PREFACE. V 



As a matter of authority, however, I should be justified 

 in bringing forward this "Report' 7 to rebut authority. It 

 had been sneeringly said before a large audience, by a dis- 

 tinguished Professor, that I had failed to convince men of 

 science of the truth of my theory, and that I had appealed 

 to the people, who were incapable of judging. It became, 

 therefore, necessary, to obtain authority against authority. 



I say necessary r , for, if my doctrine is true, it is infinitely 

 useful : and therefore it became my duty, for the sake of 

 mankind, to use every means in my power to obtain for it a 

 fair and impartial examination, which it was obviously not 

 likely to obtain, while it lay under the imputation of being 

 rejected after examination by the scientific world. I hope, 

 now, that so far as authority is concerned, I stand on at 

 least as high ground as my opponents. Let the theory 

 stand or fall according to its own merits. 



I have also inserted the opponent authority of Sir David 

 Brewster. It would appear, however, by an examination 

 of Sir David's statements, that, he has ventured an opinion 

 in favor of both Reid's and Redfield's views, without know- 

 ing that those views are inconsistent with each other. Sir 

 David adduced Col. Reid's observations on five water-spouts 

 as proof against my doctrine. Now Col. Reid asserted that 

 all these five turned round, in the same direction, as the 

 hands of a watch. 



Again, Sir David says, " The theory of the rotatory cha- 

 racter of storms, was first suggested by Col. Capper, but 

 we must claim for Mr. Redfield the greater honor of having 

 fully investigated the subject, and, apparently, established 

 the theory upon an impregnable basis." Surely. Sir David 

 could not have known when he made these assertions that 

 Mr. Redfield insists, in all his writings, on this subject, that 

 all the West India hurricanes and all the tornadoes in this 

 quarter, whirl contrary to the hands of a watch ! If Col. 

 Reid's observations prove my theory false, what becomes 

 of Mr. Redfield's? 



