26 
advancement Godward — may yet prove to be the central 
point around which a universe revolves in circles or ellipses 
with varied focal distances, and the impulse of attraction 
binding stellar worlds thereto — electric current, or what- 
soever it niay be, may perchance afford the concentrating 
force of gravitation, as acting terrestrially by evident 
natural law, the nature of which impulse is as yet dark 
to science. But I must apologise for this digression. 
Expression of honest doubt of truth of hypotheses, built upon 
assumptions, may induce deep thinkers to investigate alleged 
facts in science, and, if these are unproved, search out a true 
basis of theory. The observations to set at rest the Sun's 
distance, taken in connection with the recent transit of 
Venus, may be marred as to accuracy, by apparently wrong 
definitions of the longitude of the observing stand-points, — 
a check to accuracy in all previously noted observations. 
At the March meeting, a few years ago, of the Royal Geo- 
graphical Society, it was stated, that observations during 
recent South Sea explorations had conclusively proved that 
all the recorded nautical positions defined by Morrell, in his 
Four Voyages to the Antarctic, were entirely untrustworthy. 
And it is a singular confirmation of the theory I submit of 
the deflection south-westerly of the Arctic polar apex, and 
opposite indication consequently of the Antarctic extremity, 
to find seven years after I first published my ideas, that 
Sydney is discovered by the Admiralty to be some distance 
west of its assigned degree of longitude, and it is also affirmed 
of the 141° of East longitude, defined in 184!) as having 
a stated and land-marked position, that it is now encroaching 
easterly within the confines of Victoria. In other words, 
the Sun's period of attaining meridian altitude has apparently 
been protracted since the observations were made, whereon 
the definition of the locality of the 141° of East longitude 
was computed t wenty-five years ago. 
It has been erroneously stated that my views are those set 
forth by M. Adhdrnar, a French mathematician, and author 
of scientific repute, and his pupils. But I claim to have 
traced the links of a chain of natural operations, till view of 
the consummation broke upon me ; and subsequently I found 
that Adhe'inar had promulgated somewhat similar ideas. In one 
important point 1 wholly differ from M. Adhimar, who holds 
that the declension of climate caused by excess of the period 
of winter in either hemisphere alternately, during half the 
period assumed by Astronomy, as requisite for a revolution 
of the ecliptic, or some twenty-six thousand years, results in 
disproportionate polar ice accumulation ; and ultimately the 
