Reports, and Proceeding* — Geological Society of London. 185 



System has laid us all under a lasting obligation. I refer, of course, to 

 Mr. A. J. Jukes-Browne. 



All of us, however, professional and amateur worker alike, owe our allegiance 

 to, and draw our inspiration from, that great Frenchman, Charles Barrois. 

 But for him we should still be floundering in the pre-zonal chaos of a " Chalk 

 with flints " and a " Chalk without flints ". As I have said, when speaking in 

 another place, I ask no better verdict from posterity than to be regarded as 

 a faithful exponent of Barrois. Higher praise no worker in the Chalk can ask 

 than this, nor can he attain to higher office. 



And, sir, in tendering to you and to the Council my grateful thanks for this 

 high honour, it only remains for me to say that I accept it, not for my own 

 merits, but as a recognition of the splendid achievements of my fellow-workers 

 in this most fruitful field of investigation. 



The President, in presenting to Professor Othenio Abel, Ph.D., the 

 Bigsby Medal, addressed him as follows : — 



Professor Abel, — The Bigsby Medal has in former years been awarded to 

 workers in many branches of Geology : to stratigraphers, petrologists, 

 palaeontologists, and to those whose special subject has been tectonics or 

 physiography. It has been given to the geologists of many lands. It is, 

 however, more than thirty years since it was given to one whose chief work lay 

 in the domain of Vertebrate Palaeontology, and it has never yet been awarded to 

 a native of your country. 



In awarding it on this occasion, the Council wish to mark their appreciation 

 of your investigations upon the higher Vertebrata, more especially on the 

 Cetacea and Sirenia. Your great memoirs on the Upper Miocene Toothed Whales 

 of Belgium and on the Sirenians of the Mediterranean Territory of Austria are 

 admirable examples of descriptive work, completed by philosophical deductions ; 

 while your numerous smaller papers, both on mammals and on lower verte- 

 brates, are full of suggestive speculations based on a detailed study of all the 

 available materials. 



The vigour and thoroughness of the work which you have accomplished 

 makes it clear that, in the words of the Founder, "you are not too old for 

 further work," while the number and excellence of your publications prove that 

 ' ' you are not too young to have done much ' ' . 



Count Alexander Hoyos, Secretary to the Imperial arid Royal 

 Austro-Hungarian Embassy, expressed, on behalf of the Ambassador, 

 Ins Excellency's regret at his unavoidable absence on that occasion, 

 as well as his gratification that so signal an honour had been conferred 

 by thepi'emier Geological Society of the world upon his distinguished 

 fellow-countryman, Professor Abel, and thus for the first time upon 

 a native of Austria. 



Professor Abel, having requested permission to use the German 

 language in expressing his thanks, replied as follows: — 



Herr President, — Ich bitte, fur die Verleihung der Bigsby Gold Medal meinen 

 warmsten und tiefgefiihlten Dank entgegennehmen zu wollen. 



Die Zuwendung der Bigsby Medal bedeutet fur mich eine ausserordentliche 

 unci unerwartete Ehrung, unci ich empfinde dieselbe in ihrer ganzen Bedeutung. 

 Ich schatze diese Auszeichnung um so holier, als sie mir gerade von Seiten der 

 Geological Society of London verliehen wurde, der altesten und unbestritten 

 angesehensten geologischen Gesellschaft der Welt ; ihre Mitgliederliste umfasst 

 seit ihrer Griindung bis auf den heutigen Tag Namen, deren Trager auf 

 dem Gebiete der Geologie und Palaeontologie unsere Fiihrer und Meister 

 gewesen sind. 



Ich bin stolz darauf als der erste (Esterreicher dieselbe Medaille erhalten zu 

 haben, welche 1877 an Othniel Charles Marsh und 1879 an Edward Drinker 

 Cope verliehen wurde. Aber diese Erinnerung weckt in mir die Besorgnis, ob 

 ich imstande sein werde, mich wie Marsh und Cope in Zukunft der mir 

 verliehenen Auszeichnung nicht unwurdig zu erweisen. 



