LECTURE.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 432, 4 June 1879, Page 2

LECTURE.

The Rev P. W. Fairclougti delivered bis lecture on “ Scientific Speculations and Discovery,” at Kakaramea, on Monday night, to a very fair audience. The lecture was almost wholly an explanation of the numerous diagrams, drawings, and mechanisms exhibited, and was therefore an appeal at once to the eye and to the ear. After some generel remarks on the structure of the unis'erse, and of the solar system in particular, and some illustrations of the transformation of motions into heat, the lecturer proceeded to explainers nebular hypothesis. This Was done with the help of a aeries of diagrams, showing different stages of the supposed nebular contraction from the universal Fire Mist, down to the twisted and broken strata of the earth’s crush After some explanations as to how the order of the different strata is determined by geologists, the law of Natural Selection was stated and illustrated. Then followed a long series of large drawings, illustrating Professor Huxley’s pedigree of the horse from recent times back to the five-toed animal with the two bones of the fore-arm well developed. The evolutionist theory of the origin and developement of language was briefly treated of with some amusing examples. The most interesting item of the evening was Foucault’s experiment, making the rotation of the earth on its axis easily visible to the eye. After some preliminary explanations of the principles to be borne in mind, the lecturer set a large pendulum in motion. This pendulum was very accurately constructed and finished, and was swung on wheels so as to reduce friction to a minimum. Although in a higher and firmer building the experiment could be made with much greater advantage, what was done was amply sufficient to give everyone present a distinct understanding of this, one of the most simple and interesting of human discoveries. In the concluding part of the lecture, some mechanical and other illustrations of the transit of Venus were given.

The above lecture was repeated at Carlyle last night, the chief differences being an illustration of the formation of mountains, an explanation of the Meteoric Cycle in its relation to eclipses, an account of the discovery of Neptune, and the supposed discovery of several intra-mer-curial planets. The lecture concluded with an account of the probable destiny of the universe,