, 1875-12-02
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE.

THE ORIGIN OF LtFEs
rr1r. Proctor orr tho Theory Of Hpon-
1Rnrnua tlcncrntlnn-f.ifd frot'i Othcr
Woristv--fnFlisrnne or lffnf.
new fong, Nnv. 28.-7o ne Ei.!ar OF Mr
Ne,p lork Tribune: 1rot. l'roctor'a lo!tr-
ninatinn to tako tho eauIe atle with tnon ltAo
Tyn,ial Darwin, ai,tl Huxley, in their luttrpre-
sat,nn Of nat,1ro, t,aa been fully and satafacsor-
ity asplai,,oi br Mr.. Proctor himself III R fet'sr
10 tho Tribune. You very rightly remarked.
uno commenting on 1t III 1T, editorial, tsIRt"it
lhe yiewH Of pro'. Tynla1l. csjecIaify after his
belfast nJtlress, Ind mHcn 10 IN will, Awakening
Irof. lroe;or's symt athfes.' sclencs han gain
ell strong cllaHrion through tho pera1sse1s
feel on almost all mon who pct fAn,it-
lar With NATURE by untring elfoyth to
reach tho trutl. n,oHt phnno'ncnR. Ono Of your
corr fesponltnts III! TEneainy'a 7fitnH"1 taR al
fra1y ttate that nlmp.t all The eminent taact,-
eta and exrct,nebsetH In Tho tcioncs OF natnto
nrc supporting ;hs thcury uf evolution nj Irst
| aiyniced tY Lnn1areh ueoffrey vt. liairo, aud
| Goethe and lately so olear!v expoHnict and 30
nubly defended by Darwin, fln1tay. and Iineck-
oI. Tie chief p,lnt in rcstl 10 Which lhers is
somo divcrHiky Of nplnloi,, sthe question Of tho
| origin Of lifa, Prof. Proctor las IN his ftnt
lecture declared that ,o iH Will K to beoro in
| SPONTANEOUS generation, Willie in la second
| lecture ho lnskcn m mention Of Tits interchtlng
point Of human Inquiry. This belief in spon-
tanoous goncration III shared by great mnhy
scientIats, Tor, although lnsteur's experiments,
and especially tloao Of Max Schutze, have APP
parentlv A!apro7ed Bpnntanenus Xenoraton by
| Dastans processes III our Lines, 1t ~ thought
necessary to pos!uIalo this supposed form of
gencsation iu u1dcr to explain tllo itst origin OF
| Ito. ....
Thn Brppoeition generally accantod is that the
conditions llrycBsatv for aput,tancouY Eenetatl0n
cxstc Just at The cioso Of that lcr'ot of efomi-
| cal nud physical cot,lsnotion 50 nftsn rcferred 10
| l., 81 r
tho iluid sxto Of tili. plano:. Nov. this thoory.
| although m admirable monument Of inmnn
| thought, is not na yet estatliahed heyunI! a
i1nht on tbs contrary. excellent cietnlsta-
conference.-the proof that certain bodieH on our
| earth liars nerer baen in molten condition,
and that tho computation Of insns nnetals does
not support tto theory OF 'lintr having s'een pro.
ducet ~ plnfonic processes. Tho ncrlt* OF
| I.nplaros theory will not nu~ dscnss only
tako the liberty tp IoInt to tho fact that there
! n mtnocity-ln nanhrrH at lonst Of Eccnti's
who do not atlm1t lilo oasbftg Of living matter
| having oyer originated from deA1 matter, and
therefore donotholiovot tn spontaneous generation
| at my t:fne, however rtmu.c. Iilcr Nsws l
w.ll briefly etrto: Al! living matter IN The unt-
! vcrro inns tlescantloa fIuln uthor living matter
ax,s.i,E lefnre, Ho tint life oxiHtA sincn tho uni
ycrao 0xHts, /. O., both forms ri mattor. living
Rud dead, organized and inorganic, sro infinite
ih tftno ~ thoy are m space. Th'a hsrothess
lss Ind ths Rnppott OF nRuy eminent mon. htlch
mon it jH supported by llolln'lollz, El,roAberg,
E!cnter, and alr William Thompson. A tDnBt re-
! ma-lah1o fact In connection With Tho theory ie
that It. Inn been tho result Of deop tho'1ghs Oh
tia subject with many Of th05e ntnngNt HON i'll
JeuondenlIr .. nncll other. 1l1chter waa the
1irat 10 publish thus Wow, doag 80 wlifo roylew-
ine Darwm's "Or,gtn of snocioa' in = der
mau medical monthly IN 1876. Sir William
! IT, dotlated bofoIo tho British Association IN
| Edi,tburc, In 1s7l, his CONVICTION that this
thoury, wlsct, wsa tho result Of hrs orn rntlec-
tiors tsns not at all in papnei'snn to ncccptcd
to lnynlulates tic u'd quostion abou: the bcein-
ming. md docs eroRt norvico 10 Bcichc8 by dis
ponsinH with Buch Idle. questioning. Ons OF
slloae obsor.cra, EhrenbcrE, widely Enowtl for
that The aroat ascending oqaato.taI atf.curront
carries with II emaii lnfnsoEin. apores at1d nFleH
from south Amn1ica and Africa. and ttspoSlts
tlIcn m Contral Europe. Thu curious phcnon,.
