86 Porrespondetice — J. Adam Watson. 



Kev. John McEnery. Yet English science has lost the credit of 

 priority by the fact that the records of these discoveries remained 

 unpublished until 1859. It has been suggested that their publication 

 was " suppressed," owing, according to one writer, to the influence 

 of Huxley, of all men in the world. The erroneousness of this 

 amazing statement was at once pointed out by the two geologists 

 I have named. Mr. Hunt, however, associates the delay in the 

 publication of the Kent's Cavern evidence with the delay in issuing 

 that of the Brixham Cave. The two cases seem entirely distinct. 

 McEnery's discoveries were made thirty years before the Brixham 

 Cave was explored, and during that time many facts discovered 

 on the Continent had come to light. Professor Rupert Jones, on 

 the other hand, tells us that the notes, supposed to be " lost," were 

 "really kept in the background by influence of the Eev. Dean 

 Buckland." The Professor must be in possession of facts which are 

 certainly not to be found in the evidence as it stands. 



I have carefully studied the literature of the subject, and can 

 find no suggestion of influence brought to bear by anyone with 

 a view to suppression of publication of the notes. McEnery may 

 have been deterred by fear of orthodox persecution, or out of 

 deference to Dean Buckland, who differed from him in some of his 

 conclusions, but there is no evidence for either theory. If I might 

 suggest a reason for the non-appearance of the work during his 

 lifetime, I should say it is to be found in the modesty, simplicity, 

 and amiability of McEnery's character. His own story is perfectly 

 explicit. His original intention was to publish the results of his 

 researches at once. His private means being insufficient for this,^ 

 he drew up a prospectus with the object of procuring pecuniary 

 assistance, but apparently this prospectus was never issued. Partly 

 on account of bad health, and partly in the belief that some one 

 better equipped than himself in geology and palaeontology would 

 take the matter up, he abandoned the idea of publication, but 

 continued adding to and altering his notes to such an extent that 

 they became terribly confused. We find additions made to them 

 as late as 1836, containing quotations from Buckland's Bridgewater 

 Treatise, published in that year. Finally, shortly before his death, 

 he again announced his intention of publishing his memoir forthwith. 

 Unfortunately, he died in the beginning of 1841, without having 

 even prepared his notes for the printer. 



The subsequent history of his manuscript seems equally clear.. 

 His effects were sold by auction, and the precious notes happened 

 to be mixed up in a miscellaneous ' lot ' of sermons and other 

 papers, which was purchased by Mr. Lear, a Torquay tradesman 

 who collected fossils. From him, or perhaps after his death, they 

 were purchased by Mr. W. Long, F.G.S., of Saxmundham. This 

 gentleman had already shown much interest in cavern researches, 

 and had communicated a paper on the subject to the British 

 Association Meeting at Newcastle in 1838. He handed them over 

 to Mr. Vivian with a view to their publication, which was effected 

 in 1859. It is worthy of remark that for seven or eight years 



