f2 



Mr. Ullyett. — He calls it an established fact. 



Mr. Smurthwaite, continuing, said he would willingly accept this 

 theory if it could be proved, but at present there were no proofs. 

 They spoke about mising links ; he wished they would supply some 

 of them, and so let them have something tangible to consider. 



Mr. Ullyett havmg pointed out some peculiarities to be found 

 both in man and in the monkey, — 



Dr. Eastes said he must assert that the advanced evolutionists 

 of the present day did evolve all organised bodie§ from an inorganic 

 substance which they called spontaneous generation ; and par- 

 ticularly Hackel, and others of the German school. They were 

 all materialists, and he also believed Professor Huxley to be a 

 materialist. What the Eev. J. Burgess had read to them, it should 

 be remembered, was written 24 years ago, and the views of evolu- 

 tionists had very much changed since then. He drew atttention 

 to the fact that the doctrine was not proven, and said they need 

 not, therefore, accept it as truth unless they chose. 



The Eev. J. Burgess having ofiered a few remarks against the 

 idea that the theory of spontaneous generation was generally held 

 by scientists, 



Mr. Ullyett replied. If they asked him what he thought about 

 the theory, he said he did not wish them to go away with the idea 

 that he believed in it or that he did not believe in it. His mind 

 was about in the position of Mahommed's coffin when it hung 

 between heaven and earth, and did not go either way. 



The meeting shortly afterwards terminated. 



Tuesday, Januaky 20th, 1885. 

 A very large number of members were present to hear a lecture 

 on Spectrum Analysis given by the Rev. J. Burgess, F.R.A.S. 

 Dr. T. Eastes, Vice-President, took the chair. 



specteum analysis. 



The lecturer observed that he had hesitated as to whether he 

 should better serve the interests of the Society by attempting a 

 general exposition of the science of " Spectrum Analysis," or by 

 using the available time in experimental illustrations, confining 

 himself simply to such explanatory remarks as might be necessary 

 to make the experiments intelligible. His decision had been taken 

 in favour of the latter course ; and for this reason chiefly, — that 

 whereas any member of the Society whose studies had not been in 



