, 1874-03-01

publicity Of thu courts, bat very io;Y have been
rewarded with the punishment they deserved.
Poor Jack from sea to shore, is tossed like q
shuttlecock between tyraut and tlef and is treat
ID hy ono andthe other to perpetual kicks, aud
Tu1s, and kusses, TO uso his OWL forcibIo
3ernacu1ar and ns little redress il a:taiuable for
him from the Law, as charity from the hearts OF
alen. 1t is barbarous, shameful condition for
American citizens to be subjected to- and cries
out to the people for instant reformation.
i AS one Ut tho dep!ofab1e rcsu1te Of this gross
4buso Of our merchant-marine, American clti-
7oas refuse to continue in ao3fari1g life. Al
ready .l:reo-fourths OF our yessels are navigated
ty gcamen owning allegiance to- other Govern
menta. 1t this rate in q short Epnco Of time
our entire commerce will pass into the hands OF
Foreigners. I: is 3 diareputab1o fact, staring uB
plainly in tho face.
F. Another serious mischief. annually on tbs In
<reaso is tho frequency OF disasters to our ship
ping. In the years botwecn t341 and 19i5 there
we're 4,0c9 Vessels built in tho Unitcd States.
and C33 vcaae!s wrecked, "a loss OF nearly II per
cent Of tho number built. ln the years between
1865 and 1872 there we're 5,3s7 vcsao1s built, aud
2,177 vessels wrecked,-a loss Of over 10 per
cent. Truly IN appalling incroaso in the ratio
Of disoaster:: Statistics show, as the reason.
that American vessels are not now constructed
~ substantially IA they used to be, and are not
30 carefully na1igated. These IRE grave mat
tors, iooparlizing the prosperity Of our nation.
glance at tho condition OF our navy docs
not reveal 4 state Of things any moro hattor-
Ing to the national pride. We have one Of tho
most expensive naVies in the world, and enc Of
tho most defective. Like many another Amcri-
can public and domestic institution, what itlacas
In quality it mahos up in cost. But this to
sober nln1s, hardly strikes balance. The
British navy is kept in excellent trim on less
than oao-haH the amount expended on our own.
Tho average annual cost OF each vessel Ill tha
British EaTy (tho best In tho world) is $G9 900;
whllo the average expense OF each vessel in the
navy OF tho United States ia $685. 9li Tor the
ffnr%% Ma x3v~-r
yearly expense OF 5000 per man. England sus-
! tains hers in primc order at SEQ per man. There
Is shocking disproportion between the cost OF
tho two nayies. and, what is more, an equal dis
! proportion in their efficiency.
y Tho seAnen in the naval service are subject
to about the same abuses as those endured by
sho merchant-marine. They mood tho salae
| thorough reformation. Recent laws baye gone
into force which, in various particulars, tend to
the better protection Of ths interests OF the
sailor on sea and land and charitable instltu-
! tiona in seaport towns are looking to his COM
fort and elevation. Eut much more remains to
| be done by legislation and humanity before his
rights will be properly hedged about, and he IT,
| telves the recognition duo him as gu American
| citizen.
While acting as Consul at Singapore, DR..
/ Jewol was brought into constant contact With
sailors in the merchant-serrico. and gained a
full insight into tue deporable relations habitu-
ally existing between them and their officers.
| folded to him, which aroused his deepest sympa-
! thies on behalf OF the sea1neu. He has written
this book in the hope shns public feeling will ba
stirred b7 tho aad facts narrated, and that those
| In authority will be incitsd to GONE action for
the raliet not only Of the oppressed sailor, bat
| also OF the eea Captain, who certainly sullera
| much injustice from his supsriors.
/ Chemistry.
TIE BIRTH or CHEMISTRY By g. :; noDwx1I
| & F. e. a Sceucn Masttt in Marlborough
!. College, etc. With Numerous Illustrations. Lon
| j. don 11ac1nillan X Co.
| t The fact that the natural sciences have his
| tory worth writing and rcEding has scarcely yot
| obtained recognition. Many Of them are still ir
| their infancy or youth, and have seemingly &C
| eompliahcd 1ittlo toward creating history
! Scholars who have been occupied with their cnl-
4uro have felt, too, that it wa8 q more important
work to extend their progress than to gather VI
| the records Of their growth in the past. Ant
yet the circumstances that hayo attended thu
birth and carly development Of the sciences ART
| roplcte With interest. An investigation OF then
occasions research into the history Of nations
md Of the advance Of the human mind It 1e
vea1s new incidents touching both, and not on'
| Of these can be without value. In proof o
j these last truths, we have but to 'cito the vol
une whose title heads this notice, and wh:cl
readers OF every soil will find full Of entertain
| ment.
Chemistry is one OF the Oldest Of tho nat
ural .ecicnccs. Some practical knoE1els
tions Of antiquity, centuries before til
| Christian crn- The Egyptians and S!donlanH
for instance, attained marvellous skill IN color
| ing glass and working the metals; which inf1i
cataH that they Lad . considerable understand
Ing. Of tho properties Of matter and OF ccrtail
| chemical changes. Dat this knowledge was no
reduced to theory, and gavo rise to no syste1Ia
| tizcd science. It waB foreign to tue genius Q
the ancients to observe Nature: They coEsid
cred Man the only trre objec. OF contemplation
And thoy woro in tie habit OF generalizing IRON
incxact and insufficient data; hence tho Ter
| theories which tnoy adopted concerning Chem
tstry and other natural sciences wero crude o
f.lEc.
itiyo nations we're in possession Of seven mathis
viz: Gold, silycs, copper, tin. :Kon, lead. ant
| mercury. SIX OF thezo aye mentioned By Homer
| but mercury is not spoken OF By writer's earlie
than Pliny. Go]d-mincs formerly existed i
| Ethiopia and were washed by the Eggplant
| It vas manufactured by them into ornaments, Q
| which those styled Etruscan had raro nrtist
beauty. It was also made into Gno wlr
for embroidery, end was beaten into le1
snd ussd 70! o. si!Sing n. 2ooo = yen5s B.
earlier than silver, which was originally calie'
vhito gold. Tho oldea: Greek coin in existcncs
| belonged to tho currency Of ESina, and VA
perhaps stamped in tho eiGhth century D. G
Copper had bocn long in uso whom iron was dig
4 covered, which was probably about 1,537 3.
Bronze was cast in Egypt at least 1000 ycar
| B. G.. and was manufactured into vases mir
rors, arms, etc. Tin was also known, at ToE
remote date, and WIS supplied almost ontirel
BY Spain mud Britain. DJoing was e1tensivcl
practiced, and the colorB produced we're varied
bright, aud fast. The art Of tanning vas ais
common. and Pliny mentions tho use OF soap
From this TIC may infer that the nacients he:
tho secret OF Tarous chemical operations. a
though they m,do no effort to resolve their sii
into science.
The symbolic system which appcrtains t
Chemistry originated in "a early ago, and prof.
j ab!y among the Chaldees. It arose from al =
i sociation Of the eevep rnotsls with tho eeve
/ heavenly todieo composing their planetary B.'s
i tem The names and synbols which character
| iZcd the planets wero couferredupon the mctaf
i and hayo been attached to them ever since.
II. Thero ia not much doubt that Chemistry es
ecience had its birth in Arabia. about ths eight
century, B. G. At thst period, when EuroT
:. was in state OF tota1 intellectual darKness
!: the Arabinns were tho n1ost cultivated PEI
p,o in tho world. 1t wns in tho eight
i century that tho University OF Ha1dad va
i founded which afterward atta1nad great ce1cE
rity. and at one time had more than COCO E.u