180 PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 



minds prejudices hurtful to their own happiness, and dangerous 

 to the well being of society. Wherever the power of these guides 

 was great, disturbance and insubordination prevailed, and vice 

 versa; as might be shown by contrasting Ulster with certain other 

 parts of the Island. 



The lecturer concluded his highly important paper to the 

 following effect. Ireland does not require any pecuniary gratuity. 

 A gift of a million divided among the people, would be like the 

 alms of a penny to an importunate beggar, which only mcites him 

 to go to the nearest gin shop to drink away his sorrows — such 

 gifts only help the poor to beg again. Ireland requires attentioriy 

 not money, and for capital laid out there, a large rental would be 

 received, the capital itself would be improved and substantially 

 increased from 300, to 400 per cent. Ireland requires to be aided 

 by the enterprise, spirit, skill, good sense and understanding of 

 England: which would swell her own national income and 

 enrich England — would make her income exceed her expenditure, 

 by £6 or 7,000,000., and would place the surplus to the credit of 

 Britain. England would thus gain positively an annual sum of 

 £9 or 10,000,000.; because she would no longer be obliged to 

 make up the deficiency of Ireland's revenue; she would find not 

 only that supplied — but also a surplus. 



February 5th. — Mr. Prideaux's Lecture on Thermo- 

 Electric it I/. 

 The subject being new, and hitherto little published; the Lectu- 

 rer displayed the leading experiments of his former lecture, by 

 way of introduction; by which it was shown that zinc and bis- 

 muth warmed together, give an electric current, capable of 

 diverting the magnetic needle. That, with instruments of greater 

 delicacy, a similar current is detected in any two metals; and 

 even in two pieces of the same metal, at different temperatures ; 

 exhibiting, in the latter case, an essential difference among the 

 metals ; those at the head of the series, giving the positive current 

 with that of heat; the others against it. Whence an inference 

 was drawn, that the thermo-electric order depended on this 

 difference, modified by conduction. 



With this hypothesis, however, cadmium was shewn not to 

 agree : and some alloys of the most active thermo-electric metals 

 present still greater anomalies. This property was shown to be 

 exalted by softening, and weakened by hardening the metals 

 employed. 



