292 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST* [Jan, 



man's free-agency, and however confidently it may be asserted that 

 his will is but the resultant of the various motives that operate as 

 distinct forces upon it, consciousness lies at the base of all reason- 

 ing; and the conduct of every man proves that he accepts this 

 axiom. As he issues from his door he is conscious, beyond all 

 argument, that it is in his power to turn to the right or to the 

 left; and while he holds himself responsible for his volition, he 

 cannot blame us if we ascribe to him free-agency. Man is there- 

 fore an independent power in the universe. He wills and creates. 

 The locomotive is as truly his creation as himself, fashioned from 

 the dust of the earth and vitalized by the breath of the Almighty, 

 is the work of His hands. If, therefore, all the realm of nature 

 is controlled through material laws, by forces that, like attraction, 

 electricity, chemical affinity, etc., act in an invariable and inflexible 

 way, in this universe man is a stupendous anomaly ; and unless 

 he can be degraded from his position of pre-eminence in this 

 material world, the boldest and most irreverant of modern philoso- 

 phers will strive in vain to dethrone the great Creator from the 

 rule of the universe, or from His place in the hearts and minds of 

 men. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 

 FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



The sixteenth annual meeting of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, was held in Burlington, Vermont ; 

 under the presidency of Professor J. S. Newberry, of Columbia 

 College, New York; commencing on Wednesday, Aug. 21, and 

 closing on Monday, Aug. 26, 1867. 



The attendance was larger than at the Buffalo meeting in 1866 ; 

 but still below that at the meetings held before the suspension of 

 the Association's active work, rendered necessary by the late 

 American war. 



The papers presented were not very numerous ; but nearly all 

 were of great scientific value ; bearing on controverted questions, 

 applying the results of investigation to the determination of 

 natural laws, or suggesting new fields and methods of research. 

 A few comprised nothing beyond local details, which, if pub- 



