on the late Trial of an Jmuravce Question. !3 



It may be said, that in the oljscrvations 1 have made, it has 

 evidently been with a leaning to one side, and from my atknow- 

 ledgeaie'nt of having l;een present at one of their experiments with 

 a strong bias to that side. If it is so, it is tlie result of convic- 

 tion. With the l)est judgement I am capable of bringing to this 

 investigation, the evidence on the one side appears to me infi- 

 nitely more conclusive than on the other; and what I observed as 

 an eye-witness, I cannot disprove to myself. 



The assertion of the Solicitor-General, that the party opposed 

 to him tried the experiments to prove how dangerous this inode 

 of heating sugar was, is certainly not incorrect ; but he did not 

 properly state how they proved it, when he said that Mr. Farra- 

 day admitted that the fire was strongly urged at the la^t. I think 

 he exceeded that gentleman's admission ; if I understood Mr. F. 

 rightly, the fire was not urged vehemently, and every thing done 

 to heat the oil as quickly as possible ; but that, having been 

 obliged to use great care to keep the heat so low as not to allow 

 the contents of the boiler to exceed 3G0, when they wanted to 

 raise it they were necessarily obliged to increase the fire from the 

 low point at which it had been kept : but as an eye-wilness, I 

 can sav, not more than if they had wanted to heat water or any 

 other fluid. On the other side the experiments were tried to 

 ascertain how safely it might be used, and from taking precau- 

 tions to keep it so,'they did not attend to its danger; and trying 

 only by halves, from the result of such knowledge and the imper- 

 fect information it conveyed, they were induced to advance opi- 

 nions which, I have no doubt, at some future time, they will regret 

 they ever uttered. It is impossible for any man, were his life of 

 three times the usual extent, to go through all the experiments 

 of which chemistry is capable ; and therefore many opinions that 

 were given were advanced not on their own, but on the authority 

 of others. The properties of whale oil are still very im|)erfectly 

 known ; its highly oflf'ensive nature, and the inconvenience at- 

 tending any eN]jerimfnts upon it, would deter many, who had not 

 a strong motive, from making it a subject of choice. Mr. P. Tay- 

 lor* had that motive, and I believe no one possesses more accu- 

 rate information on this subject than he does, although even his 

 knowledge is still very imperfect. The investigation of oil in the 

 production of gas !>as' long occupied his attention, and a further 

 investigation in such hands must lead to important conclusions. 



It is with great deference I have presumed to call in (juestion 

 opinions of men so justly and so highly estimated for their great 



• I may be allowed. to obscn-e lierc, tliat the cliaracter and talent of this 

 (jentlcnian as a man of science are e(iu:il to any ; liis ea|)ability in iilannmg 

 experiments, and his int,'enuity in forminf; just and coiulnsive deduct.on.s 

 from tlieir resiiitu, are perliaps superior to most. 



Vol. 57. No. 273. Jan. 1821. B talent* > 



