there are exceptions to all rules, and I believe the Association would not excuse me if I were to omit on their behalf a passing tribute of regard and respect to the memory of one whose benevolent and familiar face will be mournfully missed by many here to-day, and whose long and industrious life was passed, even up to its latest days, in the pursuit of every object which could tend to the acquisition of knowledge or the advancement of science-to the memory of John Crawfurd. And now it remains only for me to thank you for the patience with which you have followed me through these rambling remarks, which have extended far beyond the limits I had intended. You will remember that on the occasion of the delivery of the President's Address last evening allusion was made by one of the speakers to the "cohesion of atoms," or the affinity between certain particles. I do not fancy that Professor Huxley applied the remark in a scientific or philosophical sense, but rather as a metaphor implying the attraction or drawing together which existed between two seafaring atoms, such as the President and himself; and it was precisely this feeling which, when Dr. Hooker did me the honour to ask me to preside over this Section, prevented me from saying what I really felt prompted to say-you had better find a more competent authority; and this is my apology for having accepted the position. I certainly have felt a pride and satisfaction in being associated with men whose early predilections in the search of knowledge and of truth led them to adopt my profession as affording the widest scope to careers which have since led to eminence, though the very attainment of that eminence has necessarily removed both to a sphere of wider and more extended usefulness. race. On the Victoria and Albert Rivers, North Australia. By T. BAINES. On the Native Races of Abyssinia. By Dr. H. BLANC. Isolated by the arid regions which surround it, the elevated region of Abyssinia forms a gem apart in torrid Africa, the perfection of a temperate and healthy climate. The people of Abyssinia are a mixed race, the offspring of divers invaders; and it is doubtful if such a thing as a pure specimen of the primordial Abyssinian race at present exists. The Shankalas, a negro tribe who dwell in the woods of the low country on the north-western frontier, are certainly not that They are a dark-skinned, woolly-haired, flat-nosed people, ignorant and fetish-worshipping, clad in the skins of animals and armed with the club. It was not probable that they were originally inhabitants of the highlands, driven to the malarious jungles which constitute their present abode by a superior race of invaders. The oldest records represent the Abyssinian race as powerful, enterprising, and possessing a civilization superior to that of other African peoples; and it is probable they have since degenerated from their ancient condition. The Abyssinians of the present day are a mixed race, in which the Arab, Jewish, and Galla elements are more or less combined. The first of the divisions of the race admitted by themselves is the Amhara, a word which serves to designate the majority of the population. The Amharas are all Christians. They are a handsome and prepossessing people, well proportioned and with large heads, in which there is but a slight preponderance of basilar development. The face is small in proportion to the cranium,-the eyes large and black, but somewhat devoid of expression,-the nose straight, or slightly curved, the lips small, often rosy,-the beard generally scanty, the teeth white and even,-the hair coarse, curly, sometimes woolly and sometimes long. The hue of the skin varies from dark brown to a dirty yellow. The language is an impure Geez, with a mixture of Arabic and Galla words. The people of Tigré inhabit the greater portion of the northern provinces. They differ but slightly from the Amharas; the head and face are somewhat longer,-the teeth more irregular, long, and prominent,--the eyes smaller and brighter,—and the face more angular; the hair, especially of the women, is longer and finer. They are generally darker than the Amharas, and the Tigré dialect has still more connexion with Geez. The people of Lasta seem to combine the best points of the Amharas and Tigré nation; although they are below the middle height they UNIVERSITY are remarkably well made, and notorious for their strength and agility. They On the Past and Present Inhabitants of the Cyrenaica. During service in the autumn of 1867 and the spring of the present year, the author was instructed to proceed to the African coast, between Berenice on the west and the Egyptian frontier on the east, a region embracing Lybia and that fertile strip of Africa called the Cyrenaica. It is the author's object to give a sketch of the condition and nature of the tribes now settled among the plateaux and ruined cities, and to describe the traces that remain of earlier civilizations. Although Cyrene, the capital of the Greek colony, is almost buried, it yet presents on the sides of its ancient roads and on the faces of the valleys the most artistic and extensive rock-cut tombs in the world. The excavations conducted by Commander Porcher and Major Smith, R.E., had also revealed sculptures not inferior to those of the best period of Greece. The coast was dangerous to approach by sea, a defect mitigated during Roman occupation by the construction of harbours. Cyrene is situated on the summit of hills overlooking the sea at a height of 2000 feet. After the cities were destroyed by successive barbaric invasions on the fall of the Roman Empire, tribes of Bedouins occupied the region, and pitched their tents under the shadows of amphitheatres and Christian churches. The fanatical Islamism of other countries of Northern Africa is unknown amongst the present inhabitants of the Cyrenaica, who only comply with a few of the external forms enjoined by the Koran. They are incapable of comprehending the significance and grandeur of the ruined cities they occupy, or of profiting by this beautiful and fertile tract of country. The present population consists of three