The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1873-01-24
CONCLUDED FROM FIRST rAGEl


synopsis of the proceedings.
Professor Palmieri of Naples pre-
sided. and DR.. Kirchotf oiticiated as
Secretary.
Gassiot of Paris was the first speak
er. and contended that the theory of
nnc'edhc fusion, now being fully estab-
lislled. 1t only remained to prescribe the
laws governing its superficial action.
There is but one law applicable that
| am aware Of" said he. .'and that
is the law which drives from the center
of revolving body all fluid matter
toward the circumference, and torcibly
elects it into space, If possible; in the
same manner that a common grind
stone in rapid motion will drive Off
from its rim drops Of water or other
foreign unattached matter. Thus.
whenever we find vent or open ORR
flee. as in the orators of active volcan-
oes the incandescent lava boils up and
frequently oyertlows the top Of the
highest peaks Of the Andes"
Palmieri then asked tile speaker "if
he wished to be understood as express
ing the unqualified opinion that an
oritice once being opened would con-
time to flow forever. and that there
was no law governing the quantity or
regulating the level to which 1t could
rise?"
Gassiot replied in the affirmative.
The Neapolitan philosopher then
added: III dissent IN toto from the
opinion of NJ. Gassiot. For more than
quarter Of a century have studied
THE LAYA FLOWS OF yEsUWUs,
Etna and Stromboli, and | can assure
the Congress that the Creator has left
no such flaw in His mechanism of the
globe. The truth is. that molten lava
can only rise about 2l,0OO feet above
the level of the sea, owing to the bal
ance wheel of terrestrial gravitation,
which counteracts at that hight all
centrifugal energy. Were this not SO
the entire contents Of the globe would
gush from the incandescent center and
fly off into surrounding space"
M. Gassiot replied, "that true vol
canoes were provided by nature with
circunwdlralT lips, and hence after
filing their craters they ceased to flow.
But in the instance before lis no such
provisions existed, and the only pro-
lection which he could conceive Of
consisted in the smallness of the orifice;
and he would therefore recommend
His Majesty King Leopold to direct
all his efforts to confine the aperture
to its present size.n
Palmieri again responded, "that he
had no doubt but that the crater at
Dudzeele would continue to flow until
it lad built up around itself basaltic
walls to the hight of many hundred,
perhaps thousands of feet-and that
the idea of setting bounds to the size
of the mouth of the excavation was
simply ridiculous"
Gassiot interrupted. and was about
to answer in q very excited tone, when
Professor Palmieri "disclaimed any
intention Of personal insult, but spoke
from y scientific standpoint" He
then proceeded. 1.-THE lava bed of
Mount Etna maintains a normal level
of 1000 feet, whilst Vesuvius calmly
reposes at little more than one-half
that altitude. On the other hand, ac-
cording to Professor Whitney, Of
THE PACIFIC SURVEY, .
Mount Kilauea, in the Sandwich
Islands. bubbles up to the enormous
hight of 1900 feet. 1t cannot be con-
tended that the crater OF Vesuvius is
not true nucleatic orifice. because |
have demonstrated that the molten bed
regularly rises and falls like the tides
of the ocean when controlled by the
lDo0n.n 1t was seen at once that the
scientists present were totally unpre-
pared to discuss the question in its
novel and most important aspects and
on taking a vote at the close Of the
session, the members were equally di-
yided between the opinions of Gassiot
and Palmieri. A further session viii
take place on the arrival OF Professor
Tyndall, who has been telegraphed for
from New York, and OF the great Rus
sian geologist and astronomer, Tuge-
nieff.
In conclusion. the damage already
done may be summed mp as follows
The destruction of the Bruges and
Hond canal, by the formation Of
basaltic dixie across it more than two
hundred feet wide; the burning of
Dudzeele, and the devastation oil about
thirty thousand acres of valuable land.
AT the same time it is utterly impossi-
Bile to predict where the damage may
stop, inasmuch as early this morning
the mouth OF the crater had fallen in
and the flowing stream had more than
doubled in size.
In consideration of the part hitherto
taken by the Governments Of the United
States in originating the work that led
to the catastrophe, and by request Of
nj. Musenheim, the Belgian Foreign
Secretary, have taken Che liberty Of
drawing upon the State Department