1885.] 
Sewage Pi ecipitation. 
473 
tW, enCC ,^ herefor J e Archaeopteryx, whilst possessing a fea- 
struflure of g it^t W S i: ' st , a f. ree k ing w j? b the tme bird ? s in the 
at least twA an ? Ilmbs ’ .exhibits at the same time 
Shi* ^genVra%re«rer re intelmediate P ositi °" ^ 
v. SEWAGE PRECIPITATION AND THE ABC 
PROCESS VINDICATED. 
, a , n bas be ^ n formally conviaed of crime, 
y^r with all the due solemnities involved, scarcely the 
afterwards™^ f ute d emo ^trati° n of his innocence will 
atterwaids suffice for the rehabilitation of his character 
Let the peijury of the witnesses, the stupidity of the jury 
Sht trSt d th e ° f ?V ud «« be broughAve^o elearlyTo 
light, and let the unfortunate vidtim receive— according- to 
faicical custom— a gracious pardon for an offence which he 
nevei committed, a part of the British public will still look 
« “ d inSinUa ‘ e tha ‘ ‘ here ™ USt b «e been 
Very similar is the case when a process, an invention, or 
or P a H° U W1 / haS b w n condemned by a Commission, Royal 
1 ^ ar amentary. We cannot, indeed, fairly accuse such 
bodies of stupidity. More commonly they are too clever by 
hail. But being at once judges, jury, and counsel, and 
having the option of rejecting all evidence which does not 
? qaare TrV^u 11 ' P reconceived notions, they reach, or at 
least publish the most amazing and the most baseless con- 
clusions. Of course the truth ultimately comes out. But 
even then, succeeding Commissions will solemnly repeat the 
exploded utterances of their predecessors. Of all this a 
most striking— perhaps the most striking— instance may be 
iound in the Reports of the whilom Royal Rivers’ Pollution 
ommission. On the strength of an investigation made in 
a very perfuncftory manner, under demonstrably unfavour- 
able circumstances, and of an experiment conduced, to sav 
VOL. VII. (THIRD SERIES) 2 K 
