﻿ANNIVERSARY 
  ADDRESS 
  OE 
  THE 
  PRESIDENT. 
  XXXVU 
  

  

  of 
  mining, 
  which 
  at 
  his 
  first 
  entry 
  into 
  life 
  was 
  palpably 
  defective 
  at 
  

   many 
  points. 
  He 
  commenced 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Records 
  of 
  Mining/ 
  in 
  1829, 
  

   what 
  he 
  hoped 
  would 
  command 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  public 
  as 
  a 
  

   standard 
  periodical 
  for 
  mining 
  and 
  metallurgy 
  j 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  

   only 
  part 
  which 
  appeared 
  he 
  inserted 
  a 
  sensible 
  and 
  well-considered 
  

   treatise 
  on 
  the 
  education 
  of 
  miners 
  and 
  the 
  proposed 
  establishment 
  

   of 
  a 
  school 
  in 
  Cornwall. 
  With 
  the 
  same 
  end 
  in 
  view 
  of 
  advancing 
  

   knowledge, 
  and 
  thereby 
  of 
  furthering 
  the 
  commercial 
  prosperity 
  of 
  

   those 
  classes 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  was 
  especially 
  interested, 
  he 
  collected 
  and 
  

   published 
  statistics 
  during 
  a 
  period 
  when 
  scarcely 
  any 
  public 
  record 
  

   of 
  our 
  mineral 
  produce 
  existed, 
  and 
  contributed 
  important 
  aid 
  to 
  

   the 
  collection 
  of 
  those 
  valuable 
  Returns 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  annually 
  

   edited 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Hunt 
  at 
  the 
  Museum 
  of 
  Practical 
  Geology. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  in 
  great 
  part 
  Mr. 
  Taylor's 
  thirst 
  for 
  knowledge 
  and 
  desire 
  

   to 
  extend 
  it, 
  coupled 
  with 
  his 
  mental 
  activity, 
  his 
  honour, 
  and 
  

   thoroughly 
  tolerant 
  spirit, 
  that 
  enabled 
  him 
  so 
  successfully 
  to 
  form 
  

   arrangements 
  for 
  working 
  mines 
  amid 
  the 
  most 
  various 
  populations. 
  

   His 
  name 
  was 
  thus 
  well 
  known 
  in 
  Spain, 
  France, 
  and 
  Portugal, 
  in 
  

   the 
  United 
  States, 
  Mexico, 
  and 
  Cuba, 
  in 
  Australia 
  and 
  California 
  ; 
  

   and 
  it 
  may 
  confidently 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  whoever 
  in 
  these 
  countries, 
  

   Englishman 
  or 
  native, 
  was 
  acquainted 
  with 
  him 
  will 
  have 
  felt 
  that 
  

   the 
  death 
  of 
  John 
  Taylor 
  has 
  taken 
  from 
  him 
  a 
  friend. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Samuel 
  Peace 
  Pratt, 
  F.R.S., 
  F.L.S., 
  was 
  born 
  on 
  the 
  6th 
  of 
  

   November, 
  1789, 
  and 
  was 
  educated 
  at 
  Mr. 
  Clarke's 
  school 
  at 
  En- 
  

   field. 
  At 
  Tottenham, 
  where 
  he 
  resided 
  with 
  his 
  parents, 
  he 
  was 
  

   well 
  known 
  in 
  youth 
  for 
  his 
  great 
  eagerness 
  in 
  the 
  pursuit 
  of 
  the 
  

   physical 
  sciences, 
  rising 
  before 
  dawn 
  in 
  winter 
  and 
  at 
  daylight 
  in 
  

   summer 
  to 
  devote 
  himself 
  to 
  his 
  favourite 
  studies. 
  In 
  this 
  manner 
  

   he 
  took 
  up 
  successively 
  chemistry, 
  botany, 
  mineralogy, 
  astronomy, 
  

   natural 
  philosophy, 
  and 
  geology. 
  I 
  am 
  told, 
  by 
  one 
  who 
  knew 
  him 
  

   well, 
  that 
  he 
  first 
  turned 
  his 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  last-named 
  science 
  in 
  

   1812. 
  In 
  1823 
  he 
  went 
  to 
  reside 
  at 
  Bath, 
  where 
  he 
  remained 
  about 
  

   sixteen 
  years, 
  during 
  which 
  period 
  he 
  was 
  an 
  active 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  

   Bath 
  Literary 
  Institution. 
  

  

  In 
  1829 
  he 
  was 
  elected 
  a 
  Fellow 
  of 
  this 
  Society, 
  and 
  in 
  1831 
  he 
  

   read 
  a 
  memoir, 
  published 
  in 
  our 
  ' 
  Transactions,' 
  " 
  On 
  the 
  Existence 
  

   of 
  Anoplotherium 
  and 
  Palceotherium 
  in 
  the 
  Lower 
  Freshwater 
  

   Formation 
  at 
  Bmstead, 
  near 
  Ryde, 
  in 
  the 
  Isle 
  of 
  Wight; 
  " 
  and 
  in 
  

   June 
  1833 
  he 
  contributed 
  a 
  paper 
  " 
  On 
  the 
  Osseous 
  Caves 
  of 
  Santo 
  

   Ciro," 
  near 
  Palermo, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  showed, 
  from 
  the 
  boring 
  of 
  LitJw- 
  

   domus, 
  that 
  the 
  country 
  had 
  undergone 
  recent 
  elevation 
  subsequent 
  

   to 
  the 
  Mediterranean 
  being 
  inhabited 
  by 
  existing 
  species 
  ; 
  and 
  also, 
  

   in 
  common 
  with 
  Dr. 
  Turnbull 
  Christie, 
  who 
  had 
  observed 
  the 
  same 
  

   phenomena 
  in 
  1831, 
  he 
  notices 
  the 
  occurrence 
  in 
  the 
  cave 
  of 
  bones 
  

   of 
  Hippopotami, 
  teeth 
  of 
  Elephants, 
  and 
  other 
  Mammalia. 
  

  

  In 
  18-13 
  Mr. 
  Pratt 
  read 
  a 
  memoir 
  " 
  On 
  the 
  Geology 
  of 
  the 
  neigh- 
  

   bourhood 
  of 
  Bayonne." 
  

  

  In 
  1852 
  he 
  again 
  gave 
  an 
  important 
  memoir 
  to 
  the 
  Society 
  " 
  On 
  

   the 
  Geology 
  of 
  Catalonia," 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  described 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  forma- 
  

  

  