1884.] Earthquakes and Electricity . 9 
in a place like Ischia, known to be liable to shocks, seems 
of itself to demonstrate a remarkable absence of reasoning 
power. But who would credit that after the catastrophe of 
March, 1881, not only were the untouched masonry buildings 
not pulled down or not disused, but the ruined buildings 
were actually rebuilt in their previous lofty fashion ? But 
this is what has really taken place: the lessons taught by the 
March slaughter have been positively nil. One would have 
thought that after that event the least the Italian philosophers 
could have done would have been to insist on all buildings 
in Ischia being constructed of wood (or of light iron), and 
only of one storey. But they appear to have negledted 
their obvious duty in this respeCt ; the Public Works 
authorities seem to have displayed to an abnormal extent 
the laissez alter qualities proverbially attributed to the deni- 
zens of Southern Europe, and the result has been the great 
human sacrifice that has recently taken place. But if the 
theory of the eleCtrical origin of earthquakes cannot be 
proved to be the delusion of madmen, do not these suc- 
cessive Italian holocausts call for at least a careful examina- 
tion, by bodies of men like the Academy of France or the 
Royal Society of England, of the faCts and arguments 
brought forward by those who earnestly advocate this 
theory ? Take the matter on this ground alone. If the 
eleCtrical theory be accepted there is at least a chance of 
devising measures capable of tending to avert these disasters. 
After much reflection the writer is firmly convinced that 
simple and economical means could at once be tried which 
might (if experiments were patiently pursued) lead to the 
discovery of aCtual preventives to these dreadful plagues. 
But if the theories of steam, cooling, shrinking, subsidence, 
vibration, &c., be persistently believed in, what possible 
remedy ever can be obtained. From their very nature these 
theories cannot lead to any preventive measures ever being 
adopted. That, of all countries in the world, the one which 
contains the great Calabrian “ earthquake battle-field,” — 
the one which from time immemorial has, owing to her 
soil’s fearful shudderings, lost unnumbered sons and daugh- 
ters, prematurely cut off from this bright earth in all their 
youth and pride, — the one which brought forth Galvani, 
Volta, and Beccaria, and made her colleges the very homes 
and nurseries of electricity, — that this country should negleCt 
to apply eleCtrical experiments towards the prevention of 
disasters, which all experience shows are at least inti- 
mately associated with known eleCtrical phenomena, seems 
almost incredible. Let us cease to stigmatise earthquakes as 
VOL, vi. (third series). c 
