It has established schools for the instruction of youth, and erected houses of public worship, in which divine service is regularly performed. And it has a public library of 1,200 volumes, and a printing-press, which issues periodically a gazette. "The colonists follow the mechanical arts, or agriculture, or commerce, as their inclinations or attainments prompt them. The land produces rice, cassada, coffee, potatoes, and all kinds of garden vegetables; and is capable of yielding sugar-cane, indigo, and, in short, all the productions of the tropics. It is rich, easily tilled, and yields two crops of many articles in the circle of a year. They carry on an advantageous commerce with the natives by exchanges for ivory, gums, dye-stuffs, drugs, and other articles of African origin; and with the United States, which is annually increasing, and which amounted last year, to 60,000 dollars, in the produce of the colony, and in objects acquired by their traffic with the natives; receiving, in return, such supplies of American and other manufactures as are best adapted to their wants. "Partaking of that general impulse which seems to have pervaded American society both in its civil and religious aspect during the last two or three years, the Colonization Society has become increasingly efficient, although it has met with opposition from contrary points, alike from the advocates of emancipation, and from the friends of "things as they are" in the southern states; the former maintaining that the tendency of the Society was to perpetuate slavery by ruining the free blacks, the latter, that the Society aimed directly at some project for promoting emancipation. "The occurrences of the last year, which indicated a considerable tendency to insurrection in the slave states, have produced many friends to the Society in the south; and the satisfactory accounts of the prosperity and happiness of the negroes on their original soil, have turned other opponents into friends. Many thousand slaves in Kentucky, and other states, have been of fered their freedom, without compensation from any quarter, as soon as the funds of the Society would admit of their being embarked for Liberia; while several of the state legislatures have resolved to devote a large sum, annually, to enable the free blacks to join their brethren in the new republic. Indeed, within the last few months, the prospect of the unfortunate African race has brightened, in a manner calculated to excite the highest hopes for their future destiny." p. 445. Subsequent accounts describe this colony as being in a flourishing condition, and in every respect realizing the anticipations of its supporters. We have seen one number of the Liberia Herald, which is an honour to the colony, considering the disadvantages under which it has been printed. It mentions, among other things, that the colonists were industrious, their buildings increasing, their lands fertile, and their crops abundant. NOTE FROM MR. ELLIOTT CRESSON. IN immediate connexion with the preceding account, is the following note, which more than confirms all that has been stated in the preceding article. Elliott Cresson's best respects to the Editor of the Imperial Magazine, and begs leave to commend to his favourable consideration, the unbound pamphlets relative to the civilization and christianizing the coast of Africa,-a cause which deeply interests the Methodist church in the United States, especially as they embrace a larger portion of our colonial population than any other sect, and thus, while that coast is providentially fatal to the white man, they enter upon their missionary labours with safety, (only two having died out of eighty-five that sailed thirteen months since,) and tens of thousands of such (slaves,) being offered gratuitously, can be landed there at £7.10s. each for passage,&c. Elliott Cresson, visiting England as the representative of the Colonial Society, brought with him the most affectionate recommendation of the cause from the Rev. George G. Cookman, late of Hull, to several of his brethren here. Those venerable servants of Africa, Wilberforce and Clarkson, have given it their warmest approval,-and the latter thus expresses his views,-" For myself, I freely confess, that of all the things which have been going on in our favour since the year 1787, when the abolition of the slave-trade was first seriously proposed, that which is now occurring in the United States, under the auspices of your Society, is the most important. It surpasses any thing which has yet occurred. No sooner had the colony of Liberia been established at Cape Messinado, than a disposition appeared among the owners of slaves in the United States to give them freedom voluntarily, and, without one farthing for compensation, to allow them to be sent to the land of their ancestors. This is to me truly astonishing! a total change