Reports and Proceedings — Geological Society of London. 181 



The Pre-Cambrians consist typically of crystalline felsites, mostly 

 obscurely stratified ; and hard fine-grained syenites. Intrusive 

 masses of igneous rocks also occur in the Pre-Oambrian area. 



Mr. R. Chalmers furnishes a preliminary report (pp. 5 gg — 58 gg) 

 on the Surface Geology of New Brunswick, in which he describes 

 the superficial deposits as consisting of " Alluviums, or Recent 

 Deposits," and " Stratified Sands, Gravels and Clays." The topo- 

 graphical features of the Province, agricultural character, forests, 

 etc., are also particularized, and a table of glacial stiiee and a list of 

 Post-Tertiary fossils are added. 



Report K (pp. 5k — 15k) by Mr. Eugene Coste, Mining Engineer, 

 contains valuable observations on "Mining Laws and Mining in 

 Canada," in which the writer attributes the failure of so many 

 mining schemes in the Province of Ontario and Quebec and in the 

 north-west territory to the defective state of the laws governing such 

 undertakings. 



Speculators are allowed to "purchase very cheaply large tracts of 

 'mineral lands,' which they are not compelled to work, and which 

 they hold, against the interest of the mining industry and of the 

 country, awaiting fabulous prices for them, and so preventing hona 

 fide working companies from developing them." 



To remedy this deplorable state of things, Mr. Coste proposes that 

 national mining property should be submitted to an administration 

 similar to that which is in force in France, Prussia, Austria, and 

 other European countries. He formulates a series of " principles 

 which should be followed in determining the conditions under which 

 mining rights should be acquired and maintained." These relate 

 to the leasing of mining property, the prevention of monopoly of 

 mining rights on too large an area of land ; penalties for insufficient 

 working of mining property ; regulations concerning the purchase of 

 a sufficient extent of land for the surface requirements of the mine, 

 and finally, the due inspection of mines by government officers. 



The concluding report (pp. 1m — 29m), by Mr. G. Christian Hofi"- 

 mann, assisted by Mr. Frank D. Adams, contains a record of assays 

 and analyses carried out in the Laboratory of the Survey, attention 

 having been devoted chiefly to such minerals as promised to be of 

 economic value. 



A general Index to the volume completes this large and valuable 

 accession to our knowledge of the physical geography, geology and 

 material resources of Canada. Arthur H. Foord. 



I^EIPOIEiTS -A-ISriD I^IROGIBIBIDIIsrvS-S. 



I. — The Geological Society of London. 



1. — Annual General Meeting, February 18, 1887. — Prof. J. W. 

 Judd, F.R.S., President, in the Chair. 



The Secretary read the Reports of the Council and of the Library 

 and Museum Committee for the year 1886. The Council stated that 

 they had to congratulate the Fellows upon a continuation of the 



