1890.] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 989 
and Congress," and gives in detail the plan which it sketched, and 
which was afterwards followed by the Paris committee of organization. 
A somewhat humorous feature was the adoption of the following extra- 
ordinary resolution on recommendation of the standing committee of 
the association. 
‘ Resolved, that in addition to the names of Prof. A. C. Ramsey, 
Director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, already added to 
the International Committee, the president for the time being of the 
geological surveys of France, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Berlin, 
Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and of the Imperial Institute of 
Vienna be requested to form part of our commission." ‘That is, from 
the American Association point of view, these persons, although they 
were not members of the American Association, were asked to take 
part in the inquiry into the propriety of holding an International 
Geological Congress, for which the preparations were a long way 
towards completion, which was to be held, and actually was held, 
during the next year. 
The A. A. A. S. was never asked further to sanction a congress; 
but in 1877 Prof. Ramsey and most of the foreigners above were 
added to the committee ** by the standing committee." 
The opening pages of the Paris volume show how this committee 
was looked upon there. It is said: “ At the termination of the World’s 
Fair of Philadelphia, in 1876, there was formed at Buffalo a committee 
for the organization of an International Geological Congress at Paris 
in 1878.’’ Not a word is said of the American Association, but the 
names of the committee above immediately follow under the heading 
of the “comité fondateur. This comité, it is said, appealed to the 
Geological Society of France, which in turn called upon its council to 
constitute a committee of organization. 
The council responded by naming thirty-three Parisian savants. The 
first act of this committee of organization was to declare that provision- 
ally the following should be deemed a part of the council of the 
3d. The mem 
French or foreign geological socie 
In the opening address of the president, M. Heber: (Paris volume, 
p. 24), he thus alludes to the initiation of the congress : * The initia- 
tion of this congress, you are aware, is not due to France. Certain 
Am. Nat.—October.—8. 