of heart in the planters, so that you may now have a hundred thousand slaves redeemed without any cost for their redemption. Can this almost universal feeling, this almost universal change of heart, have taken place without the intervention of the Spirit of God?" Very recent accounts state, that new applications from the natives, to be received under the protection of the colony, and enjoy the benefit of Christian institutions, have been numerous; commerce, agriculture, and morals flourishing. Four expeditions recently sailed from the United States with emigrants; and, if funds permitted, many thousands more, who are anxiously waiting, would follow them. The government is a republic-independent of the United States, and the port free to all nations. 19, Adam Street Adelphi. A WORD FOR THE SLAVES. Ir is a pleasing feature in the signs of the times, that the voice of the British public is so generally lifted up against slavery; and that the cause of the oppressed slaves is now advocated both in the senate and in many other places. But there is one way of doing them good, which, perhaps, has not obtained so generally as might be desirable-that of a direct application to Heaven on their behalf. Should they not more generally have an interest in the public prayers of Ministers, and in the domestic and social supplications of Christians? More especially, would it not be a most pleasing and interesting circumstance, if one evening in the month were set apart, in all our different places of worship, for special and united prayer for the blessing of God on the means adopted for their speedy emancipation? Many considerations might be adduced in favour of such a practice; but most likely the hint is quite sufficient. * *** ON THE ELECTRIC SPARK BEING ELICITED FROM AN ORDINARY MAGNET. THE early part of the present year has been rendered memorable by the advancement of the science of magneto-electricity; and the result some of the philosophers of the present day have obtained, in eliciting from the influence of an ordinary magnet an electric spark, thus opening a new and interesting field for philosophical research. Mr.W.Sturgeon had found by experiment, that the magnetic energies of a galvanic conducting wire, were very conspicuously exhibited by exercising them on soft iron: and that a bar of such iron, properly bent into the horse-shoe form, and surrounded by a helix of copper wire, the extremities of which were immersed in cups containing mercury, in which were the conducting wires of a galvanic battery, displayed considerable magnetic action, and became capable of supporting a very considerable weight, while under the influence of the galvanic action. The largest electro-magnet is that constructed by the American philosophers. It is of a horse-shoe form, and weighs about sixty pounds: around it are twenty-six coils of wire, the united lengths of which are eight hundred feet. When excited by about five feet of galvanic surface, it is said to have supported nearly two tons. We here see that the exciting cause of magnetism is the action of the galvanic battery; and a variety of other interesting experiments in electro-magnetics, tends to the conclusion, that the magnetic and clectric fluids are nearly allied. no In the hope of evolving electricity from magnetism, several persons have coiled a helix round a magnet, and connected both its extremities with a galvanometer; but current of electricity was observed. Mr. Faraday, whose late researches has led to the elicitation of the electric spark, observed, that if the magnet be withdrawn, or introduced into such a helix, a current of electricity is produced, whilst the magnet is in motion: and thus is obtained the interesting result, viz. that the action of the magnet is due to electricity; and when a piece of metal moves near a magnet so as to intersect the magnetic curves, a current of electricity is induced in that metal. About the end of the year 1831, Mr. Faraday communicated a notice of this and other phenomena to Mr. Hachette, whọ transmitted them to the Academy of Sciences at Paris; in this notice, Mr. F. states, "that in a particular case he had obtained a spark." This induced Signori Nobili and Antinori to repeat the fundamental experiment, and study it under its various aspects. They found that a spiral applied to the central part of the piece of soft iron attached to the poles of the magnet, and termed the lifter, was in the most advantageous position to be subjected to all the influence of the magnetic force: and the fact of its inducing the electric current in a greater degree than when the spiral surrounds the magnet, as observed by Nobili, perfectly agrees with the observations of Sturgeon, as stated above. Nobili and his companion, considering that the currents circulated only for the moment in which they receded from or approached the magnet, concluded, that