91 



["We are not concerned to defend either the doctrine of 

 Evolution or Dr. Allen Thomson's handling of it. All that we 

 have said is, first, that opinion has greatly changed in favour of 

 the doctrine within the last thirty years of which the popular 

 use of the Darwinian phrases adduced by Dr. A. Thomson is a 

 fan: enough illustration ; and, secondly, that there is nothing in 

 this change of opinion which need alarm religious people. We 

 did not say that the Book of Genesis ' sets forth the doctrine of 

 Evolution.' Our position is that it teaches only the great truth 

 of the creation of the universe by the will of the Creator, but 

 ' sets forth ' no scientific doctrine at all about the manner of that 

 creation. What we said was that in a narrative which must 

 needs be ' in some sense metaphorical,' since the acts are Divine 

 and the language human, we can see nothing ' in the revealed 

 record of creation which cannot be as well adapted to the one 

 process as to the other;' to the process, that is, of gradual 

 evolution as of unconnected successive births. On this latter 

 point Mr. Morris differs from us ; in the former points he only 

 misunderstands us not, as we venture to think, from any 

 obscurity in our previous statement of them. But we have no 

 space at present to argue the point with him ; the object of this 

 note is only to re-state briefly what we have before expressed at 

 length."] 



In reply to the Editor's evasive comment, I wrote as follows, 

 in good time for the next issue : 



" SlB, You allow such full latitude to your correspondents of 

 divers views on topics of interest to reply to one another, that I 

 think I may venture to calculate on your giving me leave to send 

 a very few lines in answer to yourself, though master of the 

 situation. 



" You needed not to have expressed your intention not to 

 enter on any discussion of the matter at issue ' at present,' for 

 at no time should I presume to take up any such against you. 



" You state that in one of the two points I have misunder- 

 stood you. Forgive me if I say that it seems to me to be rather 

 the other way, and that my meaning has not been understood ; 

 perhaps through my own fault. 



