New-York tribune., 1874-09-21

tiyely established, are those furnished by cattle
breeders and pigeon fanciers together with certain
variations beyond the sphere OF mans influence
whatever that last clause may mean. He charged
Prof Tyndall with drawing on his imagination Tor
his facts, and there were other gems scattered
throughout the sermon which need not transfer
TO these columns. What have quoted wll
give you a notion of the spirit. not merely OF
this particular sermon, but OF the whoie Dei'
fast Presbyterian pulpit Intolerance ruie'
here. and rules on both sides. The Roman
Catholic tone is equally hostile, and IL IL
is to be Judged by articles and letters in the
Roman Catholic organ of the town. is even more
scurrilous. thiuk it deplorable that such spirt
should be shown. 1t does no particular harm 10
Prof. Tyndall or to the British Association But 1t
brings discredt on the genuine Christianity, when
may be Presbyterian Roman Catholic, or OF any
other sect and which wish to reverence In spite oi
all the DIR. Wattses in Ulster or elsewhere.
You may like to see little of the shape the same
qualities took in some of the Belfast papers some OF
which sought to relieve the dryness OF purely sclen
titic discussion by little harmless bu1oonery'
have laid aside half dozen examples neither better
nor worse than many Others.
To begin with the Presbyterians, the dominant
faction Of Ulster whose organ is 1he Begds' new'-
letter. a paper of large circulation 1he Ne"s.e"~
utters valedictory to the Association, Win which
# narts "thanful at finding that if Christianity De
not all we believe it is not the mess that some poo
ple say-it is not kettle of fish" PHILOSOPHY, In
the opinion of The Newsletter, has always denied the
doctrine of great First Cause Luckily Inc he's-
letter has read this First Cause from the scrlbbling
in the skies and "in the tokens of His wisdom
stamped in and around us.7 1.-THE sum of existence
is happiness" and religion is the equivalent
NU.Il, nv 90
to that journal, feel great desire to thank The
Newsletter for its dissent the opinions of some
of the Association. The editor and correspondent
NAV ftly mourn together that such body OF men
"should have been gradually losing itself IN the
fogs of mysticism skepticism, and baseess magma
tion" and await the reaction, on the arrival OF
which "such vanities shall disappear solid rell-
pous works replace them and the present and eter-
nal welfare Of our fellOw-creatures be the OBJECT OF
our literary associations" Another correspondent
ian Agassizian," wishes to be permitted to inform
Prof Huxley and Others that "one of the logical
of the resurrection of Lord is that
he and and all men shall rise from our graves at
the last day. and be Judged for the thoughts, words
and deeds of this present fe and that the issue VIII
be everlasting punishment or eternal life" Ana
these he exclams care the men to prate OF wisdom,
while they afront common sense by endless hypoth-
eses begotten of nebulous fog; and OF pity, while
thew wound the hearts of multitudes of simple folk,
and calmly view the agonies of an expiring frog!"
The Ulster Examiner is the Roman Catholic organ
in Belfast In its view, Prof Tyndall's notions are
"insane and atheistcal dogmas" and it is unable to
see how Christian gentlemen can remain in the
Association after the delivery of this address. The
Christian gentleman who does the Underwriting
for The Examiner has set the Association an example
how controversies should be conducted. When he
wishes to refer to cotempOrary, he speaks OF the
cockney gentleman of Scotch extraction who pre-
sides over q so-called Liberal paper, The Northern
Whig which represents no party in this province"
and of his article as devoid alike OF scientific
knowledge and gentlemanly feeling" little
further on, the unhappy man becomes an automaton
with shallow mind, and weare assured that there
is not in Belfast o single Catholic clergyman that
will not discuss publicly with this bloated pigmy
any question, mathematical philosophical, or
scientific" This is / need hardly say
editorial but the same paper has some
of its correspondents of almost equal force
j. K. the day before 1.-THE strike ended. makes what
he thinks good point by suggesting in The Utster
Examiner that the British Association, if not above
practical work. should do something about the
strike "instead of endeavoring to prove themselves
gifted bahoonsv Then comes Mr.. Felix Mcllwhane,
who pronounces the members of the Association
"quite as eccentric, almost as silly, and nearly as
ridiculous as the real old stoics cynics, epicureans
skeptics, &C., that long ago 'dandered' through
Greece To say that Epicurus despised death is,
in Mr.. Felix McIlwhanes opinion, 81 simple balder-
dashp He thinks that 3" a smart chase from hall
domeshcated terrier would make the most profound
professor at the British Association forsake half his
small nonsense about atoms and molecular force"
and all of them are "humbug philosophers" who
ii 4bo;r Of mot nh hVSlp
stiltsD And there is great deal more of the same
kind of thing, were it worth the space it takes.
think the above will answer as a sample of all the
rest.
1t would be anything but fair to Belfast that it
should be Judged by writers of this caliber and
temper Its leading paper is The Northern Whig, an
able and independent journal, liberal and perhaps
radical in politics. but moderate in tone and thor
oughly well managed. Its reports of the general
and sectional meetings of the Association would
have done credit to London paper in fullness and
accuracy OF Prof. Huxleys address the report IN
The Northern Hhiq is the only that has been re-
yised by himself aud is more complete than that OF
THE Times 1t requires no little frmness to take the
stand The Vkio has taken in Belfast; owning no
allegiance to Orangeman or Paplst, and equally
hostile to the intolerance of boh whether In politics
or in relgionand in Ulster it is reproach to any
man or to any journal not to be extreme and not to
take purely partisan view Yet The Whsg COM
mands respect by its courage, and wields an intu-
ence on the politics of the province which entities 1t
| to the gratitude of every Irishman who sets the
welfare of his country above prejudice and passion
To-day is to be devoted to excursions, but of the
excursions l can say nothing, for l must make an
excursion of my own to London, and leave the
Giants Causeway and Genarm and Garron Tower,
| cray Abbav and Mountstuart House, and many
other attractive spots to some future day. hope
everybody carries away as pleasant memories of
Belfast as I do. | concur most heartily with a
N. Na.aLa.a ILil zrhn-as flll of thnn nht