11 



by Huxley and his school, cannot be true. (2) That spontaneous 

 generation has never been known to occur. (3) That it is against 

 all the ascertained analogy of nature to suppose that it ever has 

 occurred. (4) That if spontaneous generation has not occurred, it 

 must be admitted that a supernatural act originated life in the 

 primordial cell or cells. (5) That the true doctrine of evolution, 

 as held by Huxley, cannot be true unless some bridge can be found 

 to span the chasm between the living and the non-living. (6) That 

 the present knowledge furnish us with no such bridge. Again, it 

 was safe to say that evolutionists conceded that natural selection 

 could not take leaps, and, therefore, a multitude of links must 

 have existed between man and the highes apes ; that after a 

 diligent search of nearly forty vears for traces of these missing 

 links, none had been found ; that in spite of the geological record, 

 the destruction of tbese relics without traces is amazing, and that 

 their absence leaves the argument for evolution weaker where it 

 should be stronger ; that the oldest human fossils exhibited in 

 essential characteristics no approach to the ape type. The speaker 

 then went on to say that Mr. Walton had mentioned that the brain 

 of the ape was similar to the brain of a man, but there was an 

 enormous difference between the two ; the brain of the man being 

 much the heaviest. He could also name a few other characteristics, 

 which he was glad to say placed them at a great distance from the 

 ape. In conclusion, Dr. Tyson said his opinion was that in the 

 first stage a certain number of creatures were created, man being 

 amongst the number, although he was in a lower state than he was 

 at present, and that from these creations had sprung upwards and 

 downwards all the animals that had existed or were existing. 



The Eev. J. Burgess denied that Professor Huxley was a believer 

 in spontaneous generation, and, in proof of this, quoted from an 

 essay written in 1860. 



Mr. Ullyett said he would be disposed to contradict all the points 

 mentioned by Dr. Tyson. 



The Chairman said he thought Dr. Tyson had put up a dummy 

 for the purpose of knocking it down again. 



Mr. Smurthwaite said he did not believe in the views propounded 

 by Darwin. Referring to the quotation which had made from the 

 " Origin of Species," about the theory giving a grandeur to life, 

 he said that might be so ; but after a'l, it was not science, and did 

 not prove anything. The theological argument had been referred 

 to, but he thought that should be allowed to remain in abeyance. 

 As had been remarked, Darwin put his theory before them modestly 

 and quietly, and he kept telling them, as if for fear they would 

 embrace the idea, that was only a theory. He thought Professor 

 Huxley said the theory was not proven. 



