402 Eejlcclions on the Inadequacy of the principal Hypotheses 



Faye as '^ new modelled by Mr. Sjinmer," and proposes '* to do 

 it more justice," as he expresses liimself, " than has been done 

 to it even by Mr. Syminer himself. Doctor Priestley then pro- 

 ceeds with his improvement on Symmer, and it must be con- 

 fcst,ed that the statement is precisely the same as that which 

 Eeles affirms to have originated with him so many years before. 



In 1771 Eeles published his " Philosophical Essavs;" in the 

 preface of which he makes some extraordinary charges against 

 Dr. Priestley He begins by noticing the improvement on Du 

 Faye's hypothesis made by Summer, in the following words : 

 '*At first I really thought tliat this gentleman might have taken 

 hints from my letters*; but on more mature consideration, I thhik 

 his own experiments might have led him to this doctrine." 

 The justice of this acquittal is c-onfirmed by the fact that Sym- 

 mer did not pursue the application of his opinions to the ex- 

 planation of phaenomena in the extended manner which had 

 been done by Eeles, and which might have been done so easily 

 had Symmer acted dishonouraldy. Eeles then commences his 

 charge against Priestlev in the following words : " In the year 

 1767 Mr. Joseph Priestley published his History of Electricity, 

 in which he attempts to mend Mr. Symmer'8 theory by a sup- 

 posed theory of his own. But he so regularly supposed the 

 theory which 1 gave in the following tracts (long before Mr. 

 Synuner or he thought of it) and used my terms and exj)ressions, 

 that I cannot forbear thinking that he had better have brought' 

 my experiments to prove it (since he produced none of his own) 

 and put my name to it, than to have left it a supposititious theory 

 of his own. Whether in this he is or is not a plain plagiary, 

 I must submit to the readers of both." A little afterwards he 

 asks, " When any man has read these letters which were ad- 

 dressed to the Royal Society of which Mr. Priestley is a fellow, 

 must he not think that Mr. Priestley has copied his theory from 

 them ?" — " Had the Royal Society thought fit to publish these 

 letters, it would have saved Mr. Priestley the trouble of so much 

 supposing ; but I must take the liberty of supposing that Mr. 

 Priestley thought I was dead, and that these letters would never 

 come to light." Mr. Eeles concludes his Essays with the fol- 

 lowing paragraph : " Mr. Priestley has artfully shut me out of 

 his History of Electricity; though all these papers were ad- 

 dressed to the Royal Society, of which he is a member ; and it 

 appears from the first of them, that my attempt to show that the 

 electric powers were the cause of thunder was approved by that 

 Society, and is the only attempt of that kind which stands re- 

 corded hi the Philosophical Transactions." 



• Sent to the Royal Society, but never publislicd. 



In 