on lbs Aipn, Ia cannel by billions Of ouch in't'so-
ria l,etng du, ,oBitol Oh tho SHOW. Those minute
Etru,a and eporoa. tho e.istcncs OF Which III in1'
| .1.epBo numbers III tho dust o! our atnoHpaara
tho microscope has fSvSa'o. ,st arc carried re
tic dtrercut ascending currc,!ts t!sat
thoy enter the uppcrntant atrasa OF our a +
mosphuse, anh bY cIH,tnE gradually in co!sact
with tho cosmio q atnonpe,re, may. 20 Mlppea on
wsudor into space. They tnhy thon como within
lhe zone Of attraction of another heavenly body.
planet a comet, OF Ill aprolite. II thIa bo.iI
IL hahtablo, tho germs, botn o"lmst n"d ;esota-
! hls, will become active again, a'1a dsSelop ac-
cUrling to tho lava vi ovolntlon.
| Ono ,s not abio To provo with absolute csrtaFn-
ty tim. our earth hns bccu populated in tbs
manner with l,vins benAs. 9roat probability u,
however, glyun 10 this view ny y peculiar prop.
city OF tho lnocorites and ncrolE:rH that fall on
our earth. ThiH pccutiarty was lrst discovered
by Wohlcr. and hsH bcon founl to bo prnseut
IN many other ina!aucoA. These meteorfd showers
tIleeu picceB OF s'costntc dust" coutun carbon.
There arc iuoloeod tn ther intorior 1nssaas similar
10 moiu. Thus il was with tho motcot1e that
fell near tho Knba IN Hungary, now In Rochen-
bhcll's collection; nnd tho sans tFacce OF Of
gnnio matter a1e found in one from Org'loil II
Flanco and another from n,kehsrt o. the
uapo Of Good Huge. Tho most extraordinary
cnao on record, h0Noyer. il tint OF inetoorlt
shower si.ch fell 10 3wedon In 1879 tho bact
piuces. consisting almost exclusively OF mold,
could be easily oo!lectcd, because thoy happpnoc
to tesoend on suow-lloll. Wo know that mo:t
III nlways Tic roau!t of somo organo process !
t.ut living particles play tho oilc1ent lnrt ~ il
J production. Tho proof ia titus established fo
, ths fnck that organic massea oxlst 10 cosni'
upacs. Tho lato Edgar Qu.not Gays:
Lifn II Of = pos'ntc nature. II wanlera sho,l
s9 s; ss.td oa4
h&d tatus, shapr anil Il will ont9ira 1t. Ths rarh tool
NJ tle germs u I'll future toin1s from tho cosn'i
nru,nio sinss srs s,rawn ahoit and Viii develop
they alni tavoranb ground, from t'o loxss
tyre vi, to reasonable brlnBs.
Trof Proctor otatc.l iu l.la second lecture hi
belief that life ia infinite IN unhco and time; IL
: min frat lecture ho manifestlv leaned to tn
theory Of Spontaneous generation at buth vcgota
| Lla aud animal life, though ho admitted taht =
: generation OF lifo la inpos feet mud unHAtlsfac
tory. Docs not Sss William Thompson's tl,eor
. supply the 1nlasins link In tho unnlcss chAtp O
, life. making tho hyrothosls ot apontsnools Ee'