128 Proceedings of the British Association. 



then appointed, the representations of which to the Government led 

 to the institution of a Mining Record Office, in connexion with the 

 Museum of Economic Geology, and of an officer to take charge of 

 such plans and records as should be deposited there. But, notwith- 

 standing all that had been done, much remained to be done, and he 

 was convinced that the sanction and aid of the Legislature could alone 

 effect a general registration of mines. — Mr. J. Taylor described seve- 

 ral instances of the evils resulting from the want of such informa- 

 tion. On one occasion 80,000/. had been expended on a copper 

 mine in Cornwall, which became less productive the deeper it was 

 worked and was finally abandoned. In this case a minute record was 

 kept of the state of the operations, and the reasons for their abandon- 

 ment, so as to afford a complete refutation of the pretensions of a 

 company which had been recently formed for the purpose of re-open- 

 ing the works. In Mexico, on the contrary, workings had become 

 unprofitable on account of their expense, during the war with Spain, 

 a record having previously been made of the state of every part of the 

 mine. These mines had subsequently been drained and re- opened 

 under Mr. Taylor's directions, and the account of them found to be 

 very correct. He was convinced that much loss of life and much ex- 

 pensive litigation might be avoided, if mine owners were bound by 

 law to keep a record of their proceedings. There ought to be no 

 mystery or secret in mining ; it answered no good purpose ; in the 

 mining operations of Cornwall for fifty years there had been no 

 secrets ; a meeting was held every two months, at which all accounts 

 were made up and made known publicly. — Sir H. T. De la Beche 

 attributed many of the accidents in the mines to the absence of docu- 

 ments respecting old workings and adjacent mines. The Goverment 

 had done all in their power for the preservation of mining records, 

 but difficulties had been experienced in inducing interested parties to 

 avail themselves of the opportunities thus afforded . 



' On the Sections of the Cretaceous and Tertiary Systems in the 

 S.E. of the Isle of Wight, and the bearing of the evidence they afford 

 in the history of Animal Life,' by Capt. B. Ibbetson and Prof. E. 

 Forbes. — Three models had been constructed by Capt. Ibbetson from 

 trigonometrical surveys in order to illustrate the sections of creta- 





