Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-11-01

SOME STUNNING QUESTIONS.
"The primary and practical question we have
to determine" as Mr.. Hampden puts it, lis
this: On what possible grounds can q surface,
which TO any available extent even on land
can be proved to be devoid of any approxima-
ton to a continuous curve while. on water an
absolutely level and horizontal area can alone
be disc overed by the utmost skill aud the most
perfect instruments we can employ. be called
globe or any portion of q globe or sphere?"
Never for a moment has he admitted that the
Bedford canal experiment was anything moro
than stupendous piece Of scientific jugglery
on the part of lot of designing men.
Mr.. Hampden is like the twelfth juryman,
who declared that the hull 'leven we're agin
him from the start" I'VE have very re-
luctantly and very regretfully been forced to
the conclusion" he writes, that there is no
longer any room for doubling that the clergy,
the journalist and professional classes gem
orally have entered upon determined con-
spracy to assist to the utmost all discussion
and exposure of the Pagan blasphemy of Sir
Isaac Ncwtons globular theory. a" And
these laundering craftsmen. with their
specious efrontery, have actually silenced the
too timid defender of biblical truth. SO that
the very men who naturally shrank from ex :
posing the weakness of the only authority they
had tor occupying the positions they did
yielded submlss. on to these braggart geology lists
and tamely acqulesced in all the blasphemy
they uttered"
THE BIBLICAL THEORY.
1--WE claim no originality" says this zetetic
philosopher ''for the announcement that this
earth is a circular and motionless plano in
stead of a revolving ball. This was regarded
as a broad, palpable, indispu able and we'll
established fact during the first Il We thousand
years. And the impious and impudcnt attempt
TO improve upon or supplant the inspired teac IL
Ing OF the sacred historians by the whimsical
hctions of the heather astroloGers is all that we
are engaged in denouncing. y We can
not admit that Newtons solar system or globu-
lar theory ls partly true and partly false. but
we most emphaticalIy declare, and are pre-
pared to prove, that it does not contain one
single particle OF truth from the first line to the
last The globular theory Is theory
only, extravagant and unphilosophical ir-
rational and absurd, dependent on laws
which have never existed. and is supported
only by bigots who have never ventured to ap-
peal to actual facts to illustrate or enforce their
too learned pretensions. Whereas the indis-
putable proofs Of the world being stationary
plane are 50 numerous and oyerwhel lining
aud so palpabe as to CONVINCED every honest
inquirer. Children at play may in
dulge IN fanclful conjectures, but practical
men should not submit to such baseless super
sttions as to believe that their ships are ever
sailing upside down to the docks from whence
they started"
Shades of Calico Kepler and Newton What
grinding torments must their departed spirits
endure II such utterances these are ever
borne IN upon their consciousness to disturb
their deliberations, as they meet upon the
bank of some hmpid stream flowing through
the Llyslan fields To discuss the deep problems
that once so perplexed them, but which they
must now so easily comprehend.
In 1877 MIR. Hampdeu published little bro
chure OF sixteen pages entitled The New
Manual of Biblical CosmOgraphy," in which he
outlines the general system of the universe
according to his views The following is
summarized statement Of the leading features
of this SYSTEM
In the first place, all the usually accepted
maps of the world, both those showing two
hemispheres and Mercator's rectilincar projec-
tons, all models representing the earth a
globe, and all our Biographies, must be dis
carded as being In every respect erroneous and
utterly misleading. All our acquired learning
on this subject must be unlearned and rele-
gated to the limbo of rejected theories.
THE EARTH AND THE STARS
The earth rests on actual foundations which
the Scriptures declare are past finding out 1t
Is not merely suspended in space, but is sup
ported by some sort of substantial base under
meath it. The sun. moon and stars are self
luminous and uncomfortable gases and float
upon an atmosphere denser than themselves.
The stars are hardly bigger than the gas Jets
which light our streets, and if they could be
made to change places with them no astrono-
mer could detect the difference. II every star
in the armament were to fall into the sea to-
morrow we should miss them just much and
no more than we should the daisy on our
lawn"