355 
ORDINARY MEETING-, March 3, 1873. 
Mr. Charles Brooke, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. 
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed, and the 
following Elections were announced : — 
Members : — David Howard, Esq., F.C.S., Stamford Hill ; Theodore 
Howard, Esq., Bickley, near Chislehurst ; William Dillwoth Howard, 
Esq., Tottenham. 
After which, the following paper was read by the Author : — 
THE LAW OF CREATION ; UNITY OF PLAN; 
VARIETY OF FORM. By the Rev. G. W. Weldon, 
M.A. Cantab. 
I F I venture to bespeak the indulgence of this meeting, I do 
so on the plea of the frank admission of my own compara- 
tive ignorance and felt insufficiency to deal with a subject 
which affords scope for inexhaustible inquiry. 
2. On some points relating to natural philosophy, a man may 
speak without incurring the charge of presumption; but the 
vain attempt sometimes made to dissect the mighty mind of 
God as it appears in His manifold works of wisdom from 
all eternity, leads to conclusions as contrary to revelation as 
to common sense. On such a subject, even if finite minds were 
competent for the task, we can only reason in so far forth 
as the proven facts of science, and the unequivocal testimony 
of Scripture seem as it were to lead us by the hand. 
3. With regard to the immediate topic under review, allow 
me, by way of apology, for selecting one so comprehensive 
in its application, to observe that anything advanced in this 
paper is necessarily elementary and suggestive. 
4. However feebly the subject may be handled by me, still it 
is hoped that the thoughts herein expressed may serve, if ever 
so little, to augment the brilliant and varied evidence which 
ever waits on the Divine workmanship “to justify the ways of 
God to man.” If unhappily it should fail in this respect, 
it possesses at least the merits of having supplied to my own 
mind arguments for an unclouded belief in the coincidence of 
a unity of design between the author of the Bible and the 
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