Armiversary Address. 305 



Association at Dundee, which I attended, considers that we 

 in this country are generally more capable of being cultivated 

 by science than by literature, and gives as his opinion that 

 our schoolmasters, in adhering to the traditions of a pre- 

 scientific period, are throwing away the natural means which 

 Providence has put in their hands of giving an intellectual 

 turn to the sympathies and interests of the great majority of 

 the English people. Two of the most important advantages 

 from the early cultivation of science should not be overlooked ; 

 first, the great intellectual pleasure derived in after life, 

 whether abroad or at home, from even a moderate acquaint- 

 ance with it, and, secondly, on grounds of practical utility, 

 as materially affecting the present position and future progress 

 of civilization and colonization. 



Gentlemen, I had intended to make a few further remarks 

 on some of the subjects discussed at the Dundee meeting, 

 more especially one of very great interest to geologists, namely 

 the ages of granites and their character as eruptive or stratified 

 rocks, but I have already detained you too long, and before 

 sitting down, once again thank you for the high honour you 

 conferred on me by electing me to fill this chair. Whatever 

 may be my short comings, I yield to none in my desire to see 

 this club go on and prosper, feeling assured that the more 

 natural science is cultivated the more shall we wonder at the 

 wisdom and goodness of our Creator and the order and regu- 

 larity of the great laws whereby the world was formed and 

 is upheld. 



