322 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
At this time Sir G-eorge Mackenzie, Mr Skene, Mr Allan, and 
myself — then office-bearers or members of Council, made arrange- 
ments that a paper of some kind should be read at every meeting, 
and in this way a more numerous attendance was obtained. 
This abnormal process, however, did not continue long. The 
Huttonian Theory of the Earth, which its distinguished author 
promulgated in our Transactions for 1785, had attracted the atten- 
tion of naturalists. Sir James Hall, then a young man, entered 
with enthusiasm into its study; and so early as 1790 he laid before 
the Society certain views on the fusion and subsequent crystallisa- 
tion of mineral substances, which seemed hostile to the opinions 
of his master. Having proposed to confirm them by experiment. 
Dr Hutton, as Sir James says, “gave him little encouragement;” 
and, under the infiuence of a false delicacy, he abstained from pro- 
secuting the subject during the life of his friend. In 1798, how- 
ever, after Dr Hutton’s death, he resumed and published his ex- 
periments on the fusion of whinstone and lava ; and was led to 
those admirable researches “on the effects of compression in modi- 
fying the action of heat,” which he communicated to the Society, 
and published in 1805. 
This remarkable paper having removed many of the objections 
which had been urged against the Huttonian theory, it was eagerly 
embraced and defended by Professor Playfair, Lord Webb Seymour, 
Sir George Mackenzie, Mr Allan, Dr Hope, and other geologists. 
Professor Jameson had about this time returned from Ereyberg, 
imbued with all the doctrines of the Wernerian School, and eager 
to propagate them among his pupils and friends. Dr Thomas 
Thomson and Dr Macknight joined his standard; and the rival 
theories of fire and water were discussed in this Society with all 
the warmth, I may even say the bitterness, of political or theolo- 
gical controversy. Vanquished by the superior science of their 
opponents, the Wernerian s quitted the field, and the Huttonian 
theory, illustrated by the eloquence of Professor Playfair, attracted 
to its study the most distinguished geologists of other lands, and 
took a high place among the natural sciences. 
Several English geologists were thus led to establish the Geolo- 
gical Society of London ; and though, with the view of disarming the 
prejudices which had been excited against the Huttonian doctrines 
