Trans. N. V. Ac. Sci. 96 /an. 23, 



January 23, 1882. 



The President, Dr. Newberry, in the Chair, 



The first of the regular monthly lectures of the course for 1882 

 was held in the large hall. The number in the audience was not 

 recorded. 



The President opened the course with a few brief remarks, and 

 gave place to the lecturer of the evening, Prof. Benjamin N. 

 Martin, of the University of the City of New York, who addressed 

 the Academy on the following theme : 



THE moral bearing OF RECENT PHYSICAL THEORIES. 

 (ABSTRACT.) 



The speaker maintained that the argument for the Divine existence 

 from the adaptations discernible in nature has, with the recent progress 

 of scientific ideas, undergone a great and essential modification. He 

 quoted Paley's statement that no change takes place in an animal form 

 from generation to generation. We do not, by running back through 

 an indefinite series of ages, make any approach to accounting for the 

 intelligence displayed in its construction ; though if there were some 

 slight gain at each step, we might by an indefinite series of genera- 

 tions, approaching nearer and nearer, account thus for the whole 

 result. 



The scientific opinion of Paley's day affirmed the fixedness of species ; 

 and, so long as that view was maintained, Paley's argument was 

 unassailable. But now, Darwin has questioned this idea, and scien- 

 tific opinion, in affirming the progressive development of species, has 

 stricken away the foundation on which the teleological argument had 



Notes for " The International Time System." — Cojitinued. 



* See Annual Reports of the Director of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard 

 College. 



' Reports of the Director of the Allegheny Observatory for 1872, et seg. 



* Annals of the Dudley Observatory, 1866, et seg. 



' Annual Reports cf Director of Cincinnati Observatory, 1868, es seg. 



* Pamphlet on " The Regulation of Time," etc. By F. A. P. Barnard, President Colum- 

 bia College, New York City. 



" Copies of St. Louis Globe-Democrat and St. Louis Republicaji^ for January 11, i88i. 



"• See Proceedings of Am. Metrolog. Soc, Vol. II., Part I, page 24. 



" Proc. Am. Met. Soc, Part II., Vol. II., p. 179. Standard Time-Circular No. i. 



'2 Am. Metrol. Soc. and Canadian Institute. 



'^ The Penn. R.R. prints the time between 12 o'clock noon and 12 o'clock midnight with 

 heavy faced type, besides putting in the designations A..^!. and p.m. 



Some of the railroads in the West have printed time-cards with the hours numbered 

 from one to twenty-four. J. K. R. 



1* From a Pamphlet on " The Regulation of Time ; International Coinage ; The Unifica- 

 tion of Weights and Measures ; Sea Signals." By F. A. P. Barnard, S. T. D. 



'' Part of unpublished Report of Committee appointed to attend the Third International 

 Geographical Congress, held at Venice, September, 1881. 



