4o(> RECORDS 



J. J. Stevenson, C. E. Bertrand's Theory Respecting the 

 Origin of Certain Coals. 



H. Ries, Note on Occurrence of Allanite in the Yose- 

 MiTE Valley. 



The following report \vas presented by Professor J. J. Stev- 

 enson, in behalf of the Committee appointed November 20, 

 1899 in reference to the death of Sir J. William Dawson, of 

 Montreal. On motion of Professor D. S. Martin, the report 

 was adopted. 



J. William Dawson was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, October 

 13, 1820; educated at Pictou College and Edinburgh Univer- 

 sity. Upon his return to Nov^a Scotia he was chosen Instructor 

 in Natural History by Dalhousie College, and shortly after- 

 ward was appointed Superintendent of Instruction for the Prov- 

 ince. When thirty-five years old he became Principal of Mc- 

 Giil University, Montreal, then a struggling corporation, with 

 no endowments, few professors, and a wretched equipment. 

 Through his efforts, the struggling college developed into a uni- 

 versity with equipment in many respects unsurpassed, with a 

 large corps of professors, an enthusiastic body of students, and 

 a generous endowment. 



His contributions to geology are of the first rank. The store 

 of facts accumulated during his term as Superintendent of In- 

 struction was published under the title ' of Acadian Geology, 

 a volume of about one thousand pages. In later years much 

 of his study was given to palaeobotany ; we are indebted to 

 him for the discovery of many of the earlier forms of land 

 plants, and for the elucidation of many matters respecting rela- 

 tions of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic forms. The phenomena about 

 Montreal led him to investigate Pleistocene problems ; his nu- 

 merous papers upon such questions were summarized in a vol- 

 ume published in 1893. 



Sir William's labors were incessant. He published many 

 volumes on topics more or less related to geology ; he was ac- 

 tive in efforts to foster science, to advance the interests of higher 

 education, and to improve the condition of his fellows. He was 

 a consistent Christian, living his belief, respected and beloved 