socially distinct classes of Arabs-the stationary, or city Arab, the armed Nomads, and the Bedouins. On the eastern frontier there is a mixture caused by the importation of Nubian or negro slaves. At Bengazi (the ancient Berenice) may be seen every possible shade of mixture, the result of cross-breeding. The chief elements are the fair and high-bred Arab, the tall, well-shaped, black Nubian, and the woolly-haired negro; a resident Turkish garrison also takes its part in the general mixture. The Cyrenaica consists of a long strip of table-land, bounded on three sides by the desert, and on the fourth by the Mediterranean. Its geological formation consists of limestone, and the rock is much hollowed by caves. The country is remarkably fertile, and nothing can exceed the beauty of the scenery on the heights and among the ravines. From the upper plateau, on which Cyrene was built, the land descends in terraces to the coast, and it is on the slopes of these terraces that the Bedouin wanderers are most seen. They are physically a finer set of people than the Bedouins of Syria, and more warlike and aggressive. When young, their skin is bronzed but very soft, and their dispositions timid and gentle; but as they grow older they become darker, their voices rough, and their manners thievish and treacherous. The women do much to destroy whatever charm Nature has given them by the habit of tattooing and, in some tribes, of slitting the right nostril. It is also common for mothers to lengthen the lower lips of their female children and tattoo the inside, carrying over the lines of tattoo down to the chin. The Bedouins keep their type pure and their customs distinct; nowhere can there be detected among them any mixture of race. Negroes are sometimes employed as labourers and are treated kindly; but the author doubted if they are allowed to take a wife out of the tribe. The Bedouins with their cattle settle on the maritime plain in the spring and autumn, obtaining their supply of water, after the rains, from the old Roman reservoirs or wells. They have but few camels, but goats in abundance. Many families find excellent shelter in the numerous limestone caves, which also serve for herding the goats. On the plain are numerous surface cavities with small openings, which are used as caches, for the purpose of storing the fodder when the Bedouins retire to the upper grounds. The rock-cut tombs at Cyrene are inhabited by the Sheikhs and other chief Arabs. A large entrance, raised slightly above the road, opens into a chamber of considerable height and size, and this usually communicates with smaller chambers formerly used as sarcophagi. In one of these tombs the author was received by the governor and his staff on the occasion of his official visit. The Nomad tribes are dangerous and aggressive. The men are never without their guns, and if superior in numbers are menacing to strangers. They have a facility for rapidly converging upon any given point in considerable numbers; and although many parts of the coast appear uninhabited, there is no part where, in a few hours, some hundreds of armed Bedouins would not assemble. On one occasion, when examining some ruins on an apparently uninhabited plain, covered knee-deep with wild roses, camomiles, and oleanders, the author and his party of officers and men were surprised to observe, in the course of half an hour, streams of Bedouins running down the neighbouring ravines to meet them. The Arab Nomads are not a joyous race; they have no amusements or games, and by disposition are sullen and solitary. Physical Geography of the Queen Charlotte Islands. By R. BROWN. These islands, situated off the north-west coast of America, were first discovered by Juan Perez in 1774, in the Spanish corvette Santiago'; but they owe their designation to Capt. Dixon, of the merchant ship 'Queen Charlotte', who visited them in 1787, and applied the name of his ship to the group. Of late years the discovery of copper and gold on these islands, and their proximity to the colony of Vancouver's Island, had attracted more attention to them; but their coast line is still imperfectly known and their interior is entirely unexplored. The author spent a few weeks on them in the spring of 1866, and was enabled to obtain some information regarding the islands and their productions. The chief islands are three in number, separated by two narrow channels. Their western shores are much more rugged and precipitous than their eastern sides. Deep sounds enter the coasts in many places dividing the land into numerous peninsulas. The whole surface is densely covered with forests, chiefly of coniferous trees and a thick undergrowth of shrubs, rendering land exploration extremely difficult; it is possible, however, to investigate a large portion of the country by boats through the narrow inlets, which in some cases nearly meet from opposite sides. The forests contain no deer, and are nearly destitute of large game for food. The general geological structure of the islands appears to be beds of conglomerate, coal, and metamorphosed sandstone resting on erupted greenstone. The coal has all the appearance of anthracite, altered by igneous rock in a remarkable manner. Two companies have made efforts to work these mines, but hitherto without much success, the seams of hard anthracite being varied with masses of soft powdery material, like wet gunpowder. A fine slate associated with the coal is easily carved, and is extensively used by the Indians for making ornaments, such as elaborately ornamented pipes, flutes, images, &c., for sale to the whites; and many have found their way to European museums. In the metamorphosed sandstone, casts of a bivalve shell are seen in considerable numbers. Copper, chiefly in sulphates and carbonates, has been found at several places. Though situated so far north (between 51° 55' and 54° 20' N. lat.), the climate is much milder than that of the mainland further south. Great humidity prevails, as in the rest of the zone of coastland north of Frazer river, and including Sitka. On the 1st of April, when the author first landed, all the snow