The Montreal witness, 11 août 1874, mardi 11 août 1874

[" - ADVERTISING TERMS, after insertions on inside pa Bc.per line after insertions on outs Daily Witness, 104.por line first insertion, sad ad Tei-Waskly and Weskly, 100.first à Bo, each subasquent insertion, TRI-WEEKLY \"Vor.XXIX., New Senigs.Cotemporary Press and News QUEEN VICTORIA ON CRUELTY 70 ANIMALS.At a recent jubilee meeting in London of the Royal Hoviety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Chairman (Lord Harrowby) announced that the following letter had boon received from Sir Thomas Biddulph on the part of the Queen : .My Drax Lorn: The Queen has commanded me to address you, as Prosident vf the Bo- ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on the occasion of the mssembiy in this country of the f dele, connected with your association and of the jubilee of the society, to request yon to give expromion pullicly to Mer Majesty's warm interest in the succoss of the effurts which are being made at home and abroad for the purpose of diminishing the cruelties practiced on dumb animals.Queen hears and reads with horror of the sufferings which the brute creation often undergo from the thought.lossnens of the ignorant, aud she fears also sometimes from experiments in the pursuit of science.For the removal of the former the Queen trusts much to the progress of education, and in regurd to the pursuit of science she hopes that the entire advaniage af thase anvos- thotic discoveries from which wan has derived #0 much benefit himself in the alleviation of suffering may be fully extended to the lower animals.Her Majesty rejoices that the society awakens the interest of the young by the tation of prizes for essays with the subject, and hears with gratification that her son und daughter-in-law have shown their in terest by distributing the prizes.Her Ma.jotey to announces donation of £100 to fe A her ng tt thin letter th After the of this letter the organ Aayed \u201cGod Save the Queen,\u201d tho entire au.ience standing.The pupils to whom prizes were to be presented, were then introd , and each received a handsomely boand book and certificate from the hands of the Duchess of Fdinburgh.Some of the prize-takers were as young as eight years, others had reached the age of twenty.Tho Duke of Edinburgh, in the course of n short speech, said : #1 think | nced add no words to the letter which was read to you by your President from the Queen, to assure you of the concern all the raembers of her family feel in the welfare of dumb animals, and to encourage the exertions we should make to render thom our friends, and to show them all the kindness in our power.\u201d oo THE PRIESTLEY CENTENNIAL.CREAT GATIERING OF CHEMISTS AND SCIENTISTS AT NORTHUMBERLAND, PENX.One hundred years ago on Friday last Dr.Joseph Priestley discovered the existence in common air of à subtile force ro fiery, so powerful, and so universally prevalent, that he thought he had ut last sucoceded in finding phlogiston, the { mysterious essence of fire, which was supposed to pervade all things and to support flame.Later investigations proved that the learned theologian and toilful amateur chemist was right in his facts if wrong in his theory, and his subsequent brillisnt discovery in the same ficld\u2014the investigation of gates\u2014{fuirly earned for him the distinguished «onsiderativn ever since paid him by scientists.Seventy years ago he died in Northumberland, the peaceful refuge which reocived him willingly ua a philosopher, nfter he had been driven out of England for being an athoist, and almost snecred nut of France for being a Christiap.On Friday the Old World and the New, bis home and his ve, as was said.united to dohim honor as the father of modern chemistry.Pursuant to a call issacd a frw wooks agro, a brilliant zuthering of the leading chemists and kindrc' rcientists of the country assembled at Northuu.!-rlund, Penn., last Friday morn- Înge, to commemorate the orntennial of chemistry, wiscly dating ita cxistence as an exact science from the startinz point of his discovery of oxygen pas, just acentury agn.From Esst and West they came.Wherever colleges are found or natural sciences are studind there were disciples of Priestley to unite with others from all over the land in honoring bis mem- ory.he principal exercises of the morning session was Prof.11.H.Croft's paper on the Life and Laborm of Dir.Joseph Priestley.