364 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— G, H. 



for one method of operating an induction motor so that a considerable drop 

 in speed is obtained as the load comes on. This system is suitable for cases 

 in which heavy variations of the load occur and a flywheel set is used to 

 screen the network from the fluctuating load. 



Reports of Committees : 



{i) Earth pressures . (See p. 287.) 



(2) Electrical terms and definitions. (See p. 289.) 



(3) Stresses in overstrained materials. 



SECTION H.-ANTHROPOLOGY. 



Thursday, September 1. 



Discussion on Who were the Romans? (Prof. H. J. Rose; Prof. P. S. 

 Noble ; Prof. J. L, Myres ; Dr. D. Randall-MacIver) : — 



Prof. H. J. Rose. — Early Rome, the evidence from religion. 



To reconstruct the earliest religion of Rome is practically impossible, 

 and recent researches have but emphasised the difficulty of the task by 

 pointing out the importance of certain rather neglected pieces of evidence. 

 It may, however, be said with some confidence : (i) That so far as the cults 

 can tell us anything of so remote a period, they testify to a mixed people, 

 for {a) some deities, certainly very early, have for their province the fertility 

 of the soil, while others deal with the increase of cattle, thus suggesting 

 a people part pastoral and part agricultural ; {b) there are to be found, 

 alongside of survivals from the Stone and Bronze Ages, definite Iron Age 

 features. (2) That the level of civilisation was not very high, all the 

 worship suggesting a barbarous folk, mostly polydaimonistic, having very 

 little industry or trade. (3) That the people were nevertheless sufficiently 

 advanced to be receptive of foreign influence and able to assimilate it, as is 

 shown by demonstrably early borrowings {a) from other Italian peoples ; 

 (6) from Greek sources ; (c) probably also from Etruria, though here the 

 extent of the indebtedness is a highly controversial point. 



Prof. P. S. Noble.— Linguistic evidence. 

 Prof. J. L. MYHES.—Theplebs. 



Afternoon. 

 Rev. A. Raine. — The beginnings of York. 



The object of this paper is to examine the evidence for and against the 

 existence of a pre-Roman York. 



(a) Was there a British tribal headquarters on the site of York ? 



(b) Was there any kind of British occupation ? 



(a) seenis ruled out by the fact that Aldborough (Isurium Brigantium) 

 occurs as a tribal headquarters before a.d. 100, and as it was the usual 

 Roman policy to leave native local government undisturbed, it is probable 



