﻿50 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OE 
  THE 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SOCIETY. 
  

  

  Each 
  represents 
  " 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  carefully 
  matured 
  efforts," 
  and 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  long 
  papers 
  I 
  have 
  quoted 
  are 
  remarkable 
  for 
  both 
  clearness 
  

   and 
  conciseness. 
  

  

  Alany 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  papers 
  read 
  before 
  the 
  Society 
  and 
  published 
  

   in 
  its 
  Journal 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  form 
  valuable 
  additions 
  to 
  our 
  

   stock 
  of 
  knowledge, 
  and 
  it 
  will 
  not, 
  I 
  trust, 
  be 
  thought 
  that 
  my 
  

   omission 
  to 
  mention 
  them 
  separately 
  indicates 
  an 
  idea 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  

   inferior 
  in 
  value 
  to 
  those 
  already 
  cited. 
  The 
  longer 
  papers 
  have 
  

   only 
  been 
  noticed 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  explain 
  the 
  additional 
  bulk 
  of 
  the 
  

   Society's 
  Journal. 
  

  

  To 
  English 
  geologists 
  generally, 
  and 
  especially 
  to 
  the 
  Eellows 
  of 
  

   the 
  Geological 
  Society 
  of 
  London, 
  the 
  most 
  interesting 
  occurrence 
  

   of 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  in 
  connexion 
  with 
  our 
  science 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  meeting 
  

   of 
  the 
  International 
  Geological 
  Congress 
  in 
  this 
  city. 
  The 
  history 
  

   of 
  that 
  body 
  is 
  so 
  well 
  known 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  unnecessary 
  for 
  me 
  to 
  

   recapitulate 
  it 
  further 
  than 
  to 
  remind 
  you 
  that 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  congress 
  

   originated 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  of 
  America, 
  at 
  the 
  Buffalo 
  Meeting 
  

   of 
  the 
  American 
  Association 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  of 
  Science, 
  in 
  

   1876, 
  and 
  that 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  Congress 
  have 
  since 
  been 
  held 
  at 
  

   Paris 
  in 
  1878, 
  Bologna 
  in 
  1881, 
  Berlin 
  in 
  1885, 
  and 
  London 
  in 
  

   1888. 
  

  

  But 
  although 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  congress 
  itself 
  has 
  been 
  related 
  

   in 
  some 
  detail 
  on 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  occasion, 
  and 
  recently 
  by 
  Prof. 
  

   Prestwich 
  in 
  his 
  opening 
  address 
  to 
  the 
  London 
  Congress, 
  I 
  have 
  

   met 
  with 
  no 
  general 
  account 
  in 
  English 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  done 
  by 
  the 
  

   Congress 
  and 
  its 
  committees. 
  As 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  the 
  advantage 
  of 
  

   taking- 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  three 
  Congresses, 
  and 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  attended 
  

   most 
  of 
  the 
  meetings 
  of 
  the 
  International 
  Committee 
  for 
  the 
  unifi- 
  

   cation 
  of 
  nomenclature 
  since 
  1881, 
  1 
  may 
  perhaps 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  give 
  

   to 
  the 
  Eellows 
  of 
  this 
  Society 
  a 
  few 
  additional 
  details, 
  and 
  thence 
  

   to 
  pass 
  to 
  the 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  question 
  how 
  far 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  

   the 
  Congress 
  hitherto 
  has 
  fulfilled 
  the 
  expectations 
  of 
  its 
  founders. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  explain 
  the 
  subject 
  to 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  not 
  followed 
  

   the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  Congress 
  closely, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  necessary 
  to 
  go 
  into 
  

   some 
  detail, 
  and 
  I 
  must 
  ask 
  the 
  Eellows 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Society 
  to 
  

   bear 
  in 
  mind 
  that 
  in 
  treating 
  of 
  a 
  body 
  mainly 
  composed 
  of 
  European 
  

   geologists, 
  I 
  occupy 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  an 
  alien 
  position. 
  At 
  Bologna 
  

   and 
  at 
  Berlin 
  I 
  attended 
  the 
  Congress 
  as 
  the 
  official 
  representative 
  

   of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  of 
  India, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  on 
  several 
  

   questions 
  English 
  geologists 
  hold 
  views 
  differing 
  materially 
  from 
  

  

  