106 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



(1) Are the rocks referred by the authors of this paper to the 

 Laurentian and Huronian and which are represented as Pre- 

 Cambrian on the Geological Survey Map, wholly of such antiquity 

 or are portions of them, as asserted by the late R. W. Ells, really 

 of much more recent origin ? 



(2) If some of the rocks in question are really Po5/-Cambrian, 

 is 'it possible to separate these clearly from those which are 

 Cambrian or Pre-Cambrian ? 



(3) If a portion of the rocks in question can, without doubt, 

 be shown to have the high antiquity at first assigned to them 

 is it possible to establish any real or probable correlations between 

 them and any portion of the Pre-Cambrian succession as formu- 

 lated by the International Geological Committee of 1905, as 

 found in the region of the Great Lakes, or as recognized later by 

 other geologists ? 



(4) What evidences of diastrophism are to be found among 

 the rocks in question, and what bearing have they upon the time 

 and extent of earth movements in these early eras ? 



(5) What were the sources of the material constituting the 

 supposed Pre-Cambrian rocks, and what information do they 

 afford as to the probable physical conditions, geography and 

 climate of the periods to which they belong ? 



(6) What evidences of life are afforded by the sediments 

 antedating the Cambrian era ? 



The above questions relate solely to the supposed Pre-Cambrian 

 rocks as found in the vicinity of the city of St. John and their extension 

 eastward and westward. To them may be added the following: — 



(7) Is there any reliable proof that the large areas which in 

 other parts of the geological map are represented as Pre-Cambrian 

 are really referable to the latter, and, if so, can they also be 



' brought into correlation either with the rocks of St. John or with 



those of the typical regions about Lakes Superior and Huron ? 



We may endeavor to answer these questions seriatim. 



(1) The rocks about the City of St. John which (in 1870) were 



first referred to the Pre-Cambrian consist of two formations, the 



first and older embracing mainly a series of imperfect granitoid 



gneiges, finely exposed in the vicinity of Indiantown, a suburb of 



St. John, and in the Narrows of the St. John river, with which, in 



unconformable superposition, was associated a thick series of quartzites, 



limestones and dolomites, often serpentinous, and highly disturbed 



and metamorphosed, together with large areas or inclusions of granite 



and syenite; and secondly a series which consisted mainly of volcanic 



