The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-13 00:00:00

SECTION C-C tEOLOGY.

Professor Rogers, of the Unit, xl States, read a paper on
the Correlation of the North American and British Palaso-
zoic Strata.

This paper very ably review ed the continent of North
America, and proposed a new - nomenclature for the rocks.
A discussion of very great length ensued between Sir R.
T. Murchison and Professor 3edgwick, on the old debated
ground of Siluria and Cam} ;Ha. Professor Phillips, and
others, took part in this disc.assion:
Professor Rogers, in reply, stated that as a republican
and the disciple of an inexpendent school of Geology, he
wished to emancipate American geology from the tram-
mels of English nomenclature.
Sir R. J. Murchison read a paper on the Bone Beds of
the Upper Ludlow Rock, and the Base of the Old Red
Sandstone ; and Professor Phillips followed with the Re-
port of Cleavage and Foliation of Rocks.

SECTION D.-ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, INCLUDING
PHYSIOLOGY.

Robe•rt Patterson—Reports on Forms for Dredging, and
the Re,iults of Dredging at Belfast.
The Rev. C. P. Miles—Report on the Results of Dredg-
ing on the West Coast of Scotland.
T. Egton—Report on the Oyster and Oyster Beds of the
British Shores.

The Rev. P. Carpenter—Report on the Mollusca of Cali-

fornia.

Sir W. Jardine—Report on the Artificial Propagation
of Salmon in the Stormontfield Ponds of Perth.

Professor Gregory—New Form of Diatomacem from the
Clyde.

Robert Darner—On the Pearls of the Conway River,
North Wales, with some Observations on the Natural Pro-
auctions of the Neighbouring Coast.
Professor Goodsir—On the Morphological Constitution
ocf the Skeleton of the Vertebrate Head.

Professor Goodsir—On the Morphological Constitution
c •f Limbs.

Dr. Augustus Waller—Experimental Researches on the
Eye.

G. B. Knowles—On the Motions of Oseillatorias.
SECTION E.—GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY.

J. B. Davis, F.S.A.—On the Forms of Anglo-Saxon
Crania.

Professor Buckman, F.G.S., &c. —Notes on some An-
tiques found at Cirencester, as evidence of the Domestic
Manners of the Romans.
Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., M.A., F.R.S., &c.—On the
most ancient Map of Australia.
D. E. K. Kane, N.S.W. (Gold Med.), R.G.S.—Report
on his Expedition up Smith's Sound in search of Sir John
Franklin.
Capt. Irminger, R.D.N.—The Arctic Current around
Greenland.
Dr. Rae, F.R.G.S.—Remarks on the Esquimau'.
SECTION F.—ECONOMIO SCIENCE AND STATISTICS.

