The result of calculations founded on these methods showed that the sun’s distance, instead of being about 95,000,000 miles, is little more than 91,500,000 miles. And recently a re-examination of the observations made upon Venus in 1769 led Mr. Stone to believe that they point to a similar result.
Doubtless, however, we must wait for the transit of Venus in 1874 before forming a final decision as to the estimate of the sun’s distance which is to take its place in popular works on astronomy during the next century or so. Nothing but an unlooked-for combination of unfavourable circumstances can cause the failure of our hopes. Certainly, if we should fail in obtaining satisfactory results in 1874, the world will not say that the generosity of the English Government has been in fault, since it would be difficult to find a parallel in the history of modern science to the munificence of the grant which has been made this year for expeditions to observe a phenomenon whose interest and importance are purely scientific.
(From St. Paul’s, October 1869.)
BRITAIN’S COAL CELLARS.
It would have been deemed a strange thought in the days of the Tudors to suggest that England’s greatness would one day depend,—or seem to depend,—on her stores of coal, a mineral then regarded as only an unpleasant rival of the wood-log for household fires. When Shakespeare put into the mouth of Faulconbridge the words—
This England never did, nor never shall,
Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,
But when it first did help to wound itself,
he would have thought it a singular proviso that England should be watchful of her coal stores if she would preserve her position among the nations. And yet there is a closer connection between the present greatness of Britain and the mighty coal cellars underlying certain British counties than we are commonly prepared to acknowledge. Saxon steadiness and Norman energy have doubtless played their part in placing Britain in the position she now holds; but whatever may have been the case in past ages of our history, it is certain that at present there is much truth in Liebig’s assertion that England’s power is in her coal. The time may come again, as the time has been, when we shall be less dependent on our coal stores,—when bituminous bankruptcy will not be equivalent to national bankruptcy; but if all our coal mines were at this moment rendered unworkable, the power of England would receive a shock from which it would be ages in recovering.