Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-10-28
BRITISH SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

Of the last meeting of the British Scientific Association
held at the close Of last npnth:
NoN-RUssIAS PopuLATbas OF RyssA.-A paper COM
municated by Dr. LArHA to the Ethnological Section
contained the following renarks Certain portions of the
heterogeneous population European Russia consist he
observed rst Of co!onist settlers secondly Of
the frontier population add, finally, Of the fundamental
and original population Of he great Russian Empire In
the first division to found Jews who number up
wards Of million and Are spread the different
Governments of European Russia exclusive Of Finland
and Poland Then como NE Germans, amounting to
about ave hundred Thousand and their distribution
wider than that Of Jews they are to be found
in every Of the Russian Governmental In the Gov
ernmcnt Of Don Cossacks they number only eleven while
In Bessarabia they amount to some thousanda Then fol-
low the Gipsies who to be found in evry colony
and then the Arnenians Creeks Servians and Mongos
The Mongos shake the Government of Asrakan, on
the Caspian frontier, and population worthy of
much attention They come from the most distant point,
and Tartars only in the English sense Of the word
they being in Russia called Camucks In religion they
are Buddhsts their language Is akin in points,
the Turkish and their physognomy is that Of extreme
Mongol conformation, of which they the type Their
political relations before they became Russan with
China rather than Tartary and they number about
hundred and twenty thousand The second division
Of the population belong to Russia simply from the fact
Of Russia being in contact with European localities The
first and most important of these the Romanios,
called because the language they speak bears that
Politically speaking they comprise Walachians, Molda-
vans and Bessarabans together with great portion Of
the population Of Transylvania.
Having observed that the principal characteristic of
the people comprised under the head Of Romanios
their language the lecturer remarked that the remainder
the third division of the nonRussian population Of
European Russia Of which he would speak, would be
ferable of the three great families Of the human
race-to that which ethnoogsts call Ugnan, but which
men at large call Fin, akin to the Finlanders
The type Of this division is be found in the NORTH in
the Grand Duchy of Fnland of the Turkish division the
type is to be found in Independent Tarary and the type
Of the third division is to be found in the parts between
Al Dsl.u Cal
ica, Seryia sc. One is south and westward,
ra and eastward and northern and eastward From
these positions the lecturer showed the map the
which each division took in its emigration, and Illus
tated the chronological axiom that the fate of the north
population when pressed two Sides is the fate Of
the iron between the anvil and the hammer. Here the
Fin the iron, and his wide distribution the
try far than the researches of history proved the
truth of the axiom. In the Government Of St. Peters,
burgh the Fins to be found and again in those Of
Archange and Novogorod. In Lvonia, Esthonia, and
Courland the frontier Of Prussia Finnish population
is to be found, but in emnenty fragmentary form
In Courland they are called Lives showing that they
at one time entered Lvona and constituted its popula
ton The ethnoogy, however of the three provinces Of
Esthonia Livona, and Courland is extremely compca
ted In Archange the original population OF Fins are to
be found and there also there outlying branches
of the present stock called Samaods and Lapps The lee
parcularzed several other parts of Russia in which
Fins to be found and in conclusion observed that
he believed their original displacement began from the
Turks Of the East who again followed by the Scla
vonians the line Of emigration Of the latter bearing from
southwest to northeast.
The CHAIRMAN complmented DR.. Latham on the abb
y and research displayed in his paper and asked him
what might be the amount Of the Russian population
of European Russia
DR.. LATHAM replied that they numbered about
100000
IA Thaper nave rise to an animated discussion each
~ whe took part in i bsarng testimony 20 tse
accuracy Of its deductons
THr KoHr-xoon DIAxoxD.--In the Chemical Section,
Prof TEssAxr offered some very interesting remarks
the re-cutng Of the Koh-i-noor diamond The learned
professor stated that the Great Exhibition in 1851
opportunity afforded such as had never before been
previously enjoyed by the public Of studying the CUB
stance of number Of foreign valuable stones and pro-
pably the Koh-noor diamond the most attractive in
that valuable collection The rough manner in which
that diamond had been cut however, had disappointed
many who looked upon it. When the shone upon it
at MONDAY the stone appeared peculiarly brilliant but
when the atmosphere dull it had merely the appear
ance of lump of thick glass This placed it in very
unavorablc position and caused doubts to arise in the
minds Of some gentlemen as to its authenticity This
diamond originally belonged to RuAjeet Singh, who
ally it upon his left arm according to the custom
of Eastern Potentates and the original
in the hands Of her Majestys jewellers The stone per-
fecty agreed with the drawing which Ind been made Of
by Miss Eden and also with the account given Of by
the Hon. W. G. Osborne who had published very interest
ing description Of the Court of RuDjeet Singh where the
old (who blind and cripple aso) sat arrayed
in robe Of simple white, wearing upon his the Koh
inoor diamond and surrounded by his Eastern mobiles.
On special occasions Runeet Singh in the habit Of
decorating his horse with this precious gem, together
with numerous other valuable stones mounted upon
rous parts Of his harness All authentic Of the
East that the mobiles in the habit Of decort
ing their horses in this manner and the horse Of Runeet
Singh was decorated with diamonds valued at $500 000
the great Kohinoor placed the pummel Of the saddle
Lord Auckland and his sister, the Hon. Miss Eden had
this diamond sent to them for inspection in the East In
dies and Miss Edens drawings agreed with the appear
ance of the diamond its arrival in this country. In
1852 subsequently to the Great Exhibition, he prof
Tennant had inspected the diamond and laid before the
Royal Society his views the best method Of
ting it, so to bring out its best qualities. In the ac
count of this diamond by NJ. Trivernier, published in
1876 he stated the weight Of the diamond to be 1871
carats Dr. Beck Of Ipswich, had published account
of fragment of this diamond, in Persia, which
responded with the diamond when it arrived in England
for it first appeared white topaz, being roughly
cut. In 1852 he prof Tennan) had given in report
to the cutting Of the Kohnoor diamond and after
producing various models her Majesty fixed upon the
present FORM by which the widest spread Of brancy
was obtained When the diamond exhibited at the
Crystal Palace it weighed 1876 and 16; its pres
ent weight, reduced by cutting, was l22 carats qrs
and l-16 The Persian diamond weighed l30 carats
and the great Russian diamond 1913 carats.
After giving description Of the method Of cutting da
monds and the plan adopted for cutting the ohnoor
he observed that late Duke Of Wellington had been
interested spectator Of the operation, and fire.
quen visiter during its progress 1t finished in Sep
tember 1862 and occupied thrtyeight days in cutting
Diamonds were usually reduced to onehaf their weight
in cutting and he gave the exact weight Of the Kohl
noor in order correct various erroneous statements
which had been published the subject The finest dia
mond in France weighed 139 carats, and had cost
Gl30 600; it called the Regent or Pitt diamond The
value Of the Koh-noor was probably GS3, 232. The
Marquis of Westminster possessed diamond for which