110 G. COX BOMPAS, F.G.S.; F.K.G.S., ETC.^ ON 



Mr. H. M. BOMPAS, Q.C. (a Visitor). — There are one or two 

 remarks I would venture to make on this paper, with the 

 whole of which I entirely agree ; and one is this — that even 

 if we did not assent to the whole of the author's argument 

 with regard to evolution being only a greater proof of design 

 in creation (with which I entirely agree) ; still, outside all the cir- 

 cumstances and facts to which evolution has ever been applied, 

 I take it that there are many proofs of design in the world which 

 should be quite sufficient to prove the wisdom of the Creator 

 under any view that might be taken of evolution. Take, for 

 example, the fact that water almost alone as a liquid becomes 

 lighter when it becomes solid, without which, I suppose, life 

 (except perhaps just at the equator) would be practically impossi- 

 ble, because our rivers and lakes would be frozen to the bottom, 

 and water would therefore be wanting in the winter time. That 

 curious quality of Avater cannot be the result of evolution, so far 

 as I can understand it, on any theory of evolution that can be given, 

 and yet surely it is a striking proof of wisdom and design in the 

 creation of the world. So that while evolution is of itself, 

 as the paper says, to most of our minds, only a greater proof 

 of wisdom than direct creation would be, we have, in addition, 

 evidence of design to which evolution would not be applicable. 

 As to the passage which refers to those who think that imper- 

 fections, as they are called, difficulties, and strange suffering, 

 which are found in the world, are inconsistent with the laws which 

 regulate evolution and other matters of the world, being the result 

 of wisdom and design, it occurs to me that it may be true that the 

 fact of law and the fact that creation has to so large an extent, 

 apparently, been through law, wa?/ account forsome of those penalties 

 which we should not otherwise expect. It is essential, if the world 

 is to be governed by laws, that those laws should be regular, and I 

 suppose it would be absolutely impossible for anyone to live in a 

 world which was not governed by laws, where they could not 

 reckon on the result of each particular act they did in the future 

 as well as in the past ; but if you have regular laws it must lead, 

 sometimes, to results to which one would wish otherwise, but Avhich 

 are less evil in their results than irregularity would be. Take the 

 very instance that has been given you of a clock which goes for a 

 considerable length of time. It must go regularly, and you cannot 

 by that clock provide for any special peculiarities, which you might 