R. G. Latham, M.D.—Statistics of the Albanians.
Louis K. Daa, of Christiania.—On the last Census of
the Laps of Norway.
Professor Richard Hussey Walsh, LL.B.—A Deduction
from the Statistics of Crime for the last Ten Years.
Rev. John Clay.—On the relation between Crime, School-
ing, Attendance on Religious Worship, and Beer-houses.
T. Barwiek Lloyd Baker.—Statistics and Suggestions
conneeted with the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders.
R. Thompson Jopling.—On the Mortality among Officers
of the British Army in the East.
A paper was also read by Mr. DANSON on the diversity
of the measures used in the corn-markets of the United
Kingdom, and the consequent waste of labour involved in
a comparison of their current prices. The evil is the same
that caused the appointment of a committee of the House
of Commons in 1833, " to inquire into the present practices
of selling corn in the United Kingdom ;" the report from
which committee recommended a remedy that seems to
'nave been too complicated for adoption, and so had no
effect. Taking the current circulars of upwards of 20
firms engaged as cornfactors in as many of the principal
corn-markets of the kingdom, Mr. Danson enumerated the
various measures upon which the prices were quoted, some
having reference to capacity only, some to weight only,
and some to both ; and the weights used varying with
nearly every change of locality. In London the bushel of
wheat and all other grain is determined by the imperial
measure. In Liverpool a bushel of wheat means 701 b. ;
in Birmingham, 621 b. ; in Gloucester, 601 b. ; and in New-
castle-on-Tyne, 631 b. Again, in Birmingham, a bushel of
barley means 49113. ; in Gloucester, 501 b. ; in Leeds, 5241 b.;
and in Newcastle, 561 b. ; and to extend the field of com-
parison only extends the variety of measures to be dealt
with. The following evils were specified, as resulting from
this want of uniformity in these markets, where, since
the promulgation of the Imperial Measures Act, it is vul-
garly supposed that tolerable uniformity has existed :
"1. That in almost all cases in which a seller or buyer
of agricultural produce has occasion to resort to more
than one market he is compelled to deal with more than
one mode of ascertaining the quantity sold ; and that,
while Finch differences answer no good purpose whatever,
they check the freedom of commercial intercourse, afford
facilities for the commission of fraud, often cause mis.
takes and disputes, and always involve trouble and loss
of time.
" 2. That the quotations by which producers, dealers,
and the public seek to inform themselves of the variations
of the price of the same commodity at the same time in
different parts of the kingdom (in order to their equalisa-
tion by the legitimate action of trade), are deprived of a
great part of their proper utility, in consequence of the
weights or measures quoted for each locality being very
commonly unintelligible in most others.
" 3. That the inconveniences thus arising are increased
precisely in proportion as the commercial intercourse of

each locality with every other in the kingdom is promoted,
by the improvement of road and postal communication ;
and hence are now much greater than tkey were when re-
ported on by the Parliamentary Committee of 1833, and
are growing greater year by year."
A paper was also read in this section by Mr. W. M.
TIRTT "On some statistics bearing upon the relations ex-
isting between Poverty and Crime." After alluding to the
frauds comn2itte3 by those who were in the enjoyment not

merely of competence but of luxury, he contended that al-
though poverty might be a predisposing state it was rarely
an immediate cause of crime till allied with drunkenness
and ignorance. It was proved by prison returns from the
manufacturing districts of Lancashire that crime increased
during periods of prosperity; and diminished (sometimes
even to the extent of 40 per cent) in immediately succeed-
ing periods of adversity; plenty leading to vicious indul-
gence, while poverty was the severe teacher of economy
and restraint. The same retum showed that the greater
proportion of crimes committed were directly or indirectly
to be traced to drunkenness. At the assizes for Lancaster
in the year ending in March, 1354, out of 330 of the worst
cases, 250 (including murders) were traceable to this vice ;
and, of the male prisoners who came under the notice of
the chaplain of the County House of Correction in 1853
and 1854, 1,038, or 41 per cent., were incapable of read-
ing ; 938, or 36 per cent., were unable to repeat the Lord's
Prayer with any approach to accuracy in the words or
proper comprehension of their meaning; and 1,836, or 72
per cent., were unable to understand the import of the
plainest language necessary to convey instruction in moral
and religious truth. Similar results were shown by the
returns from other places. The remedy was the
greatest difficulty. Something, perhaps, might be accom-
plished by getting rid of the monstrous anomaly of raising
revenue from the vices of the people ; for, whatever may
be shown by tabulated returns, he could not but believe
that the establishment of beerhouses had been the greatest
incentive to crime that was ever sanctioned by legislative
enactment. One of the judges (Mr. Justice Wightman)
had declared his belief that drunkenness would ultimately
be eradicated by moral and religious instruction. Mr.
Tartt hoped, however, that, as the vices of the higher
classes are imitated by those below them, their virtues
may also have some influence, and that the temperance
which has been substituted for debasing excesses in the
ono may before long be witnessed in the others.
A discussion of about an hour followed, in which Mr. M.
D. Hill, Dr. Farr, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Barwick Baker, Pro-
fessor Hancock, and Lord Stanley took part.