lxx PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [March. 1913,- 



attempting the rescue of a miner after an accident in a Yorkshire 

 colliery. On July 9th, 1912, while heroically leading a party at 

 Cadeby Colliery in the hope of effecting rescues after an explosion 

 of firedamp, with full knowledge that the danger was imminent, 

 he lost his life through the gas exploding a second time. 



Sir Charles Whitehead, J.P. and D.L.Tvent, was horn in 1834. 

 He was elected to the Geological Society as long ago as 1872, hut 

 devoted himself chiefly to the study of agriculture in all its branches. 

 On this subject he became a well-known authority, and served on the 

 Eoyal Commission on Agriculture in 1893-97. He received the 

 honour of knighthood in 1907. He died on November 29th, 1912. 



John Samuel Phene died on March 11th, 1912, in his ninetieth 

 year. He served as Master of the Clothworkers' Company in 

 1906-1907, and was a Vice-President of the Poyal Society of 

 Literature. He was elected into the Geological Society in 1886, 

 and for several years served on the Council of the Palseontographical 

 Society. He was perhaps best known as the designer of a house 

 in Oakley Street, Chelsea, which he intended to represent the 

 Chateau Savigny in Central Prance, where his Huguenot ancestors 

 lived. 



Mech attention has been devoted of late years to the form and 

 structure of the Palseozoic platform upon which the 

 Secondary rocks of England rest. The interest in it has 

 been centred chiefly upon the possible existence of profitable coal- 

 fields, but we must remember that it is to the search for these that 

 we are indebted for the means of pursuing other investigations 

 which may not be financially important, but are of much scientific 

 interest. 



The configuration of the platform came up for consideration about 

 six years ago, when some pendulum-experiments on variations in 

 gravity were being made at Greenwich and Kew by Col. Burrard, 

 preliminary to transporting the apparatus to India for the continu- 

 ance of observations in that country. I then collected such data 

 as were available, and prepared a map showing a contour-line drawn 

 upon the surface of the platform at 1000 feet below sea-level. 

 The map was published in 190S (Survey of India, Professional 

 Paper, No. 10), but since that date so much fresh evidence has so 

 come to hand as to render possible considerable additions to the 

 conclusions then drawn. 



