Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1882-09-09
1W6 ofoRry" cum

President called up No, 7, physician, VIII,
said In substance! "Om worthy President
OILERS w hit NJ quartz rock, ~ nmOrphus VI
lea It's technical name is silicic acid, and Il
is composed Of the base, silicon united will
two ATOMS of oxygen We arc pretty hmila,
with silica in the form Of flint, quartEerystals
white sand etc, etc. II IS very abundant
and enters largely into the composition OF on,
soils, 1t is capable Of uniting with mriou,
| metallic oxides. and OF solution In nlkales. and
under these conditions Is known as silicatcs.
| The alkaline ,iicatcs are soluble in water.
and arc found in many natural waters. and in
| The gcysers Of Iceland, and it is probable in
| those OF the Yellowstone Valley. II is he.
! lievcd that most Of the quartz veins and rocks
have been deposited from aqueous solutions OF
| Silieatcs. Silicon, the base Of silica, is one
| OF the fifteen onmctallic elements II is moi
found isolated, in nature. Arlifcially separa
| ted from ITS combinations, II is bright metal.
| lie looking substance, OF specific gravity 2. {,
and mclts at high heat, a little above fusion
point OF cas-iron, II has been crysalli,cd
| in octahedral forms, which have about the
same hardness rs ordinary quar,z.crys,al.
| 1t is undeniable, think, tina, our chemists can
not make 1t; they can ISOLATE it from its comb
nations. As to the question who made it, o,
whether on the other hand it has not always
existed, have no opinion to offer
| No 10 has the floor, says the President,
after waiting moments 10 is man OF leisure
4 reader and occasional writer lie said. "No.
7 has very clearly told us what this is, and
something Of its place, and use in the econom,
OF nature, and moreover that /, is beyond tn,
power OF science to produce it, The Presi
dents question then, presents us with an effect
the silica-and asks for the cause. Tn,
cause as shown by No. 7, is not in man. Anc
We are shut up TO one Of two conclusions, -
either it is selfcaused, OF comes from the crca
tive hand of the Divine Architect of the world
To hold that it is selfcaused would seem t,
me like holding that cause and effect are tn,
same thing, position not tenablc, think
either in physics OF metaphysics.
1
produced, but only modified, by any know
environment, with its strong inherent affinit,
ior oxygen, Its consequent, solubility and fit
ness to form the outer sheath OF our sugar cam
and cereals-this atom sprung out of nothing
II this is rational and comprehensive idea
| confess to he lacking in reason and compre
hersion.
From nothing nothing comes. Or il W.
imagine--not nothngncss-but primal, sub
Tic, all-pervading ether, as the basis out O
which all the elements have come forth,
still the question remains, whence this ether
the fruitful mother of the visible creation; an,
whence the differentiation of the clementsl 2
Again slight pause, and the President call
on No. 20. lawyer. Let US" said he
"review the case as it stands on the record
Chemistry has described silicon As one of tn
original elements, and incapable of artificial
production. Let us call some Of the o,he
sciences into court. VIVA, have geology an,
astronomy to say about t' We turn to tn
files OF ten million ages ago, found in tn
strong archives OF geology, and look for silica
We discover it dissolved in the thermal aka
line waters OF the not yet refrigerated planets
lor deposited thereirom in crystals and amor
phous masses. We turn to another more an
cient entry in the record. The earth is
molten globe, and the silica we seek is a par
OF the thin crust that forms and cracks, an,
surges and breaks on the surface of that fer
deep. This closes the geologic record. Theo
retical astronomy next takes the stand an,
points us TO that distant epoch when all tn
elements were vaporized by immeasurabl
heat, and filed the vast space OF our solar sys
tenn There, commingling with the sixty
three sister elements, iloa, the ethereal atom
OF the quartz before US. But have we lcarne,
anything more about its primeval origin
Gentlemen OF the club, the record fail
to establish the claimants case. The pro
ponents original ancestor has not been found
The astronomical, the geological, the chemi
cal records have been searched in vain for IN,
source of this simple substance And to wha
purpose is this discussion2 II we accept IN,
sublime, authoritative u,terance Of the Bible
that in the beginning, God created the heaven,
and the earth with all their elements and con
comi,ants there we may stop, there We ma,
rest But II not, where are the documents
from whence the testimony tina, shall sc,,l,
this iime'worn ages.old controversy" "No
TO- says the President, Twill you close the
deba,es' No. 10 is learned Judge, who aros.
and saidi Brethren Of the forty, is not in q
court OF common law, OF an ecclesiastical
court, that the question at issue is TO be de.
cided. bu, in the broader, and I may say
highe, court Of philosophy. In its forum We
may appropriately listen not only to the test
mony derived tom scientific records, but also
to the plain logic Of o'l common reason, and
even TO the timely drawn Arguments Of subtle
metaphysic, TO the propositions OF rational
cosmogony, and to the settled experience Of
mankind II l do not refer to the weiphty
teaching OF the Sacred Scripture, il is not tina,
! undervalue them. but n,he, because from
the nature Of the question nov presented for
consideration, We are to find the answer, il
possible, IN tbs exercise Of our own reason.
bsethren. was impressed, a. think eou all
were, With the pungeney Of OUT worthy Presi.
dents reasoning, which was, in brief, il man,
'he highest natural development, Of intelligence
and face combined, canno, make spiIe Of
grass, % an atom Of silicon, then being Of
iniesios power. OF an inanimale thing. mus, be
iaI less capable u IL accomplishment; in fact.
altogether incapable. The argumen, is a
sound and strong one, and appears 10 me TO
settle the point A. TO the notion Of self-c,ea.
sioa, !, Is 10 my mind an unthinkahle one.
and inhesnsIy coaisadictosy, ios !, assumes a
seli. acting upon self beiose the fast has an