May 16, 1884.] 
aged at the top and bottom of the circles, and in the 
upper left-hand corner. The proportion of calms 
to winds is shown by the shading of a sector in the 
central circle (none noted in the square here copied). 
Number and average of barometer and air-thermom- 
eter observations are in the lower left-hand corner, 
with the average difference between dry and wet bulb 
thermometers. Temperature and specific gravity of 
the sea are similarly recorded on the right. The ad- 
vantage of such record over final averages is at once 
apparent : it shows not only how well the various 
observations agree, but also the measure of trust to 
be placed in the results, as indicated by the number 
of observations. It is, of course, a little difficult to 
read at first, but, with a few days’ practice, there is 
no further trouble. The charts for the Cape give 
less detail than those for the equatorial district, and 
their diagrams are of a much simpler pattern. Some 
of the more recent charts will be considered in a 
second article. W. M. Davis. 
THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS AS FACTORS 
IN MODERN HISTORY.! 
AT the outset the lecturer suggested, as perhaps a 
more appropriate title for his remarks, ‘Coal as a 
factor in modern history,’ or ‘Coal as the great re- 
former and revolutionizer.’ 
By reviewing past history, it would be noticed that 
certain great events had taken place, each of which 
marked a step in the advance of civilization. The 
connection between these events was not always 
apparent; but in fact they were interdependent, and 
formed a logical sequence, in many cases one directly 
or indirectly causing the next. The ancient Greeks 
were famed for their literary and aesthetic culture, 
in which they excelled all other peoples, ancient or 
modern. Their passionate temperament, however, 
and system of slavery, left unlaid the material foun- 
dations of permanent national prosperity. Again: 
the genius of the Romans had displayed itself in their 
military achievements; and, doubtless, Rome would 
have continued to be the mistress of the world, had it 
not been for the luxurious and profligate habits into 
which her people drifted, and through which she fell 
an easy prey to the barbarians. So monstrous were 
their excesses, that their punishment was inevitable 
and overwhelming. The excellence which those na- 
tions had attained had, no doubt, benefited succeeding 
generations. 
The secret of true and permanent progress con- 
sisted in the application of science to the useful arts; 
and the development of this fundamental principle 
of progress had commenced only during more recent 
years. This was the power that had revolutionized 
social and political life. No one revolution had 
effected thorough and permanent changes. By the 
instrumentality of each, the light of liberty had shone 
for a brief interval, but the intolerance which was 
put down by it had been too often succeeded by equal 
1 Abstract of a lecture delivered Saturday, April 19, in the 
U.S. national museum, Washington, D.C., by Prof. J. 8. New- 
BERRY of New York. Revised by the author. 
SCIENCE, 
97 
oppression on the part of those who had come into 
power. Yet each change had brought about a con- 
dition whereby the masses of the people had gained 
a greater or less advantage; and the power which 
each revolution had taken from the sovereign had 
been given to the people. These exchanges of power 
were more apparent in the history of England than 
of any country on the European continent. There 
the reign of every king had been despotic until the 
time of King John, when the Magna Charta was 
wrested from him, and thus was taken the first step 
towards the true liberty of the subject. Henry VIIL., 
disregarding all laws, human and divine, had assumed 
as much despotism of action as was compatible 
with the then slowly advancing state of civilization. 
Elizabeth, too, was conspicuous for her assumption 
of unlimited power. Nor was Cromwell’s power less 
supreme than that of the kings and queens before 
him. Then followed the court of Charles II., with 
all its splendor and vice. But soon after, when the 
house of Hanover flourished, a certain popular 
power began to undermine the autocracy of royalty. 
Then the Earl of Chatham, the elder Pitt, albeit with 
much individual pride and haughtiness, and with 
no special sympathy with democracy, became cham- 
pion of the English people, and wielded a power 
which had never before been held by any subject of 
the crown. Pitt declared that he represented the 
people of England, and Wilke’s resistance to the 
royal party again and again caused his election as a 
member of the House of Commons. The last at- 
tempt at despotic power, on the part of the reigning 
monarch, was the unjust taxation by George IIL. of 
England’s American colonies. Since that time the 
power of the subject had been increasing in England, 
and at this day there was no country in which the 
rights of the individual were more fully recognized. 
The conservatism of the English nation had not per- 
mitted the dethronement of rank and title. This was, 
in the opinion of the lecturer, probably the result of 
inheritance, not choice. He said, moreover, that 
the distinction of rank held in check the power of 
money, and refinement and culture were thereby 
advanced; but, if the present monarch were to at- 
tempt to resume the despotism of some of her prede- 
cessors, a storm of revolution would sweep away 
monarch and throne and peers. For this changed 
and ameliorated condition of affairs, special credit 
was due to Sir Robert Peel, Cobden, John Bright, 
and Mr. Gladstone, the present premier. But the 
full triumph of democratic principles had not yet 
been fully realized in England, although it was rap- 
idly approaching. It was worthy of note, that each 
Parliament introduced more liberal measures, and 
that the power of the House of Commons was fast 
superseding that of the House of Lords. England is 
now not only the home of freedom, but an asylum 
for the oppressed. Her shores are sought as places 
of refuge by fugitives of all kinds, who here found 
justice, and, if innocent, safety. 
The moral and physical condition, too, of the pres- 
ent generation, is raised; and this age is conspicuous 
for its religious freedom, luxury, and the achieve- 
