268 REPORT—1874. 
Rogers, Mr. Samuel Brown, Mr. A. Hamilton, Mr. Frank Fellows, and Pro- 
fessor Leone Levi. 
The discussion at the conference was carried on in the most friendly spirit, 
and, in the opinion of your Committee, with manifest utility towards the 
elucidation of the questions at issue. From the employers your Committee 
have, moreover, received valuable written answers to their inquiries ; whilst 
the ‘ Beehive,’ the principal organ of the employed, said of the Conference, 
«The case was stated with great frankness, and the attack and defence was 
carried on in perfect good humour for three hours; and whether any 
conviction on either side was altered or not, it was proved very distinctly 
that such meetings, if held more frequently, could not fail to beget a clearer 
view of the questions in dispute on both sides, and a stronger disposition 
than now exists to arrange differences in a friendly and peaceable spirit. 
We do not know whether it would be within the province of the Com- 
mittee of the British Association to call a series of meetings composed of men 
from each side competent to deal with the question in dispute, where they 
might be taken seriatim and thoroughly inquired into and discussed. A 
series of such meetings would prepare the ground for some practical work, 
such as would bring into reconcilement the reasonable and fair men and lovers 
of peace on both sides.” Your Committee have not been able to exhaust the 
inquiry on the points of dispute between employers and employed, nor to 
enter into any suggestion of a remedial character on which the opinion both 
of employers and employed would be extremely useful. And under such 
circumstances your Committee have decided not to make a final report on the 
present occasion, but to recommend the reappointment of the Committee of 
the same members as it stands, with power to add to their number, with in- 
structions to renew the conferences already inaugurated between employers 
and employed, and to report on the general question ; and your Committee re- 
commend that another grant of £25 be made for the purpose of such inquiries. 
Preliminary Report of the Committee, consisting of J. Gwyn JEFFREYS, 
F.R.S., G. 8S. Brapy, D. Roprrtson, and H. B. Brapy, F.R.S., on 
Dredging on the Coasts of Durham and North Yorkshire. Drawn 
up by Davip Rosertson and Grorcr Stewarpson Brapy. 
Tue dredging off the coasts of Durham and North Yorkshire, provided for by 
a grant from the British Association last year, was carried out during the 
week beginning on the 13th of July. A suitable steam-vessel was engaged, 
and being on the whole favoured by the weather, we dredged every day until 
the 18thinclusive. During two days the Rey. A. M. Norman accompanied us ; 
we were indebted to him for valuable assistance in naming some of our speci- 
mens, as well as for kindly undertaking to report on some sections of the work. 
On two days out of the six the sea was too rough to allow of the dredges 
being worked very successfully, and one dredge was unfortunately lost by 
getting fast on hard ground while a very strong tide was running; but with 
these exceptions the work was carried out satisfactorily. The dredging 
ranged from near Tynemouth on the north, to Scarborough on the south, 
the water varying in depth from 20 to 45 fathoms, the greater portion of 
the time being devoted to a belt (known to fishermen as the inner “ fishing 
bank ”’) lying from 4 to 8 miles from the shore. One day, however, was spent 
