PROFESSOR SALMOND AND EVOLUTION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 52, 21 June 1876, Page 2

PROFESSOR SALMOND AND EVOLUTION.

There has been a great deal written lately in the Duncflin papers regarding Evolution, and the new Professor of Theology (Mr. Salnioiid) appears to have been pretty well mixed up "» it- He and the *' Daily Times " held different opinions, and the Professor took the trouble at a public meeting to abuse >*ew Zealand writers in general and the " Times "in particular. Our Dunedin contemporary gives Mr. Salmond a few words of advice, which it would be well for the theologian t<> follow. He says :—"Mr. Salmond's »rave Fault has been that, in the Hist instance, he presumed to condemn in his transparent sciolism a scientific school of which he knew little or nothing. His folly in doing this, to tickle the ears of an apphmding audience, might have been forgiven. To deceive a trusting audience on a matter on which the speaker is bv courtesy supposed to know something, and the hearer little, is not a nice thing to do. But when apart from the heat of oratory, he sets himself down in the cool of his study to make up a case by means of garbling authors of repute, wc have little indeed to say on his behalf. We beg to assure Mr. Salmo'iul that it is with sincere regret that we find ourselves obliged in common honesty to deal with him after this plain fashion. He is a new comer here, and we may suppose imagined that the people of Dimedui would accept for gospel what fell From his lip*. In speaking of the writers of the Press, as he did, as though he was our Familiar for years, he spoke of a matter with which he was necessarily unacquainted, and assume I a tone which would have been exceedingly impertinent even in an old resident. "We readily pardon him his obvious ignorance on the subject of Evolution. He need not know it, of course. He might teach a certain sort of Theology without it; but when, in his ignorance of the question, he proceeds to damn it, then we can hardly pity him in the condition to which he has Fallen, viz., that of a would-be wizard caught tripping in his tricks. When, in his letter on Friday he condeI scended to employ a method of argument I against ourselves transparently false, lie did } what but few of our fellow-citizens would I fail to detect—he grouped all the adjectives \ in our Friday leader, and treated them as used of one class. We arc almost ashamed to point out to the public that in doing this he did. us an injustice. But this sort of thing brings with it its own punishment.