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face to face, in the first instance, with the necessity of establishing a law of 
uniformity. If you put it to them, and venture to say that for a hundred 
thousand years there has been the same order of things, the same sequence 
of events, the same operations, the same springs leaving the same deposits, 
they will say, “ No.” Of course, then the whole theory breaks down. Look 
at the deposition of mud for instance. The theory of the Nile mud is 
broken down because they find modern pottery there. We know that in the 
case of mud, where it is almost fluid because of much water with it, anything 
heavy or of greater specific gravity than the mud will sink down, and in this 
case they found pottery, from 60 to 70 feet deep, at a very recent date. 
Going up the Hooghly I observed the whole of the bottom of the river in a 
state of quicksand. If a vessel takes the ground there, she goes down . I 
have seen a vessel that has sunk in that river until only its upper masts have 
been visible, and that took place in a few hours. What, then, is the use 
of talking about ascertaining the chronology of the earth from the deposition 
of mud when this state of things is going on ? Then, with regard to the 
forests that have been alluded to. I remember starting from Berne for 
Paris, no rain had then commenced ; before we got to Paris, whither we 
went, the rains had descended from Switzerland, sweeping away houses 
and bridges. When we arrived at the French capital we found that there 
had been a 12 feet rise in the Seine, and on the following day one of 18 
feet. I remember once, when in the tropics, in charge of a water-party, 
we had our water-casks rolled to a stream to get water. It was a beautiful 
day, with the sun shining brightly, but rain had fallen the day before, and 
it came down with such force that it swept us all out to seaward, casks and 
all ; we were swept off our legs, and our tent was carried away with its 
contents to seaward. That is only an instance showing how easily great 
changes may be made by natural causes. Is it not possible that the 
rate of deposits like the formation of stalagmite may be influenced by 
the interference of currents, or the drawing-off of the water of springs? 
We all know how the water of springs in a particular district disappears 
and re-appears again ; how at one moment the springs are saturated with 
one kind of mineral, and at another time with another. Before they can 
establish a claim for uniformity my opponents are bound at the beginning 
to prove that during the deposit of this stalagmite there has been no change 
in the circumstances. It is in this way that one must fight with those philo- 
sophers who claim to have all the facts on their side, and say that we have 
none on ours. It should be recollected that it is some of these very men who 
are arguing from geological deductions who are their own greatest opponents, 
and who entirely overthrow one peculiar system in endeavouring to establish 
their own. I hope the meeting will permit me on its behalf to thank Mr. 
Howard for this very important paper, which will no doubt be published 
together with the discussion upon it ; and I trust that our friends will furnish 
themselves with copies, so that it may be circulated amongst the middle 
classes and those who are being led away by the fallacies with which it deals. 
(Hear, hear.) 
