THE WEAK SIDES OF NATURAL SELECTION. 07 



that the exquisite designs of the wings of a male butterfly 

 are elaborated for the sake of attracting the female, etc 

 This is very well as far as it can be demonstrated. But we 

 rather seek to know how, when, and where, and from what 

 materials the colouriug-matters are produced, and how 

 they are conveyed to the parts where we find them 

 deposited? 



This, I submit, the doctrine of Natural Selection does not 

 do — does not even attempt to do. Bacon told us that the 

 study of final and ultimate causes corrupted philosophy. 

 How much more must this be the case if everything- in the 

 organic world is substantially referred, not to the Divine 

 will, but to accident ! 



The President (Sir G. G. Stokes, Bart., LL.D., D.Sc., 

 V.P.R.S). — I will now ask you to accord your thanks to Mr. 

 Slater who has favoured us with this Paper and invite jour re- 

 marks upon it. 



Professor E. Hull, LL.D., F.R.S. — I think we are very much 

 indebted to Mi\ Slater for the able manner in which he has 

 handled this question. He is one who is thoroughly competent 

 to do so as an authority, and the facts and statements that he has 

 placed before us speak for themselves. 1 do not pretend to be an 

 authority on the subject ; but as a geologist, it is one which I have 

 been obliged to some extent to deal with ; and even before this 

 Society I have ventured to bring forward some arguments of a 

 kind analogous to Mr. Slater's, although perhaps less formidable 

 to the development theory than those he has produced this evening. 

 There are many points in the paper which one would like to take 

 up. For instance, I was much impressed with the question of the 

 position of the shark's mouth, to which Mr. Slater has alluded. 

 We might take that as a case of design in position, if so disponed ; 

 but I think, perhaps, a Darwinian advocate would reply to Mr. 

 Slater on that point, that the shark is one of the oldest fishes, 

 coming down from the Old Red Sandstone and Upper Silurian. 

 They are heterocersal, and belong to an old type undoubtedly, and 

 the position of the mouth may be due to descent from an ancient 

 type. This only occurs to me by the way, and of course I am not 



