46 Iraces of Primitive Man. 



Young. He had known Mr. Darragh ever since he came to 

 Belfast, over thirty years ago, and had always found him a 

 thoroughly efficient and courteous officer, always willing to give 

 ready help to anyone interested in natural history. 



The motion was passed in silence. 



Mr. Gray said : — The question of man's antiquity in County 

 Antrim and the North of Ireland cannot be considered apart 

 from the general question of the antiquity of man in Ireland, 

 and the question of the antiquity of man in Ireland cannot be 

 considered unless in relation to the traces of primitive man in 

 Europe. Our subject is speculative, because we have no history 

 to guide us. The best way to get a proper idea or conception 

 of the condition of primitive man is by comparison, and we 

 should endeavour to compare the remains we have with 

 similar remains found elsewhere. History and tradition fail 

 altogether in throwing any light on the dark region to which 

 I refer, and it is only when we come to bring the searchlights 

 of archaeology and geology and astronomy to bear on the 

 subject that we discover something about the condition of 

 mankind at that extremely remote period. We find he had 

 reached a certain stage of civilisation, and moved from place to 

 place following distinct lines of migration. The movements 

 took two distinct directions — one to the east and the other 

 to the west — and it was along those lines that we find the 

 remains which give us an indication of the condition of mankind 

 at that time. The point from which these waves of migration 

 set out, or the period at which they commenced, are both obscure 

 and indefinite, but it is in their tracks that man's works may be 

 found which indicate his earliest steps towards progressive 

 civilisation. 



There were thrown upon the screen a series of original lime- 

 light slides illustrative of the subject of the lecture, each of 

 which Mr. Gray described in detail, all going to elucidate the 

 primitive condition of man. Many of these were of glacial 

 deposits, to be found both in the North of Ireland and in 

 England and Continental countries, and also representations of 



