1897 — 98 .] 
Chairman’s Opening Address. 
3 
are still more conspicuous in regard to Higli Level Observatories 
and contiguous Low Level Observatories, good positions for which 
might be obtained in Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania ; and 
the Committee further thought that as the atmospheric pressure 
was singularly low and uniform over the Southern Hemisphere, 
where a close and intimate connection is shown between low 
pressure and cyclones with the attendant anticyclones, that this 
is a part of the world where problems of weather can be most 
successfully investigated. 
Professor Playfair states in his Life of Hutton (published in 
vol. v. of our Transactions) that the two volumes on the Theory 
of the Earth, which that great geologist gave to the world in 1795, 
“ do not complete the Theory, a third, necessary for that purpose, 
remained behind, and is still in manuscript ” (January 1803). It 
was at first supposed that as Hutton’s collection of minerals had 
been presented to the Society, this unpublished MS. volume 
might also have been presented, and might be in the archives of 
the Society, but the most exhaustive search led to no indication of 
its ever having been in our possession. The last trace of it that 
could be found is in Note C. to a paper on Glen Tilt, read to our 
Society on 16th May 1814, in which Lord Webb Seymour, one of 
the authors of it, states that Professor Playfair had promised to 
give him a sight of the manuscript of the third volume of Hutton’s 
Theory of the Earth which “ was left unpublished at the time of 
Hutton’s death, and is nearly ready for the press.” 
After the failure of our search, we were agreeably surprised to 
learn from Sir Archibald Geikie (in a letter dated 16th June 1897) 
that he had discovered a portion of the MS. volume in the posses- 
sion of the Geological Society of London; that portion having 
been acquired by Leonard Horner, and presented by him to the 
Geological Society’s Library. Unfortunately it is only a small 
part of the whole volume, beginning with Chapter IV., and end- 
ing with Chapter IX. 
The Astronomer-Eoyal for Scotland is about to proceed to India, 
with adequate instruments, to observe the Eclipse, which will take 
place on the 22nd of January next, and the Society will be much 
interested in the results obtained by such a competent observer. 
During the last Session twenty-one Fellows have been elected, 
