Geological Survei^ oj Great Britain. 361 



for Great Britain and another for Ireland. Captain now Colonel 

 James, was appointed Director for Ireland. I was appointed Di- 

 rector for Great Britain. Each of us had a staff of assistants, while 

 Sir Henry de la Beche was then appointed Director general of the 

 Survey. The Geological Museum attached to the survey originated 

 nearly as follows : The Houses of Parliament having been burned 

 down, a commission was appointed to examine into the best stones 

 for re-constructing parliament building. Sir Henry was one of 

 that commission, and while it was in operation, building stones 

 squared and dressed to a six inch cube, were sent in from all parts 

 of the country. The commission examined not only the stones, 

 but what ancient buildings had been constructed with them in 

 order to test their quality of endurance. In consequence of a pre- 

 vious collection of metalliferous mineral specimens and of tliis large 

 collection having been sent in, it struck Sir Henry de la Beche 

 that there ought to be some building to preserve them, and he 

 merely asked for a small house belonging to Government to store 

 them in. Then he asked for cases to put them in, that they might 

 not only be preserved, but m-ight be examined. By degrees he 

 increased his demands, and Government perceived the importance 

 of a National Geological museum. He asked for and obtained a 

 special building in which to exhibit all the economic and scientific 

 resources of the country connected with geology, and the large 

 and spacious building in Jermyn Street, known as the Museum of 

 Practical Geology, sprung up, with its varied rooms containing 

 suites of all the fossils, building stones aod mineral wealth of the 

 country, and everything connected with Geology. The building 

 itself was entirely constructed of British materials. The front of 

 magnesian limestone, the back of brick, the pilasters of Aberdeen 

 and other granites, of Derbyshire and Irish marbles, and of Cornish 

 and Irish serpentines. People are amazed when they enter this 

 building and see so many rich materials for architectural purposes 

 displayed, all of them afforded by the British Islands. Having 

 secured this building, it occurred to Sir Henry, partly in conse- 

 quence of representation from the mining districts, that to establish 

 a Mining College in connexion with this would be of the greatest 

 advantage to all connected with mining. He proposed, therefore, 

 that certain chairs should be founded in connection with this ins- 

 titution, and the consequence was that in the large and spacious 

 tlieatre connected with the building, lectures are given on Geology 

 by myself, on Natural History by Professor Hauxley, on Demons- 



