13 
duced in an hour than were effected, subsequently to the sixth 
day, by the normal action of the polar forces in many centuries. 
Why then demand a greater time than is recorded in Genesis, 
and declared in the fourth commandment ? The lands must 
have risen above the level of the sea on the second day within 
the tropical zone, to provide the necessary vegetable nourish- 
ment for the animals which were to appear on the fifth and 
sixth days. The oceanic movement and the electro-magnetic 
currents of the globe from the first day to the fifth, before man 
and the large terrestrial animals appeared on the scene, were 
doubtless circulating from pole to pole at a rapid rate, pre- 
paring and forming the entires urface of the earth in every 
zone from south to north. 
Taking all these terrestrial operations into account in con- 
nection with the established fact of there being a constant 
movement on the surface of the earth equal to 20 " per annum 
in latitude northward, I have long come to the conclusion that 
there is no necessity whatever to alter the literal meaning of 
the first chapter of Genesis, or the description of the Deluge, 
noryet to alter the Jewish chronology, in order to account 
most satisfactorily for all geological phenomena hitherto dis- 
covered. 
The great electro-magnetic power which envelops our globe 
circulates from pole to pole, and completes its circuit of action 
through the medium of the axis. It propels the currents of 
the ocean from the Antarctic to the Arctic focus of conver- 
gence, and by its directive property and action on magnetic 
needles guides the mariner on the seas in the darkest nights. 
The existence of this great universal power was scarcely known 
a few centuries ago ; yet its everlasting action in the subter- 
ranean base imperceptibly changes the aspects of man^s habita- 
tion, remodels again and again the superficies of the globe, 
and makes all pass away in succession like a scroll. Thus all 
things terrestrial are ever changing, decaying, and renewing ; 
the lands, like generations, are passing through different 
stages, and finally merge into eternity, according to the 
will and ordinance of our Maker. 
The Chairman. — It is my duty, as President of the evening, to propose a 
vote of thanks to the able and accomplished author of this paper. You 
will hardly expect from me anything in the shape of scientific criticism ; 
but I may say this — (and I have no doubt that many of you would say 
the same) — that I have been intensely interested by what we have 
heard. I think it is an admirable paper, and one that must be productive 
of benefit to us all. Without entering into discussion, I will mention 
one fact that may be regarded as interesting. I could not help being struck 
by the frequent allusions in this paper to periods of 4,000, 5,000, and 6,000 