\u201d Prof, Croft rapidly hut clearly traced Priestley\u2019s great life and works.Hi fondnena for chemical dabbling, pursucd, like nll his work, on a plan of his own, regardless of the schools ; his wonderful discoveries, embracing at least two.thirds of the now known showing exclusively the compound structure of the air.He traced also the thoological wars, in which Priestloy\u2019s controversinl propensity kept him ly engaged.Prof, F Storey Hunt, of Boston, on \u201cThe Century's Progress in Theoretical Chemistry,\u201d traced the progres of the art from ita earliest stages, and defined Stalls phlogistic hypothe «is, in which Priestly pl such unwavering faith.The three t chemista of the century just expired were Beheele, Priestley and Eavoi- nier.Uf these the two first were great experi- monter, bas failed to into ret th iv discoveries properly.iestly though the founder of a ew ob himeel], adhered firmly to the old philosopher, and died the Inst defender of phlogiston.Lavoisier seized with a marvellous comprehension the true significance of the facts made known by his contetoporaries, greatly enlarged the field by his own researches, and, like another Newtun.showed the great harmonies which govern all the changes of matter in the minerak, animal, and ble kingdoms.Lavoisier justified by the aid of the balance the old doctrine \u2018of Hermes, that in the changes of matter nothing is lost, and nothing is gnined.With Wenzel, he made chemistry n quantitative noienoe, and the t Inws of definite and multiple pro.oP made known by Dalton showed that all things were ordered by weight, by number, and by measure, a principle further lustrated by Gay-Luseac's discovery of contribution by volumes, The history of organic chomietry, the thcory of ty pes,the t inwa of homologous series, and the laws of substitutions were illustrated, and the thoory of compound organic radicals defined.The question of the transmutation of tho elements th: «peaker considered tn be beyond the domain of our terrestrial chemistry, though he inferred {rom the augmenting complexity of the .tra of the stars that à process of condensation in nebular matier may gencrate from the rimpler gares the motals and metalloida, © day was occupied in various excrcisos, including a visit to Prieetley\u2018agrave;and in the evening an omay waa read by Prof.J.Law- romoe Smithy reviewing the century's ro in industrial chemistry.He wid © omis was an art Jung before it was a science: but Ît was not until Priestioy and Lavoisier hni shed tho light of their genius upon it that {t blazed forth from the ahndows ofancertainty Into the fall effulgenco of day.Rapid} rketching the history of chemistry, he showed how close ly it was now interwoven with all the arts and seieneee.No one mould paint in too vivid colors the world's indebtedness to the chemist.\u2018The pecuniary valuo alone of chomical pro- ducta was cnormous.The industrial values of oxygen and chlorine ware then treated of.There wore eleven mothods of roducing oxygen penctically, he mid, heat the mi agent in ull canes, But only two wore 7 the domain of industrial chemistry.Oxygen was yet naed but little in the arta, hat ite\" use waa in, ble of t extension.Lately sn ingot of Iridium and platinum weighing five hundred pounds wan fused hy means of oxygen, theonly pomible way.\u2018I'he great valve of chlorine a in ita eo of destroy organic coloring matter.5 ix, therefore, t importance in bleaching.Chlorine in the past century had stimulated the growth of cotton to the oxten* of at least 4166,000,000.Te had als séisme the manufactare of oot- Fosde ta Heaoil ali Ota the he pf cotton an ge, just clcoed was vividly shown.The essa was popular iu style und well considered, was listened to\u2019 with the deepest attention throughout.A MORMON SCHKME, THE ORDER OF ENOCH.A N.Y.Times\u2019 correspondent thus refers to the above named order of Mormonites, established Ly Brigham Young, for the purpose of musasiu the property of the Mormons together an starving out the Gentiles.