108 REFUTATION OF THE SALT RADICAL THEORY, 
salts." But when the learned editor proceeds to allege 
that "acids and salts, as respects their constitution, will 
form one class" I consider him, and those who sanction 
this allegation, as founding an error upon an oversight. Be- 
cause the salts of hydrogen, or such as have water for their 
base, have heretofore been erroneously called acids, we are 
henceforth to confound salts with acids, and, instead of cor- 
recting one wrong name, cause all others to conform 
thereto! 
1. I fully concur with Gregory and Kane, in considering 
that water in hydrous sulphuric acid, in nitric acid, chloric 
acid, and in organic acids, generally acts as a base; also, 
that in this basic water hydrogen performs a part perfectly 
analogous to that of a metallic radical; but, agreeably to this 
view, I cannot perceive any difficulty in accounting for the 
evolution of hydrogen, as suggested in the quotation above 
made (6,) agreeably to which, when diluted sulphuric acid 
reacts with zinc or iron, the liberation of hydrogen results 
from the superiority of the forces which tend to insert either 
of these metals in the place occupied by the hydrogen, over 
those which tend to retain it in statu quo. 
S. When oxide of copper is presented to chlorohydric 
acid, it is inferred that the hydrogen unites with oxygen, 
and the chlorine with the metal; and hence it seems to be 
presumed, that when oxide of copper is combined with sul- 
phuric acid, a similar play of affinities should ensue: but 
would it be reasonable to make this a ground for assuming 
the existence of a compound radical, when the phenomena 
admit of another explanation quite as simple and consistent 
with the laws of chemical affinity? 
9. Whether hydrogen be replaced by zinc, or oxide of 
hydrogen by oxide of copper, cannot make any material 
difference. In the one case, a radical expels another radical, 
and takes its place; in the other, a base expels another base, 
and takes its place. 
10. There can be no difficulty, then, in understanding 