if they opened the circuit in one of those two moments, BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. they might obtain a spark. They accordingly selected a good horse-shoe magnet, the lifter of which they surrounded with a copper spiral; they also immersed the extremities of the spiral in a cup of mercury; and when one lifted a wire out of the mercury, at the precise moment when the lifter was attached to, or detached from, the magnet, a spark appeared. These two philosophers obtained the spark previous to Mr. Faraday, in consequence of that gentleman being much engaged in the investigation of other phenomena connected with magneto-electricity. He states, that he has great pleasure in bearing witness to the accuracy of their reasoning, and also to the success of the result. His mode of operating is different from that ultimately adopted by them, but the result is the same. The spark has not yet been obtained, except from a temporary magnet, i. e. from a magnet in the act of being made or destroyed. The first spark was obtained by Mr. Faraday from a soft-iron magnet, made by the influence of electric currents, as described by Mr. Sturgeon. The second spark was obtained by Sig. Nobili and Antinori, from a soft iron magnet, made so by the influence of a common artificial steel magnet. And Mr. Forbes, of Edinburgh, first obtained a spark from a soft-iron magnet, made so by the influence of the natural loadstone. By comparing the experiments of Mr. Sturgeon, with those of Mr. Faraday and Sig. Nobili, we see, that the magnetic and electric fluids are very nearly allied, if not actually identified; and there remains but little to be done before they are completely So. Some of Mr. Faraday's experiments prove, that the magnetism of the earth is of itself sufficient to develop currents of electricity; and a wire carried to and fro through the air, so as to intersect the magnetic curves, will produce them. Sig. Nobili noticed, that a frog placed in the circuit of the spirals, was powerfully convulsed each time the lifter was separated or attached. And Mr. Faraday believes he has obtained the acrid and acidulous taste on the tongue, and the light before the eyes, so well known in the common electric currents. It is highly interesting to consider, that this splendid and important discovery should be made by three philosophers, removed at a distance from each other, nearly at the same period. But it is undoubtedly due to Mr. Faraday; for, as Mr. Forbes states, "it is, of course, upon the recent discoveries of Mr. Faraday, that any experiments on this important point must rest:" and, as 375 stated above, Sig. Nobili pursued his experiments in consequence of Mr. Faraday's communication to Mr. Hachette. BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE- NO. VI. THE chair was taken about half-past twelve o'clock, by the Rev. W. V. Harcourt. Mr. Thomas Allan of Edinburgh gave a description of a very fine aqua marine which had been recently brought to this country by Don Pedro. A paper by Mr. Dalton, of Manchester, on the specific gravity of the human body, was read by Mr. Phillips. This was a very elaborate composition, and upon a very interesting subject. Its design was, to ascertain the means by which the human body is enabled to support the immense pressure of the atmosphere upon it; which, on a middle-sized man, is not less than from fifteen to twenty tons. After detailing a variety of experiments by himself and others, Mr. Dalton came to the conclusion, that the quantity of air in the lungs, and the various internal parts of the human body, enabled it to resist the pressure from without. He also noticed some experiments by Mr. Robertson, for ascertaining the specific gravity of the human body as compared with water. The results were, that out of a given number of men, some were specifically heavier than water, some the same, and some lighter. From these results, Mr. Dalton made several remarks upon the absurdity of the commonly received opinion, that all men could swim, if their fears would permit them. Now, as the gravity of some men is greater than that of water, and of others lighter, a piece of deal might as well reproach a piece of lignum vitæ with its alacrity in sinking, as the latter reproach the former with not being able to swim. Mr. Scoresby expressed himself as being much pleased with Mr. Dalton's elucidation of atmospheric pressure; for he thought that many persons were misled by the accounts of the pressure of so many tons of air on the human body. In fact, it is only the pressure of one elastic fluid on another. He made several observations, and detailed some highly interesting facts, on the nature of the pressure of air in fishes, particularly in whales. He observed, that when these are struck by a harpoon, they frequently descend perpendicularly for nearly a mile. When they rise