luere'
thus intoa Greek philosopher. Dr. Watts had chip
on his shoulder which he particularly wanted Prof
Huxley to knock off, but Prof. Huxley most unac-
countsbly would have nothing to do with Dr. watts
and his chip He would not talk science or SYSTEM
attic theology in the Belfast station, nor delay his
Journey nor so far as | can make out, pay any at
tention whatever to DR.. Watts. SO the latter pub
fishes the following note:
Ea AssEHBLY's COLLEGE BELFAST. Aug. 90. 1874.
pfas before the close OF the meetings Of the British
Association was wholly unexpected by me- and as you
cason OF your leaving by the limited mail" of yester
day nsse e eu Of the
will return at yonr earliest conyeplenee ana aiSTuss s
ton viz Do animai organisms furnish in their struc
ture and acOn evidence OF the existence anu
OF an antecedent intelligent causeI am ST' yours
ROBERT WATTS. Professor Of Systematic Theology.
Which ia perhaps one of the coolest documents
that has lately seen the light, aud suitably enough
closes the Presbyterian pulpit episodes In the MS
tory of the Belfast meeting.
At the concluding meeting of the Association,
held in Ulster Hall on Wednesday, 1t was stateu
that the whole number OF tickets issued hao peeh
Io5l and everybody agreed in describing the Belfast
session as a success in all sorts of ways Even the
Mayor who was reported to have taken alarm when
the anti-theologcal meaning of Prof TyndalPs
opening address was explained to him, reappeared
upon the platform of the Association, and responded
60 the vote of thanks given him for the hospitatles
of the town of which he delights to call himself the
Chief Maoistrate The announcement by Prof.
Tyndall of the settlement of the strike was
heartily applauded, and even some OF the
Belfast ministers forward to join in the
general expression of gratitude to the Association
tbad been thought that Prof. Tyndall might take
some notice in his closing speech of the extraordi-
nary attacks that had been made on himself and on
the Association generally by the Pulpit and by a
portion of the Press at Belfast But he preferred to
look ON the bright side, and TO remember only the
more hospitable part of the reception gwen him.
lie thanked equally his too generous friends and
his by no means ungenerOus foes" which Is mag
nanimous. but leads one TO suppose he had read or
heard only a very small part of what his foes had
been saying and printing. In the same tone OF de-
yotion to pure truth which has marked all his
utterapces he declared that so far as he had been
wrong In aDNIuluR 81 Adl hO o"AS w
come to naught and prove a mere yapor that van
isheth away: SO far as he had been true he should
be justified in the future. With these words he
adjourned the Association. to meet at Bristol next
year. Aug. 25 at in the afternoon.
What sort of generosity and courtesy Prof Tyn-
dals assaants in the pulpit had shown him may
here be mentioned. They showed a characteristic
readiness for fight. Prof Tyndalls address was de-
hvered on a Wednesday. The preparation of 1T
must have cost him some weeks of hard work 1t
is striking proof of the superiority of the theOlog
ical TO the scientific mind that the Belfast clergy
should be ready three days later with demonstrations
of its falseness. Some of them perhaps heard Of
DemOcritus and Lucretius for the first time. Some
of them may not have heard of those respectable
names yet. Imet an eminent Presbyterian on the
evening of the day after the delivery of the address,
aud tell into a discussion with him. He denounced
Prof Tyndall with great harshness, which did not
much surprise me, and even described his address as
wanting in ability which did surprise me little
II occurred to me to ask him if he had read it, He
said he had not, and he received Ill my sug-
gestion that it might be worth while to
read it before expressing decidad opinion on its
merits or demeTts 1t is rash to say that discourse
so compact as this on subject of such difficulty can
be fully comprehended on its delivery In large
hall in most parts of which the speaker could not
be heard without great effort and could not be fully
heard even with the closest attention. Some OF the
clergy seem to have read it. hoped the Belfast
papers would have reported them, but they give
only the sermons of DR.. Watts and Prof Jelett the
latter on prayer. But perhaps one will do as well
as more DR.. Watts is Professor of Theology In the
General Assemby's College. He is, / have heard,
an able man in his way, and his sermon the 23d
proves him skillful cOntrOverSialist OF a certain
knd-the kind which fourishes in great perfection
o,old diecuasiOna at the Old BAILEY. and
theological discussions pretty much everywhere.
nonpIar nreiudice is associated with the name of
TDicurns DIR. Watts quick to see that this
,vond serve his purpose. Prof. Tyndall is an Epi-
curean. and Epicureanism is the warp and woof OF
his philosophy "You can be both atheistic and
theistic both goddess and rehgious such Is the
doctrine enunciated from the platform OF the British
Association" The fruit of it DR.. Watts knows in
advance "The very name of epicure has become
the synonym of sensualism." That is q theological
naster-stroke You have given your dog his bad
name-no matter how-and you have nothing to do
but LET somebody else hang him. The distinction
between the doctrine of Epcurus and the idea con-
viewed by the modern term epicure is too clear and
broad not 10 be present in DR.. Watts's mind. The
two have nothing in common, but he is pretty sure
that his audience will not knOwthat " 1t has
wrought the ruin of the communities and lndlvld-
nails who have acted ont its principles In the past
and if the people of Belfast substitute it for the holy
religion of the Son of God, and practice its de-
grading dogmas the moral destiny of the metropolis
of Ulster may be easily forecast" II we compare
this and some other extracts from DR.. Wattss SER
mon with the judicial and dignited passages IN
which Prof. Tyndall discusses the position OF his
opponents shall we say that the minister or the
philosopher is the better Christian or gentleman
Dr. Watts pronounced the historical part of Prof
Tvndalps address nothing more nor less than an in