270 The American Geologist. October, 1894 
sembly. M. Golliez, general secretary, proposed thai a committee con- 
sisting of the past presidents and general secretaries should be requested 
to consider and draw up a reporl to the nexl congress on the advisabil- 
ity of such a permanent committee being appointed. M. de Lapparent 
dn-w the attention of thecouncil to the fad that this was a total sub- 
version of the idea of the congress and its transformation into a geolog- 
ical society, and that the council had no authority to lake such a step 
of its own initiative. The president, who could not conceal his strong 
approval of Golliez's plan, finally declared thai he would not permit dis- 
cussion on the merits of the proposition, but only on the question 
advancedbyM.de Lapparent. Nevertheless he consumedmore than 
half the time in discussing it himself in all its bearings, and finally de- 
clared, »'We have three propositions before us: thatofM.de Lapparent, 
declaring that I he council is incompetent to decide the question (though 
for my part I do not see that it will be more competent in IS'.)? than it is 
now): that of M. Golliez, appointing a committee to examine the ques- 
tion and report at the next congress; and, finally, that of M. Heim, 
which declares that we shall not consider the subject at all. As Mr. 
Heim's motion is the most radical, we shall consider it first." It re- 
ceived nine votes. Second, the proposition of M. de Lapparent received 
eleven votes: and that of M. Golliez only two votes. There were perhaps 
fourteen members voting in all, and M. de Lappa rent's proposition was 
adopted. In order to be absolutely perfect, Golliez's proposition should 
have read: All previous presidents whose names commence with an R, 
and all general secretaries whose last names commence with a G. But 
imagine the new parliamentary departure, when three contradictory 
resolutions are entertained at the same time and voted for in succession. 
some of the voters casting their ballots for two or for all! Thus, by a 
very narrow majority, another attempt to destroy the Congress failed. 
While M. Gregorio is speaking On his favorite topic, that of the ad- 
vantage of having a congressional journal, the president politely roars 
thai the seance is closed, and the members disperse, although the mar- 
quis is still on the floor struggling with his temper and his French. 
Thus ended the sixth session of the International Congress of Geolo- 
gists. It was a notable gathering of many eminent men, and an object 
lesson in the employment of caucus primary methods in the elevated 
sphere of high science. An impartial judge would probably prefer to re- 
vert to the old period of smiling Italian diplomacy, where appearances 
were preserved while the •■machine" worked even more effectively, 
though not in the direction of suicide. 
A word in regard to the collai ion offered i>\ the town of Zurich to the 
members of the congress. Qetliberg is a station some 1,200 feet above 
the town, on the summit of the moraine hills and in a most command- 
ing position. An ordinary railway conducts thither through sinuous 
courses, the locomotive taking up three loaded cars on a, gradienl (as the 
engineer informed me) of about in per cent., or more correctly s in 100. 
When we were all there anumberof the members followed Prof. Heim in 
an exciting chase up and down hill in search for outcrops of Deckeii- 