again to the surface of the sea, they are always much exhausted, and blood is expelled from their mouths. This effect, he said, is produced by the pressure 376 BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. of water, which is of much greater density than that of air; and forces the blood out of its proper vessels into the cavities of the lungs, from which it is expelled on reaching the surface. Fishermen, he observed, always like to see a whale descend perpendicularly; because they know that when he appears again he will be much exhausted, though they do not pretend to explain the cause. Mr. Robison, of Edinburgh, explained his method of constructing a barometer with linseed oil; but having no diagram to elucidate his remarks, he was not so intelligible as could have been wished. Dr. Brewster explained his method of constructing prisms from mineral substances,particularly from rock salt; a discovery of the greatest importance, as prisms are constructed so imperfectly by the English opticians, that those upon which reliance can be placed, are to be obtained only from Germany. The Doctor exhibited one which had been procured from Bremen and presented to him, the cost of which, he conjectured, would be between five and ten guineas; also another constructed by himself, of rock salt, at a trifling expense, which was much superior to the foreign one. To a question by Mr. Scoresby, Dr. Brewster replied, that he had no doubt the discovery might be applied to the objectglasses of telescopes. Dr. Brewster next explained his opinion as to the non-existence of dark rays at the extremity of the spectrum, in opposition to Herschell. This produced a colloquial discussion on colours, in which Dr. Daubeny, Mr. Potter, Mr. Dalton, Mr. Scoresby and several other gentlemen, engaged. Dr. Brewster, in opposition to Newton, holds the opinion, that all colours arise from structure, and not from the admission of colouring matter. Thus a union of iron with glass alters the colour, but it is from an alteration in the molecules. It might be said, that without iron there would be no colour. This is true, but the colour does not arise from colouring matter, as chemists suppose, for iron has no colour of its own. Mr. Johnson had no doubt that the doctrine of chemical colour would soon be exploded; and that it would be universally admitted, that colour is produced by an alteration of particles. Mr. Forbes of Edinburgh read a paper on the horary oscillation of the barometer. Mr. Phillips then read a letter from Sir James South, Astronomer Royal, which was written for the purpose of calling the attention of the astronomers present to an ano. maly which he, Sir James, had observed in the appearance of Jupiter's satellites, in their transit over the face of that planet. The satellites were generally considered to be invisible, except when near the limits of the planet; but in several observations which he had made, the last on the 10th of September, he observed the satellite like a black spot passing over the middle of the planet. He wished to know why it was not always visible. He also called their atten. tion to Saturn's Ring, an opportunity for observing which would soon be afforded. Mr. Scoresby thought the appearance might be accounted for, upon the supposition that Jupiter had an atmosphere varied and changing like our own. The meeting adjourned till the evening. The Evening Meeting. About eight o'clock, the chair was taken by the Rev. W. V. Harcourt. Dr. Daubeny commenced the evening proceedings by explaining the principle of some experiments made by the Rev. W. Taylor, honorary member of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, on certain modes of increasing the intensity of gas light, without an increased consumption of gas. The Rev. W. V. Harcourt then exhibited to the meeting, and explained at considerable length, the principle of a new lamp, which he had invented for the purpose of economical illumination, by the consump tion of the cheaper kinds of oil. Mr. Phillips read a very elaborate and valuable memoir, by Dr. Brewster, "On a New Analysis of Solar Light;" which the learned author illustrated by diagrams. Some very interesting conversation, on the peculiarity of vision, followed the reading of this paper. Mr. W. Gray, jun., read the translation of a Memoir, by Professor Gazzeri of Florence, "On a Method of rendering Visible the Traces of Erased Writing." In the conversation which followed, Dr. Brewster mentioned a similar evolution (by the application of heat) of the worn-out coins and medals, and observed that he was much surprised at first reading on a medal, when placed on hot iron, in flame, the legend Benedictum sit nomen Dei. The scientific business being ended, mutual congratulations took place; when the thanks of the ineeting having been voted to the Archbishop, and other inhabitants of York, for their liberality and kindness, and also to many scientific gentlemen who had honoured the occasion with their presence; the Rev. W. V. Harcourt concluded by declaring the meeting adjourned to Oxford. "Jussa viri faciunt, intermittuntque laborum." Huggate, June. 1832. T. R. