May 1861. J Supposed Fixity of the Poles. 67 



more petty matters are settled by the Head Executive Official 

 called the " Koung Gyouk." All other cases, not involving death, 

 transportation, or lengthened imprisonment, are disposed of by 

 the Assistant Commissioner. 



VII. — On the supposed fixity of the Poles. By the Reverend 

 W. Taylor. 



This paper is not a captious, or pretending effort, finding fault ; 

 but it is, at least, intended to be a modest appeal to the Baco- 

 nian principle of Science, against hypothesis ; even though back- 

 ed by a great name. Sir Isaac Newton was great when he demon- 

 strated : when he theorized, he was as other men. A specimen of 

 the latter may be taken from his theory on first formations ; ac- 

 cording to his exponent, the' late Granville Penn, Esq. With 

 such persons as maintained the spontaneous formation of existing 

 things— of course not weakening the statement that God formed 

 the trees with their seed within themselves — it would have been 

 sufficient to urge the impossibility of an infinite series. Some Being 

 must necessarily exist from eternity ; and from that Being all other 

 beings must be deduced : to maintain that the earth is self-exist- 

 ent is the same as to assert that it is God, which is absurd. In- 

 stead of this simple way of proceeding, Sir Isaac Newton theorized on 

 first formations ; and not only so, but also on the modus operandi. 

 The doing so weakened his position. We may respect his high 

 toned piety ; but his logic was not of the best. 



As regards the form of the earth, Newton demonstrated that it 

 is an oblate spheroid, giving the ratio of the two axes ; and he 

 compared the spheroidal form of other planets. The measurement 

 of two arcs, one near the equator, and one near the north pole, 

 confirmed that result. The measurement wa3 made by order of 

 Louis 15th of France. But then Newton theorized hastily, as I 

 conceive, when asserting the fixity of the polar places ; because the 

 earth is of the spheroidal form. Whiston, who had thought the 

 polar points moveable, yielded to the authority of Sir Isaac New- 

 ton. I presume to think that he was wrong in so doing. 



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