DARWIN CENTENARY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 577, 4 August 1909, Page 8

DARWIN CENTENARY.

TRIBUTES OF WORLD'S SCIENTISTS. MR/BALFOUR'S EULOGY. 'Weather conditions proved- favourable on tine '23 for :the Darwin .centenary celebraions" at Cambridge University , (sajs the 'Standard"), and from,ten to .half-past tlio c fontbers: of tho Senate House, with ,the<dele- ' ates and; guests of tho university .seeking dmission; passed .through;the streets of the imversity -city. • Lord Rayleigh opened -tho. proceedings by welcoming the delegates. It was, he said no | rdinary occasion that had brought together ustinguished men, from,, all; partes ~of tho rorld.v 1 'He well remembered the. stir that j ras caused 'when, Darwin, gave, to the ,>yorid I us ■'•Origin of -Species''; fifty years,.ago. lo 1 rtany they were- unwelcome 'then,. and_.-to t nany-'they remained, unwelcome,. to-day. i 'Cambridge,". Lord Rayleigh continued, ''is 1 lot held so fast in the bonds of medievalism 1 is somo suppose;'tho -university is - pro-, i lared to' accept the results of investigation i ;ciontifically undertaken." . ' Mr. J. W. Clark, registrar of the umver- i lifcy, read out tho list of dolegates sent to 1 Cambridge . by; the ■ universities , and .learned ] iocioties of the.world. • Each.delegate, as his i lame was called, came up and presented to i jord Rayleigh' the address his society" had iroparcd- In all there were 2-13 delegates, .] iiid the -reception accorded to each was ,ac- 1 ■ording to the high, position that Ins, work < las won for him in .the world, of science..At irst:-there ■ was- a v little', reluctance to -,ap- ! ilatid, 'but the ladies and .the:graduates and - lndcrgraduate members assembled in. the , jallery round , the hall led the ohoering, vhich soon became general. ... • Naturally tile Darwms rcccived tho most jnthusiastic .'.reception. Sir, .George .Darwin ;ame forward as the representative of tho University of Pennsylvania,. Philadelphia, ot the Philadelphian Society of Natural Sciences, ipd of tho Academy or Rome, Dr. Francis Darwin, 1 in the nohly-coloured .robes., of .a Joctor; represented the\Bntish Association [or the Advancement of Science, Major Leonard Darwin, in'engineer's uniform, appeared Eor . .-the' :Royal-Geographical ; Society,and Mr.-'WillMm Darwin, • J.1.-deiiv-, Bred the commemoration address y of. ? the Hartley University,. College, Southampton. v . ' Famous 'Foreign Delegates. " AniOTg tiio foreign delegates received with ■ special enthusiasm were •Professor jEdouard. ran Beneden (Brussels), remembered es- , pecially for his 'de'monsrtration of - the ' exist-. Miee./of/ceritrosbmisiv in.-: the ; ; dividing cell; ■ Professor. SvariteArrhenius ! (Stockholm), /forfcKe immense volumes' ori tho valuable phy-. sical: work' he ; . has' produced during tho"rer searclies' of /a lifetime ; Professor Hoffding, for' the way in which-he 1 has. applied the , conception of evolution. to - tho < problems of modern philosophy;; Professor Motchmkoff,fot his work' on inflammation,'/ on . the, factorsl contributing to old; ago/ and .the .other researches: that have 'brought .distinction.-on . the Pasteur Institute; Pnnco Roland: Bonaparte,vfor'the way.in which he has .-.■worthily r fo'llO^redij^out/■'the'j /tra&tiqrial wards;tscienco I'that '.was.vso .marked a-char-acteristic of' th 6 First • Consul; Professor, do Vries;' ; 'f6r- 'his:' tHwry^/'of' ; riiutatioKs ! .the Italian; Ambassador; Professor Genyoku, Kuwaki .(Imperial-'-Umversityji Kyoto); >and Dr.. H. P. Keahnge, Egypt. ;/iGle'v: addresses ! .'of merely illuminated rolls of parchment, others elaborately bound volumes,; and otlpers , in well-chosen cases. ■■ At the end. of -the ccromony tho tables at the back of, the dais wei o. filled'. eulogies- v of tho-.'learned' soi. ciotios that will be treasured in tho,archives of the university. ' Four Speeches. Four addressed were'delivered. The first was -by Pirofessor 'Oscar Hertwig, of-. Berlm. He-described' the -great influence Darwin .has exercised in the development of. German b(ology,i.and oontended;that Dar,win!s:-yiews werdimore .'dominant. mGennany-than'.injany' other! country."'-"*: Darwin's name' hid 1 'diirijfg' this centenary year been. honoured,.in all ithe towns> and" by v all the scientific ■ of Germany.