The Evening Star MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1875.

Evening Star, Issue 3970, 15 November 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1875.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science met at Bristol this year, when Sir John*Hawkshaw, the President, in an interesting inaugural address, gave a rapid sketch of the progress of mankind in art and science. Probably the facts he brought forward were not new, although many of them had been overlooked. The chief charm of the address is that they are so classified and arranged that the steps by which our present advanced position has been gained can be traced and appreciated. If Sir J ohn’s history is true, much of what is claimed as modern invention and discovery appears to have been known to engineers in ancient days. Bub we have an advantage over our remote progenitors in the printing press, by means of which important discoveries and inventions are recorded, so that there is little danger of their being lost to future generations. “In early times,” the President remarked, “ when settled communities were few and isolated, the opportunities for the interchange of knowledge were scanty or wanting altogether. Often the slowly accumulated results of the experience of the wisest heads and the most skilful hands of a community were lost on its downfall. Inventions of one period were lost and found again. Many a patent investigator has puzzled his brain in trying to solve a problem which had yielded to a more fortunate laborer in the same field some centuries before.” An incident very much in point occurred during the session of the Association. Sir John stated that in the reign of Tiberius an inventor “ devised a method of producing flexible glass, but that the manufactory of the artist was totally destroyed , , in order to prevent the manufacture of copper, silver, and gold from becoming depreciated.” At any rate, the ignorant and arrogant spirit of monopoly is no new thing. Evidently, in olden days genius had to contend with grasping greed and class interest. The few, then as now, were preferred to the many; and the many, ignorant and gullible, imagined they were doing themselves good by pandering to the graspings of the few. It was “protection ” against liberty of thought and action. Eighteen hundred years have passed away since this discovery was strangled in its birth. How much the world has lost by so insane an act, only the future can reveal. Fortunately the secret has once more been unravelled, and, although the spirit of monopoly is living still, we venture to say it is so weakened that it will be powerless to prevent the application of the invention to any purpose for which it may be found suitable, Reporting the proceedings of the British Association, under date August 30, the ‘ Mail ’ states :

One of the most interesting circumstances connected with tho whole meeting was the exhibition in this section, by Mr J. 1). COYBN, of toughened glass and certain experiments. A tumbler of the glass thrown on the hard wooden floor did not break, and a w r eight of half a pound was dropped from a height of some eight feet on a thick plate. He showed that the .n----equahties of heat that would crack ordinary glass had no effect on the specimen. Another improvement, the exhibitor explained, was that when sufficient force was used to break the glass it hioke int. small fragments, which did not have the dung* mh sharp edges of ordi nary glass. Mr HftPKiNSON amiotherjmembein then made teas valuable remarks on the •true-

Ural formation of the glass, which was said, in some respects, to resemble Prince Rupert's drops. The exhibitor then gave a description nt the process of toughening by dropping the water into hot oil. Had it not been for the practical demonstration of the possibility of rendering so brittle a substance as we have been accustomed to regard glass, tough, the truth of what Sir John Hawkshaw related might have been doubted. No doubt need now be entertained on the subject, information of which reached us some time ago. Should cost not prove an obstruction to the use of the toughened glass, many advantages may be expected to accrue from it both in art and for domestic uses. In the present state of the world, the social lesson is an important one, and upon every pane of the improved window glass and on every article of use or vertu made of it, the motto should be inscribed, “ Killed by Monopoly about a.d. 1 : revived by Liberty a.d. 1875.” k* General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand meets in Christchurch on the 3rd prox. ** Shaughran ” was again played to a full downstairs attendance at the Queen’s Theatre on Saturday, It will probably run for another week. Yesterday, while some children named Fetham were smu-ing themselves by riding m a tramway truck at Purakanui. the truck got beyond their control and ran off the rails, throwing the children out. One boy had his shoulder dislocated, and two others were badly bruised about their bodies.

Mr Registrar Ward held a short sitting in bankruptcy at the Supreme Court this morning, when William Barr was adjudicated a buikrupt and the first meeting of his medi:ora fixed for the 23rd inst. The remammg business will stand over until the return of Judge Williams.

The Press Club celebrate;! its first anni ve r sary by a dinner at Jones’s Hotel, M anß e street ou 8 iturday evening. There was a good attendance of members, the chair being occupied by Mr K. H. Leary, the president, and the vice bv Mr P. Humphries, the vicepresident. With toast-making and singing a very pleasant evening was spent. Mr J. Moss presided at'.h piano. At the Port Chalmers Resident MagistrateC Court this morning, before Mr I. Mansford, R, M, Morris Cavanagh, for drunkenness, was fined loa. or twentyf"Ur hours ; and heresa Maria Goldsmith, on remand, for being drunk and using ob. scene language, was fined 10s, or twentyfour hours’f-r the first offence, and 3, or fourteen days’ imprisonment for the second, Mr M Qlashan, J.P., eat at the < ity Police Court this mo ning, and fined the foil wing persons chan.ed with drunkenness in the reapectiv.- sums opposite their names .-—William G. Burnett, Thomas W»-od, John Darouett, and Joseph Johnson—all ss, with the aiteroative of twenty four hours’ impri sonraen 1 ; Robert Henry, 10s or three days’ ; John Brady and Mary Anne Harris, each 40s or f nirteen days’. The recent horsewhipping ease is not after all to form the subject of legal proceedings It havmg coma to Mr Shrimslci’s knowledge that be was mistaken in assuming that Mr iV.o eley was the writer of certain letters that appeared in the ‘ .North Otago Times/ the former publicly intimates in that journal that he regrets having inierfered with Mr Moseley in the way he did, and expressed sorrow for bis action. The apology has been accepted by Moseley. We have to record the sudden, bat not unexpected, death of a well-known citiaen, Mr James Copeland, which occurred at his residence, George street, ea ly yesterday morn ing. Inflammation of the lungs is said to have been the cause of death. As Mr Copeland for years took a prominent i.art in the volunteer movement in this Province, and for lengthy of ,time held the command of the North Dunedin R'fles, his funeral tomorrow afternoon w.ll be a m litary one. W hat the • Timaru Herald’ is pleased to term as “the best political joke that we have heard for a long time” is hy the author of the ‘ W retched Past/ and comes from Christchurch Sir eorge Grey, on his way back fr-'in Otago, met the member for Timaru in the lub “ Well Stafford ” said his ex Excellency, “what do you think of our banquet ?” “ I think. Bir George.” replied the arch-aholitioniat, “that you did well to eat, drink, and be merry, for to-mor-row you die." Our Wesleyan readers will receive with regret the announcement that the Rev. Builer, who for more than forty years has moved in tue ranks of that church in this Colony, is about to retire from the active work ( f the mini try. He is about to pro eeed to England, and at the English Conference will represent the Colonial Church. In intimating hj s approaching departure to his brethren in Christchurch, Mr Boiler is reported to have said that ./though he retired fnm full circuit ministrations, he hoped he should be able to assist the Colonial Church while in England, and to further engage in her service should he be permitted to ieturn to New Zealand.

