THE TERRIBLE YEAR—IBBI.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 1466, 3 June 1879, Page 3

THE TERRIBLE YEAR— IBBI.

The Becord Union, 7th March, says : — Profeßßor Norton, of the State Normal School, San Francisco, lectured before the Sacramento County Teachers' Institute last night upon the very interesting interesting Bubject of "The Planetary Conjunction of 1881." The prediction of astronomers that in 1881 will occur the conjunction of nearly all the great planets, brought again to the surface the old prophecy of Mother Shipton, and a score of other birds of ill-omen, who, backed by the recent appearance of the plague,

have predicted the roost awful state of affairs to be inaugurated in 1881, and to Continue till 1887, during which fearful epidemics shall prevail, crime multiply, the elements continue in constant and awful perturbation, floods overwhelm, earthquakes destroy, volcanoes burst forth, the earth open and swallow up towns, tornadoes sweep round the world, and all waters become poison, and the devil be loosed in reality to work more desolation and ruin in all the earth. Lately in this State a so-called Professor has issued a book in which he has prophesied, from a conjunction of Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, the Earth, and Mars, that there shall occur all the foregoing recite.!, and a hundred other woes fal! upon the earth, and that the deviltry and destruction is to begin in 1881. Professor Norton, however, does not believe these things, and his lecture was intended to show the reason for his faith. He illustrated his remarks with diagrams thrown upon the wall by means of a magiclantern. He began by saying that we are never satisfied with things now present. The world is ever looking backwards to the good old time, or forward to the good time coming. Somehow the forward outlook is never calm and cloudless. It ii also natural that men should look to pivotal events in nature, such as the completion of astronomical cycles, as being likely to invoke great crises in human affairs. The remarkable planetary apposition of the year 1881 has especially appealed 'to human superstition and imagination. The lecturer here read extracts from a recently-published pamphlet entitled " The Voice of the Stars," which foretold aseriesof terrible disasters likely to occur between the years 1880 and ,1887, including the annihilation of the Chinese race and the death of 15,000,000 Americans from the plague ; terrible Btorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, famines, &c. He also gave a brief synopsis of Piazzi Smith's " Pyramid Religion," and quoted from the oracles of Mother Shipton, 'all three substantially agreeing that — The world to an end shall come In 1881. He said that the prophecy of the old woman seemed to still have vitality, although the publisher of the " Shipton Almanac" has openly confessed that he added the lines above quoted in order to give the book a large sale. The question before us is — can there be any residual truth behind all this superstition and nonsense ? The lecturer presented Professor Delarue's theory of the relation of planetary conjunctions to sun spots ; showed diagrams illustrating the effect of the attraction of the sun and moon upon oceanic tides, and the alleged corresponding effects of planetary conjunctions upon the atmosphere of the sun. He then exhibited a diagram, showing the position of the planets, 31st October, 1881 ; all the large planets but Saturn and Mercury being nearly in a straight line passiner, through the centre of the sun. It is alleged that a similar aspect of the planets will not occur for many thousand years. If it is possible for the massed planets to produce extraordinary tidal effects upon the earth, such effect must soon be manifested. Nevertheless, the planets are enormously distant. Their attractive force varies inversely as the square of the distance. It is hardly conceivable that mere gravitation could ever produce any such effect as the foretold disasters. The only remaining theory is that of a hypothetical electric inter-action between the sun and planets. This is bat the ghost of a theory, having hardly a shadow of ascertained fact behind it. The lecturer quoted one or two instances in which there seemed to be a coincidence in times between such conjunctions and atmospheric disturbances, where the theory of great resulting evils failed utterly, and then read the following letter from Processor Young, of Princeton College, the eminent scientist and astronomer. "H. B. Norton. — Dear sir, — Your note of inquiry is received. I answer briefly, as follows : — First— Your enclosed diagram (of the conjunction) is not essentially correct. Second — It is true that the planets will be somewhat nearer their perihelia than is usual at such heliocentric conjunctions. Third — There is no good reason for expecting remarkable disturbances in the solar or terrestrial atmosphere on account of such planetary position. Professor Delarue thought that he had discovered a relation between them and sun spots, but latest researches fail to substantiate the theory. Scientific astronomers consider the new gospel of Piazzi Smyth and Mother Shipton as being about equivalent to that of Mother Goose. — Yours, very truly, Chabi.es A. Young." Summing up the evidence, Professor Norton said, we are justified in concluding that science has thus far given us no definite reason for expecting the great tribulation. Nevertheless, if public excitement shall cause men to cleanse their sewers and mend their lives, we may be thankful for the "voice from the tombs" uttered by Piazzi Smyth and the woeful forecast attributed to Mother Shipton !