—Every German ;paper had dovotedan article, to his work. . ;v : ''Professor Motclmikoff, ■> of ■ tho Pasteur Institute, emphasised'the influence rof rDarwin's iViqwb on r medioine. :Hei-showed that ,a, recog-. nation of the truth that diseases had undergone Darwinian evolution., had 1ed;,t0..: tho foundation: of ; eomparative patholqgy,- ■, /;• u'r J ' ■Professor ; Osbora'-'- •(New.-'-York)- >-1 described the : stimulus -that CambridgO: had;;given to Ainerican /thought. he '• ■ said, " begat - Harvard r: l. -Harvard : begat Yale, and thesettwo -have; given life:to other universities-. 1 ': :A, son: of ?Yale : Jiad. succeededa.son of Harvard as .President, of the United .States! ■'••• Coming .to.'tlie'.iifluence- of.Darwin, he/said /that'-if-""'Newton • bad : : heaven, Darwin had. opened ,ther;new::earthi / Heiidaim^/i-that',.. - influence; turned to the . scientific -leadership of ! Darwin l.so in,'their,ihours/'of leisure'they 'tiirned ; to Milton, Byron,-Tennysonr'Thackeray, and ; Macaiilay. ' Ho . concluded • by stating that he-and-'His colleagues .wished to -present a bronze portrait: of. Charlos Darwin, so. that the undergraduates,'of; Cambridgo .might .reand:- , in America revered- and vhonouredv.f«.,'-'.iTi. : qn, the : -;-li,st;,; v 'On ijbehalf : of/ the "S;iiuralists : ':of ' /ihe ' -British 'Empire. ' The„.one thing' about Charles. Darwin;.'lie :'iwidi?et|wtt'?-'^bsfe>^ntiSfe^ - natUrali^t&' ; ''.'Hfoiald . 'wish \t6: •procla;im,;:/w i ithout//any:iqualification "/•whatever, :-;wouid. lie that, in- their judgment; .;/after..-50.;.yeafs:, bf/'te'stinc-: and;? examination, /his 4)^fr-';Q{^natui^.>'sel^bh : '-">rrai(inec ; 'whote'iand,'. sound/arid • corivinbirigi l Jj!.'' ■•■/ •'■Dunpg ,the;preseni>ation of the-address'ol tho Roval Sociotv. Sir-Archibald;Goikie:..pre- :. sented; ,a/;gqld ! .medalKsfru'ck/.hy -'the ' Roya ' Society to.'Lord, Rayleigh, fori the -university'! acceptance. > Mr. Balfour's Tribute. , . Noyladies 'Wero at: tho baiiquel given-.to , tho guests of the. university by tin ■ ; -, ! [c}iari&ll6r.'j4 : guests' con .-^:'Bisted^of I ,thp'/varibus'/delega;tes/ ..of/thosi residents and others who .havo also been :pre sent .at tho Darwinian celebrations. To th< right.'of the chancellor, sat Prince Rolani . „ Bonaparte;-, the l Marquis of ■ San Guihano and vtho..i Right "Hon. A. - J.t-Balfouron 111 , • loft, -Professor- • Gount Solmc Laubach;;.; th vice-chancellor, and Count Ugo Balzani. : . /. '■ i i been':- dulyyhor oured; Mr. Balfour rose to propose the 'mem . ory of Charles 'Darwin; and was accorded -''"-'DarmnJ . J hei'/coritended,' - had many"rival in Cambridge—Nowtony -Young, Kelvin, Mas wellj-'Stokes,/'arid iothers'—rr.nd;the .nineteent -century could claim that; it had borno th heat'?and..burden/ of tho ;.day in scienc< Charles vDarsv/n;..'he : sajd;., had placed hi '?." Jtne deVeloi ■ ;Vinent-oi liriown-jthoughti' tHis-.';w6rk; f had bi - come/part of tho heritage .'of- every cducate man; m' riatUral, history, politics,, sociolog: ■ and of the wholo human terrestrial activit: Ho would stand for, all. timo as the-man-.wl had a,greht.,and, boneficcnt.- erudition.' . ,T1 branch ;of' research which'. Darmn had n > itiated, continued Mr. Balfour, was sure ///the most difficult..'.One aspect of. his aciei tific-genius eeomed to be insufficiently a: ' prcciatod,- at all events, by the general pu lie. He meant as to the great achiovemen he made m science,' quite • apart from tl generalisation with which Ins-name was ii m.ortally .conuectedi' ■; they assumed/ tb. 'Darwin had never been the author, of 'XI .';'/ Origin, of Species," and .-'.that\ -tho, evoluti' ,of .beings had nevor taken place, would I : riot still: rank as one of tlle nio3t remark<il :: investigators- the Vorld had:seenP : New Zealand Delegates. .'The New 'Zealand " delegates at the. cc •: tenary celebrations were; —< "Auckland, University. College.—The Ho . W. Pember Reeves. - - C lege.—E. Rutherford, D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.i ■■ Prof, of Physics, Manchester. Christchurch; .Philosophical Institute. Canterbury.—-T. V. Hodgson. - Now Zealand University.—The Hon. i R. Stout, Chancellor. .• ■> . Professor Sale.- ' - ■ - Professor J. Macmilliin Brown; ■Wellington, Viotoria . .University College H. D. BelJ, K.C. o