President calls them, and the Court has nothing whatever to do with them, 
and the President invites whom he pleases to them. The gentleman who this 
year enjoys the privilege of being the President of Sion College thought it 
would be a revival of the meetings, which had been discontinued for some 
years, if he were to invite a number of eminent men to give papers upon 
different subjects. In the exercise of his own discretion he invited Professor 
Huxley, and, I suppose, allowed him to choose his own subject. Mr. Reddie, 
together with myself, was present on that evening ; and I felt so strongly 
on the subject, after hearing Professor Huxley’s address, that I asked to be 
allowed to make a reply, but was cut short by the President. I had fol- 
lowed up the attack by asking what it was that we were called upon to 
discuss ? The subject, according to the programme, was : — “ In opening the 
discussion on Thursday next, Professor Huxley will draw attention to the 
difference supposed to exist between scientific and clerical opinion, and inquire 
into the cogency of the arguments by which some scientific doctrines are sup- 
ported.” I complained that Professor Huxley did not tell the clergy what 
were his real opinions on these subjects, in the same manner in which he told 
them that no sensible man of science with whom he was acquainted, or any 
well-instructed person, believed in the ordinary chronology of the Bible. I 
denied that the clergy believed in the infallibility of Archbishop Usher’s 
chronology ; and I pointed out that elsewhere Professor Huxley had himself 
shown that there was a greater divergence between the opinions of scientific 
men than between the opinions of the clergy ; and I brought forward a 
passage Professor Huxley had -written and signed with his name in the 
Fortnightly Review, to prove this. The President, however, ruled that I was 
out of order in producing that which had been written by Professor Huxley 
elsewhere. I threw myself on the meeting, and said I thought I had a right 
to bring before my college brethren how great was the divergence between 
the opinions of scientific men, when Professor Huxley had himself stated in 
the Fortnightly Review that no man of science, and no well-instructed person, 
believed in the creation of Adam and Eve, using most offensive terms in 
doing so, and calling men who believed in that creation u Adamites, pure 
and simple.” He there denied the special creation of Adam and Eve, because, 
he said, the very idea of creation itself was unphilosophical ! (Laughter.) 
I pointed out that such diversities of opinion, sheltered under the name of 
scientific opinion, were far greater than those existing among the clergy, and 
I also pointed out that such differences were not simply differences between 
scientific men and clergymen, but between the faith of all Christendom and 
scientific men. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Reddie, like myself, felt strongly upon the 
subject, and he wrote to the President (understanding that there were only 
two meetings announced, and that we were promised other meetings after 
Christmas), to be allowed to reply to Professor Huxley at one of those future 
meetings. The President, however, wrote to tell him that the programme 
was filled up, and the whole of the lecturers appointed, and he therefore 
could not allow him to have the opportunity he desired. Mr. Reddie, 
however, felt that Professor Huxley had lectured the clergy in a rather 