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. THE mean temperature of June was 65 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The maximum, which was 71 degrees, was observed on five different mornings; the 13th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 29th; the winds with which these temperatures occurred, were southerly, westerly, south-easterly, southwesterly, and north-easterly. The minimum of 58 degrees was noticed on the 8th, when the direction of the wind was south-easterly. The range of the thermometer was 13 degrees, and the prevailing wind north-west. The direction of the wind has been north-westerly 8 days; southwesterly 5; south-easterly 4; northerly 33; southerly 3; westerly 23; easterly 2; and north-easterly 13. Rain has fallen on 17 days, and six have been accompanied with wind. On the 7th, about one in the afternoon, a considerable storm of thunder and hail took place. Also on the afternoon of the 9th a storm of thunder and heavy rain occurred; the lightning on the last occasion was very vivid. Heatlightning was noticed on the evening of the 12th. a broken lock, which he discharges by by means of a match; but by patient watching under the trees, he contrives, by such defective means, to vary his diet as often as he wishes. About nine months since, the Indians hearing of his desolate situation, though not at all disposed to join in community, landed two of their native girls on the island. Richardson instantly made choice of one of them as his consort, and proclaimed her queen of the island, and the other he calls his cook. The distinction between these two individuals was quite perceptible on the present visit. Richardson having no means of amusement, beside the necessary employment of obtaining subsistence, at his own request, Lieutenant Hopkins supplied him with a Bible and Prayer-book. Lieutenant Hopkins offered to take him off the island, but he refused to leave it, declaring his determination of passing his life in his own government. He had commenced erecting a fort, to protect himself from the Indians. There was no present appearance of any increase to his subjects.-Sydney Gazette, February 19th, 1829. ANOTHER ALEXANDER SELKIRK. THE Thetis transport, Lieutenant Hopkins, which arrived here a few days since from the Pacific Ocean, had occasion to touch at the island of Mocho, for water, the only inhabitant on which was an English sea. man, of the name of Joseph Richardson, a native of Aldington, near Ashford, in Kent, who, like another Robinson Crusoe, or Alexander Selkirk, had made choice of such a solitary houseless spot, upwards of three years since, for a residence, when he was landed, at his own urgent desire, from a patriot ship of war, commanded by Captain Robertson. The island is about sixty miles in circumference, and about sixty miles from the coast of Chili, in latitude 39 south. It is very seldom visited by ships, as it does not afford necessary supplies of wood, but it does of water, in abundance. It is remarkably fertile, and abounds with hogs and horses. Richardson has cultivated two gardens, on the vegetable produce of which, with pork, young horse-flesh, and wild pigeons, he lives. He hunts the former animals down with dogs, a fine breed of which he has broken in; the pigeons are so numerous, that he has little difficulty in obtaining them, and a few other kinds of birds, though the only firearms he possesses is an old musket, with 2D. SERIES, No. 20.-VOL. II, OLD JOHN BROWN, THE SEXTON-OF HEXHAM, NORTHUMBERLAND. "Go; of my sexton seek, whose days are sped: AMONGST the almost infinite variety of characters which present themselves to our daily observation, there are some so much influenced by their pursuits, and so identified with their professions, as continually to remind us of them. We cannot behold their persons, without thinking of their occupation, and feeling those sensations, whether agreeable or repulsive, which the recollection is calculated to excite. Of this description of character was old John Brown, the Sexton. It mattered not on what occasion, or at what time or place, you saw him, he was still the sexton. As to place, the church was his centre of gravity; he lived in its neighbourhood, followed his occupations under its shadow, and seldom went beyond the precincts of his charge. Morning, noon, or night, if you met him, he was still about his business; commonly with the huge keys of the church-doors in his hand, or sticking out of his pocket. Ringing the morning-bell had naturally produced a habit of early rising; and the principal 164.-VOL. XIV. 3 B |