On Saturday the employes of Messrs, A. and 1\ Burt and their frie- da, to the number of about 25t) altogether, were given a day’s outing by the firm. The party were conveyed from town by the steamer Dortobelio to Carnio’s Bush, a little below Macandrew’s, and there, in a part of the grounds admirably adapted for picnicing, a most enjoyable day was spent. There w<-re eatables and drinkables ad libilum, dancing on the green to the music of a quadrille band, and sports for really useful and valuable articles, for which both old and young compered. The bulk of the party returned to Dunedin * little before nine o’clock. Westland intends to make u .-.how in the fbnb r and coal lines at the Philadelphia Exhibition, of timber, thirty specimens collected, cut, and polish d in the district are to bo forwarded ; and they will be accompanied by an elaborate and carefully compiled description of the timber-!. 'The sp -aniens are from four to eigh-c n inches in length, are well polished on the face, and the bark in its slate remains on the one side. Each piece is uum ered and ticketed with the name, so that it can rca dly be compared with the des riptiun forwarded. T he names of the timbers sent are- non. Wood, totara, black pine, miro, white pine, silver pine, rowakn. black birch) red birch, dwarf beech, hinau, pokaka* broad leef, fuchsia, ribbon-wood, currant tree, hiui hmi, hau ban, lance-wood, tutu, pepper tree, ake ake, yellow and white karatuu. The coal companies of the Grey district will send specimens of the products of their mines. Archdeacon Edward", in a letter to the 1 Church A-ows, ’ replies to the letter of Dea> Jacobs, of Christchurch, iu reference to the Dunedin bishopric question. Dr JennerV announced intention of signing the Acts othe < ambeth Conference as “late: Bishop Dunedin,” Mr Howards regards not only as an ‘ nnfortr.n ,te misunderstand ng but a ques tiou in wli.ch a .peat princ pie is involved and that it is most important that one of t>m New Zealand Bishops (if possible the Pri-

mate) should be present at the Lambeth Conference to protest against Rishop Tenner signing the noil as “ former Bishop of Dunedin ” He adds “It is painful to have the English episcopate against us in this matter, but if their action is endorsed by that of the wb de ; nglican episcopate, the position of this diocese will not be an enviab’o one 1 regret to gather from what the Bishop of Wellington says about the Lambeth Conference that, in lua opinion, it is not likely that any ew Zealand Bishop will be present at it. I regret this for two reasons I That, in my opinion, all that we have been contending for would appear to be given up if no ishoo was present to protect against the action of Bishop Tenner. 2. Because I am sadly afraid that there is not, that good feeling existing between the Mother Church and the Church here, which, I am sure, nine Englishmen.out of ten would gladly see increased and not diminished. . . . Surely the Primate should goto England, and. at the Lambeth Conference, try to remove any difficulties that there may bo in the way of a more cordial feeling.” The Dunedin Volunteer Artillery Battery will parade at the Headquaiters Drill-shed tomorrow, at 2 p.m. The current number of ‘ The New Zealand Churchy Mission’ contains a large amount of matter interesting to churchmen. ‘The Illustrated New Zealand Herald’ for November contains a well-executed engraving of the township of Crowmwell, besides view* of Australian scenery and a very readable summary of the month’s news. During the past week there were twenty admissions to and twenty-three discharges from 'he Hospital. The deaths were :—David Taylor. 52, farme”, native of Scotland, from disease of the kidneys ; and Kichard Jones, 23, collier, native of "-Gotland, from pleuro-pneumonia, From Mr J. C. Diack, Maitland street, we have received copies of the ‘ Phonetic Journal.’ the pnonetic teacher and r ader, and JEsop’s fables, printed ir phonographic cha'acter. All these works are set from movable type. Tne journal is now sixteen pages a week, though the number to hand consists only of eight pages. The reduced size was caused by Mr Pitman being obliged for a time to desist from making his steam press which has been complained against by his neighbors on account of the noise it made. This difficulty he has since overcame, and next mouth the journal will appear in its original size As indicative of the progress of phonography in the United King d'-m we may mention that ten thousand copies of the Journal are struck off week'y. Students of phonography in Dunedin should provide themselves with the elementary works Mr Uiack has.