** His scheme is to start co-operative {ustitu- tons for almost everything, from providing ford to Cet houses.te prupores to Lulld «à mamtuoth hotel, capable of feeding the entire Jupulation of the vity, und boarding fo this all Enocbites and their families, so that they msy beable mot only to live cheaper, but slso to become better \u201cacquainted with each other.This movemecat ts meeting with strong opposition.and from those why have accumufaf wealth after along and tedlous struggle with jovaty do not care to place themselves and amilivs at the mercy of a priesthood fora lve- Mhocd.Both sides of the question were forel- Liy picseated to me one afternoon by the 0) poutte representatives of the faith.The Enoch- te was an Englishman of the lower order, and he informed we that a grand scheme was now aficat to raïse the (Church beyond the power of her enemies, as all were to units and bluce thoir Prophet by revelati I asked hima 1f he be- Ueved in this revelsiion business,and he promptly reclted quotatious wby he should.Five mioutes after leaving this individual 1 meta roninent member of the Church, and asked hia tes of Enoeb.* Well,\" said he, \u2018I've been a Mormon «ince the year before Joo Smith was killed, but I awan though I'm a Yankee myself, it I'n a-golog to work all my life and then give what | earn to a Jot 0\u2019 Vermont Yankees to live on, and let my own children suffer.\u2019 [asked him {f Lis opinion was genet among the better classes, aud he sald it was; that very few, if any, would joln Enoch.These give the opinfon prevallivg here ; but, notwithstanding the latter's sesertion, 1 belleve the influence of the Prophet Is yet too great to be apposed with suc- cers, 30 he will be able to induce the great aes of the lower classes to juin it.\" A VENERABLE FRENCH-CANADIAN, \u2018The Rochester Express gives a pleture of Au gustus Pleard, of that city, who bus attatned, it alleves, 167 years of age.* He fs,\" says the Ærpress, \u201ca French-Canadian.and horn near Quebec on the 24th of Mareh, 1767,\" AThe subjret of our 2ketch Ls residing with his son-in.law and daughter, Mr.and Mre.{'harles Gotae, who keep a salon at No.234 State street, in the Toronto block.Mrs.Goutze is his youngest dauchter, and she is fifty-five years ofage, Mr.Picard came to this city about the close of the recint war, Of his early Ife he remembers but little.In fact, the only occurrence of bis boy- beunl's years lie scems to remember are some great flouds.about 100 years ago.the detatls of which he is unable to give.He was first inar- tied when Lie was twenty-one, He had clght clfldren by his tirst wife, who died compars- tively young, After remaining [x months a widower, hie again took uuto himself 8 partocr of his joys and rorrows, by whour lie had eight more children.He is therefore the father or sixteen children, the oldest of whom fs about eighty-four or elghity-five years of age, and still living in Polut Levi, across the river from Quebec.Mr.Pleard was & carpenter by trade, dut ie, of course, tou old, feebl« and childish to work now.He worked at his trade, Luwever,until he was about «ility years of azo, when a eevere accident occurred to him.The fell from the roof of a house, injuring himself su scverely that he was confined to the bouse for eçme wecks.Thin was the only sickness he ever bad fn bis whole Ufe.Jt left blm rather sooped, but otherwise be suffered no perma- tient consequences.As mevhaoic he 1s raid to have beet industri thorou; ted on all fis various branches.He le, his daughter fuformed our reporter, all the fane woodwork in St.Mary's Catholic \u201cburch in BA, Maric, 8 small \u201cvil about thirty miles {rom Quehce.He is yet a keen critic of carpenter work, and expresses very strongly bis dis- spprobation of the way most carpenter work is done nowadays.Mr.Picard Iss devoted Roman Catholic.Me aftends mass cvery Sunday morning at St.Fatrick's Cathedral.and goes there to confes- tlon every other Suuday.(On arising from his breakfast the other moming our reporter oh.eerved that he piously crossed himself, The old man ie short in stature and rather slim.He ie, very naturally, not so large ss when he was younger.He is'not very much wrinkled\u2014not nearly so much as soms men at fifty or sixty.Ile hair {along and gray, and bis complexion is unusually good for seold aman, His daughter Informed us that everytime the moon changes hiue spots come on his band.He walks around quite easily ** with his cane.\u201d He never wears spectacles.liv mays, with Rovd common sense, that as lie can neither read nor write he bas no use for them.He remembers some piece which he learned while a young man shout a mam and Lis wife who quarrelled and fought, and when handed a paper he made believe he was reading this plece from it.Our reporter noticed, however, that the paper was arog side up.He does not ak Engli