452 Additional Facts relating to the Error discovered' '. 



soraethine', or what is ihe use or even the pretence of their 

 letters r They therefore volunteer tlie French cause, and 

 deny at conSiuerabie lenclh that their a-Uronomers pretend 

 to oriainal eoniputaiion ui the Comioissance des Terns, al- 

 though the contrary is thus stated in the preface to that 

 work, pa<re 3 : " Les culculs ont etc fails coinmc a V ordinaire 

 sous L' inspection du Bureau des Longitudes, par MM. Marion, 

 Lalande," &c. 



Here, sir, even the names of tlic computers are specified : 

 but so liard pressed are these writers for subjects of contro- 

 versy, that the second letter is, indeed, a complete reliitatif)n 

 of an assertion that never was made. Tne quotation is as 

 follows : 



*' You [Mr. Editor] further mention, that this error was 

 ^7.$^ discovered by Dr. Keliy of Finsl)ury-5qnare. Now, 

 I nnist beg kave to assure you that is not the fact, having 

 in the early part of the summer of 1810 shown the same 

 to Dr. JViaskelvne." Here the writer dors not deny my 

 havinc discovered the error ; neither does he pretend to it 

 himself; he only disputes my priority, though the word 

 Jirst is not to be found in the whole statement. No pru- 

 dent man can positively say he is the first in any discovery; 

 but he who detects an error and first announces it, and thus 

 causes if to be corrected, will be considered as the legiti- 

 mate claimant, and will therefore receive from the putjlic 

 ■whatever credit may be due to such a discovery. But per- 

 haps I may have awelt too long on this interpolation, 

 which f am willing to believe was aceidenl,al ; nor should 

 I have noticed it, nor indeed any part of their letters, 

 but for an assertion which follows in the same page, 

 where the writer states that " he pointed out the error in 

 question to Mr. Pond, ivlie7i he Jirst came into office as 

 Astronomer Royal;" which was in the begiiming of the 

 present year. Now, sir, I can affirin with perfect truth and 

 confidence, that in the monih of September last AJr. Pond 

 professed himself to me whullv unacquainted with any such 

 error. It remains therefore between these two gentlemen 

 to settle this mvsterious and delicate question. 



On my part, it may be proper to be more minute 

 and circumstuntial ; for, if one assertion be ever set up 

 against another, the truth can be distinguished only by the 

 evidence of circ;umstances. When I first observed this 

 error, I made numerous calculations to ascertain its extent ; 

 and here I may be permitted to say, that from my profes- 

 sional avucalions, 1 was perhaps more likely to discover 



such 



