VOL. LXIII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. . ■ 381' 



inconsistent with the former. Because, if points were necessary in one place, 

 they ought to be so in another. And on the other hand, if the board-house is 

 secure by the leaden accidental conductors, which have no points, why ought not 

 the magazines to be equally secure, when put into the same circumstances? I 

 therefore enforced the inconsistency of such a resolution in the strongest terms. 

 Notwithstanding which, the gentlemen at that time thought proper to con- 

 firm their resolution. However, at the next meeting of the committee, I 

 observed that they had been pleased, in the mean time, to make an amendment 

 in favour of points for the board-house; which amendment was no sooner pro- 

 posed than approved of. 



Why my observation was rejected at the preceding meeting, I must leave to 

 the judgment of others. But it certainly carries an appearance, as if manifest 

 contradiction, on further reflection, must have been the cause of that alteration. 



And I am inclined to believe, from some gentlemen of the committee express- 

 ing their opinion, ' of its being a matter of mere indifference whether blunted 

 or pointed conductors were made use of,' that they have not considered this 

 subject with all the due attention, which so important an object deserves. For 

 it our experiments show, that points, from the nature of their shape, and other 

 circumstances attending them, resist the attacks of this fluid less than blunted 

 ones; and that blunted conductors, of proper dimensions, are sufficient to con- 

 vey away the lightning safely, whenever it attacks them; why should we have 

 recourse to a method, which is at best uncertain ; and which some time or other 

 may be productive of the most fatal effects ? >» on Ixnl ;)a' h 



But perhaps no argument can be brought with more force against the principle 

 of points, than Dr. Franklin's own words, which are published in his experi- 

 ments, p. 481, where he declares positively, ' buildings, that have their roofs 

 covered with lead, or other metal, and spouts of metal continued from the roof 

 into the ground to carry off the water, are never hurt by lightning; as whenever 

 it fails on such a building, it passes in the metals, and not in the walls.' 



This is the case with the British Museum, a building also of considerable 

 consequence, where there are no other conductors, than what are formed by the 

 copings, gutters and pipes, which are all of lead, and communicate with the 

 ground. Now it is from the great quantity of metal contained in the several 

 pipes, together with the other circumstances attending them, that I considered 

 that building, in a former paper laid before the r. s., as being sufficiently secured 

 from those dangerous accidents. But if any gentleman should be disposed to 

 entertain a doubt about it, or indeed of any other part of my reasoning on this 

 subject, a declaration of those doubts may be attended with good consequences, 

 as they will necessarily open the door to a more minute investigation. 



I have now, sir, gone through the reasons which I proposed to lay before the 



