16 



Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



Wednesday., 24th December 1862.— James M'Bain, M.D , R.N., Pre- 

 sident, in the Chair. 



The Office-bearers for the Session 1862-63 were elected as follows : — 



Presidents. — James M'Bain, M.D., R.N. ; John Coldstream, M.D. ; 

 David Page, Esq. 



Council.— William Turner, Esq , M.B. ; Thomas Strethill Wright, 

 M.D. ; George Berry, Esq. ; A. M'Kenzie Edwards, Esq. ; Alexander 

 Bryson, Esq. ; John Anderson, M.D. ; William S. Young, Esq. 



Secretary. — John Alexander Smith, M.D. 



Treasurer. — George Logan, Esq. 



Assistant- Secretary . — James Boyd Davies, Esq. 



Honorary Librarian. — Robert F. Logan, Esq. 



Library Committee. — W. H. Lowe, M.D. ; John Anderson, M.D. 

 Thomas Robertson, Esq. 



The following gentleman was elected an ordinary member of the 



Society : — 



David Douglas, Esq., Publisher. 



New parts of the Proceedings for the last Session, 1861-62, were laid 

 on the table by the Secretary. 



The following Donations to the Library were presented, and thanks 

 voted to the Donors : — 



1. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 

 August to December 1861. — From the Academy. 2. (1.) Jahrbuch der 

 Kaiserlich — Koniglichen Geologischen Reichsanstalt, xii. Band, Nro. 2. 

 Janner, Februar, Mars, April, 1862, Wien ; (2.) Die Fossilen Mollusken 

 des Tertiaer — Beckens von Wien, ii. Band, Nro. 3, '4, Bivalven. — From 

 the I. R. Geological Institute of Austria. 



I. On the Bituminous Shales of Linlithgowshire and Edinburghshire. 

 By Andrew Taylor, Esq. 



The Geological Relations of the English and Scottish Car- 

 boniferous Systems, — The consideration of this general pre- 

 liminary question is necessary in order to determine the 

 true stratigraphical position of the shales about to be de- 

 scribed ; a point this of the greatest importance, should a 

 comparison be instituted with bituminous substances, which 

 have become of great commercial value in other geological 

 systems. 



Considerable misapprehension exists as to the relations oi 

 the English and Scottish carboniferous systems. William 

 Smith, in the course of the journeys by which he arrived at 



