49 



which has recently issued from the press, its author, Dr. Bastian, 

 thus writes in the preface. His object, he states, is ' to show the 

 general reader more especially that the logical consequences of the 

 now commonly accepted doctrines concerning conservation of 

 energy and the correlation of the vital and physical forces, are 

 wholly favourable to the possibility of the independent origin of 

 living matter.' 



" Not having perused this remarkable work, I am not entitled to 

 pronounce independent judgment on either its alleged facts or its 

 conclusions. I may, however, state, that an exceedingly able re- 

 view of it has appeared in a popular scientific periodical {The 

 Academy), by a well-known and accomplished physical scholar, and 

 that the latter utterly dissents from Dr. Bastian's conclusions, and 

 considers his alleged facts and experiments as more than 

 questionable. 



" And now, to conclude this necessarily imperfect, though I trust, 

 not altogether unsatisfactory review of the ' Life Theories ' in ex- 

 istence, and of the previous history of this deeply mysterious, yet 

 highly interesting subject, I would do so by expressing the hope 

 that what has been adduced may lead any intelligent inquirer 

 present to adhere to that theory — the Vital one — which, to me 

 at least, appears infinitely to be preferred to the opposing 

 hypothesis. 



" That theory, while it conducts us to the limit of the mysterious 

 principle, inherited by ourselves in common with its countless pos- 

 sessors on earth, enables us to believe that Life acts upon and 

 differentiates inanimate matter, by means of a force totally distinct 

 from all other discovered forces. Thus, in accordance with the 

 teaching of science, and in entire conformity with its revelations, 

 we have the strongest grounds for believing that this vital principle 

 has been originally communicated to His sentient creatures by the 

 Great Creator Himself." 



After the reading of the paper, an interesting discussion took 

 place on the subject, which was taken part in by Mr. J. J. Murphy, 

 Mr. Robert Smith, and Professor James Thomson, 

 d 



