man, as well as several other volunteers who were present, appearing in his uniform. The lecturer commenced by stating the reason why he thought no apology was necessary for discanting on so dry a subject in this age of volunteer Rifles and Artillery Corps – namely that it ought to be a matter of some importance to every member of those corps to know with mathematical certainty, if possible, the path of a projectile, such as a bullet or cannon-ball would take to reach the mark at which it was aimed. His lecture was listened to with much attention.
A Lecture on “Progress” was delivered in the rooms of the Institution on the 27th of February, by Mr. Joseph Pitter, formerly on the staff of the Hastings News, but then on that of the South London Journal as its Editor. Mr. Womersley, who presided, briefly introduced the lecturer as an old townsman and member of the Institution.
Astronomical Phenomena was dilated upon at the Institution rooms, on the 19th of March, by Mr. Banks, who supplied the place of Mr. Blake, who had been seized by illness. Mr. Banks’s lecture (illustrated by magic-lantern slides) included a description of the laws of astronomical phenomena, such as the seasons, the diurnal motion of the Earth and other planets, the laws of gravitation and atraction(sic), the changes of the moon and lunar influence on the earth in causing tides, &c. &c. The lecturer was frequently applauded, and at the close, Mr. J. Huggett (now a J.P.) who then occupied the chair, announced the title of the next lecture to be that of
“The Pilgrim Fathers”. The lecture on this subject was by the Rev. W. Culverwell, of London, a gentleman who had previously lectured on “The Catacombs of Rome”. From the time of Constantine up to the Reformation there had been no great persecution (as there had been in the 13th century by Pagans and the 16th by Puritans) and all for conscience sake; but the church had been notorious for corruption. The doctrines were made of none effect by tradition, and the people grew weary of monastic institutions and Papal indulgencies. He could not tell what might have happened if Henry Vlll had not fallen out with the Pope, but he knew that although that king cast off the Popish supremacy he did not throw aside many Popish customs. The people were disappointed in Elizabeth; for, against their expectations, many of the Popish customs in the Queen’s Chapel, were not abolished. The various persecutions under different reigns were detailed in an interesting manner and the lecture was illustrated by diagrams.
