﻿ANNIVERSARY 
  ADDRESS 
  OF 
  THE 
  PRESIDENT. 
  5 
  I 
  

  

  mine, 
  whilst 
  if 
  the 
  Reports 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  subcommittees 
  on 
  classifi- 
  

   cation 
  and 
  nomenclature, 
  and 
  the 
  Preface 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Hughes, 
  as 
  

   presented 
  to 
  last 
  years 
  Congress, 
  faithfully 
  represent 
  the 
  opinions 
  of 
  

   British 
  geologists, 
  I 
  am 
  obliged 
  to 
  dissent 
  in 
  some 
  respects, 
  as 
  I 
  will 
  

   endeavour 
  to 
  explain 
  hereafter. 
  

  

  I 
  must 
  also 
  point 
  out 
  that 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  subjects 
  to 
  which 
  I 
  pro- 
  

   pose 
  to 
  refer 
  have 
  been 
  treated 
  with 
  great 
  clearness 
  by 
  Prof. 
  G. 
  K. 
  

   Gilbert, 
  in 
  his 
  able 
  address 
  read 
  at 
  New 
  York 
  in 
  August 
  1887, 
  to 
  

   Section 
  E 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Association. 
  In 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  Prof. 
  

   Gilbert's 
  views 
  I 
  heartily 
  agree, 
  and 
  like 
  myself 
  he 
  regards 
  the 
  

   whole 
  question 
  from 
  an 
  extra-European 
  standpoint. 
  

  

  There 
  may 
  be 
  some 
  difficulty 
  in 
  ascertaining 
  what 
  were 
  the 
  

   expectations 
  of 
  the 
  geologists 
  who 
  originally 
  suggested 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  

   the 
  Congress, 
  and 
  it 
  may 
  even 
  be 
  questioned 
  whether 
  the 
  anticipa- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  all 
  who 
  assisted 
  in 
  the 
  conception 
  of 
  that 
  body 
  were 
  

   similar. 
  The 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  Congress, 
  as 
  expressed 
  in 
  the 
  resolution 
  

   passed 
  by 
  the 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Association 
  in 
  1876, 
  was 
  

   " 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  getting 
  together 
  comparative 
  collections, 
  maps, 
  

   and 
  sections, 
  and 
  for 
  the 
  settling 
  of 
  many 
  obscure 
  points 
  relating 
  to 
  

   geological 
  classification 
  and 
  nomenclature 
  " 
  &c. 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  object 
  was 
  

   further 
  denned 
  and, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  judge, 
  correctly 
  denned 
  

   at 
  the 
  Paris 
  Meeting, 
  where 
  two 
  International 
  Committees 
  were 
  

   appointed, 
  the 
  one 
  to 
  deal 
  with 
  the 
  unification 
  of 
  geological 
  nomen- 
  

   clature, 
  the 
  other 
  to 
  propose 
  a 
  general 
  system 
  of 
  coloration 
  and 
  

   signs 
  for 
  geological 
  maps. 
  A 
  third 
  committee, 
  composed 
  entirely 
  of 
  

   Erench 
  members, 
  was 
  formed 
  to 
  consider 
  the 
  rules 
  of 
  palaeontological 
  

   and 
  mineralogical 
  nomenclature. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  subjects 
  referred 
  to 
  the 
  third 
  committee 
  one, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  

   only 
  one 
  upon 
  which 
  a 
  Report 
  was 
  presented 
  and 
  action 
  was 
  taken, 
  

   was 
  clearly 
  beyond 
  the 
  scope 
  of 
  a 
  Geological 
  Congress. 
  Palaeonto- 
  

   logy, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  nomenclature 
  is 
  concerned, 
  is 
  purely 
  a 
  branch 
  of 
  

   biology, 
  and 
  palaeontologists 
  must 
  adhere 
  to 
  the 
  rules 
  of 
  nomencla- 
  

   ture 
  already 
  established 
  in 
  zoology 
  and 
  botany. 
  

  

  Unfortunately 
  zoological 
  rules 
  have 
  not 
  the 
  same 
  general 
  accep- 
  

   tance 
  as 
  botanical 
  ; 
  some 
  zoologists 
  are 
  men 
  with 
  but 
  little 
  scien- 
  

   tific 
  training 
  and 
  imperfectly 
  informed, 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  refuse 
  to 
  submit 
  

   to 
  any 
  rules 
  but 
  those 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  caprice 
  ; 
  consequently, 
  as 
  palae- 
  

   ontology 
  depends 
  more 
  upon 
  zoological 
  than 
  on 
  botanical 
  nomen- 
  

   clature, 
  there 
  is 
  much 
  excuse 
  for 
  the 
  offences 
  against 
  the 
  rules 
  of 
  

   nomenclature 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  admitted 
  that 
  a 
  few 
  palaeontolo- 
  

   gists 
  indulge. 
  This 
  eccentricity 
  in 
  nomenclature 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  a 
  

  

  