had disappeared from the lowlands, and the weather was mild and pleasant; towards the end of the month humming-birds made their appearThe Indians (who are still the only permanent inhabitants) are known by the general name of Hydahs, and form one homogeneous people. Physically they are a finer race than is anywhere to be seen on the North American continent. The women are very good-looking, often tending to embonpoint; but they have a custom of disfiguring the lower lip by transfixing it with a large bone ornament, causing the lip to protrude in a shell-like form. Both men and women have erect, tall figures. The head is well formed, and not disfigured by compression, as in most of the southern tribes. Their hands and feet are small, and well shaped. The colour of the skin is fair, and in the women there is a mixture of red and white in their cheeks not seen in any other American race. The eyes are horizontal. Few of the men have any beard or whisker, but some have a bushy moustache and "imperial." Tattooing is sometimes practised, in patterns, on the back of the hands and arms, and, in the women, a few slight streaks on the cheeks. The average height of the men is 5 feet 10 inches, some of them reaching 6 feet, and their gait and bearing are dignified, totally different from the lounging, waddling walk of the flathead tribes of Vancouver's Island. The Hydahs are bold warriors, but cruel and vindictive; though generally friendly to visitors they are not to be trusted, and have been guilty of attacking and murdering the crews of small trading vessels. The claim of territorial rights and family pride prevail to a great degree amongst these people. Every head man has his arms, which are beautifully engraved on large copper plates in most grotesque quarterings, and on boxes and other articles belonging to his family. The plates are about 3 feet long by 14 broad, rather arched, and about a quarter of an inch thick. The Hydahs excel all other tribes of the red man in artistic skill, especially in carving, although their only tools are generally a broken knife and a file. Gold bracelets of elegant ance. design, busts in slate and ivory, and designs for iron railings to public buildings in Vancouver's Island have been executed by individuals of this tribe. Engravings of Assyrian sculptures in the Illustrated London News' have served them for copies of these objects in slate. Their language differs from that of all other Indian languages of North America, and is spoken with slight variations throughout the islands; the author stated his intention of giving the vocabulary he had noted down, in a general account of the Indian languages of North-western America which he was about to publish. No sort of cultivated plant is grown by the Hydahs except potatoes, which are produced in greater abundance than by any other Indian tribe, and are of excellent quality. On the Formation of Fiords, Cañons, Benches, Prairies, and Intermittent Rivers. By R. BROWN. With regard to fïords, or deep narrow inlets in hilly sea-coasts, the author pointed out that they existed only in high latitudes. They varied in length from two or three miles to one hundred or more, and were known by the different names of inlets, canals, fïords, and lochs. Their nature was everywhere similar, so much so as to suggest a common origin. The author had investigated them on the northwest coast of North America; the soundings in them showed a great depth of water, high precipitous cliffs hemmed them in on both sides, and at their head a valley generally existed. They existed on the western side of Vancouver's Island, but not on the eastern, showing that the island once formed part of what is now British Columbia, its western coast being then the shore of the contiment. Jervis Inlet might be taken as the type of these inlets; it is forty miles in length, while its width rarely exceeds one mile and a half; the depths below almost rival the heights of the precipitous sides; bottom is rarely reached under 200 fathoms, even close to the shore. The author concluded that glaciers were the agency by which inlets were scooped out, in all parts of the world where they are now seen. Everywhere in British Columbia marks of ice-action are seen on the sides of the fiords. Not far from the heads of most of them glaciers are now found in the Coast Range and Cascade Mountains, and marks of old glacier-action can be seen 2000 to 3000 feet below the summit, and even near the sea-margin. Cañons, or the deep ravines through which many rivers of Western America for many miles pursue their course, the author attributed to erosion by the fluviatile currents, the action of which was stronger during the period when glaciers filled the northern fïords, and when the atmospheric precipitation would be much greater over the whole region than it is now. Benches, or terrace-like formations on the sides of narrow river valleys, far above the present level of the rivers, were due to sudden sinkings of the level of the rivers, on the wearing or breaking down of rocky barriers which impeded their course, thus leaving the traces of their old beds in the form of "benches." The existence of Prairies, or treeless plains, in the interior of North America was attributed by the author to the same cause as the formation of steppes and deserts in other parts of the world, namely, the deficiency in the rainfall in the interior of continents. Under the head of "intermittent rivers" the author enumerated the streams of this nature that he had observed on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington Territory, and explained them by the general aridity caused by the interception of the rain-supply from the Pacific by the Cascade Range, by the sudden melting of the snows on the Rocky Mountains, where the rivers mostly take their rise, and by the cavernous, volcanic nature of the surface. On the Great Prairies and the Prairie Indians. On the Sepulchral Remains of Southern India. In most parts of India ancient monuments of the dead are found, the relics of people that no longer exist, or whose descendants, if not wholly extinct, do not |