British and Foreign School Society, for the establishment of their Normal Schools, but no further grant to be made. That the Committee will not adhere invariably to the rule which confines grants to the National Society, and the British and Foreign School Society, and will not give the preference in all cases whatever to the school to which the largest proportion is subscribed. That in no case shall more than one-half of the expense of building a school be advanced, nor will the Committee expend in grants for the building of schools more in any one year than 10,000l. That Inspectors be appointed, not exceeding at first two in number, to carry on an inspection of schools which have been or may be hereafter aided by grants of public money, and to convey to conductors and teachers of private schools in different parts of the country a knowledge of all improvements in the art of teaching, and likewise to report to this Committee the progress made in education from year to year; and that gratuities be granted to such teachers as may appear to deserve encouragement.

THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

This society was instituted May, 1881, under the patronage of King William IV. Among its objects are―to collect and print such new and useful facts and discoveries as the society may from time to time acquire,—to prepare maps illustrative of particular branches of geographical knowledge, more especially those relating to orology, hydrology, and geology,-to establish new divisions of the earth's surface, formed upon philosophical principles, and adapted to different departments of science,-to prepare and improve road books, gazetteers, geographical and statistical tables, &c.-to furnish hints to travellers for the guidance of their inquiries and observations in foreign countries, &c. &c. The society is now quite large. It has absorbed several minor associations. In 1831 the African, and in 1884 the Palestine Associations were merged in it. It has published every year one or more volumes of very valuable and interesting memoirs. The following is an accourt of the proceedings at one of the regular meetings.

April 22.-W. R. Hamilton, Esq., President, in the chair.
Extracts from the following papers were read:

1. A letter from Lieut. Saumarez Brock, R. N., dated Malta 20th March, addressed to Captain Beaufort, R. N.

"I have at length the satisfaction of forwarding the chart of the Gulf of Kos, on the south-western coast of Anatolia, with the sur

veys of the various harbors contained in it, together with some sketches of the land from the points most useful to distinguish the approaches to them. The gulf occupies an extent of nearly 60 miles from east to west, and is very deep, no bottom in the middle of it with 300 fathoms of lime, and even in the vicinity of the shore seldom less than from 50 to 70 fathoms. No chart extant gives an idea of its shape or extent, and the isthmus has been, hitherto, laid down apparently by guess. In the summer months the upper part of the gulf is unhealthy, and is abandoned by the inhabitants in order to escape the malaria; this, combined with the absence of fresh water on the coast, rendered our survey a work of some difficulty. I have completed the town and harbor of Budrun on the scale of nine inches to a mile: I have traced the ancient walls, and fancy I have discovered the site of the Mausoleum, which has been so often sought for unsuccessfully, and have got sketches of the bas reliefs in the walls of the castle, and have little doubt but that they were brought from that celebrated monument. The shores of the gulf are almost uninhabited, but the numerous remains of both modern and ancient edifices prove that in former times it must have been densely peopled. The description of the isthmus given by Herodotus is true to this day; it is about half a mile broad, a natural ravine, which extends from the gulf of Symi, might, with a little exertion and by digging through a hill of inconsiderable height, convert the Triopium promontory into an island. The structure of the isthmus appears to be volcanic; it is composed of small varified rocks resembling lava, and would, doubtless, much annoy workmen in excavating through it; although nioderns who might undertake the task would find no great difficulty in connecting the two gulfs of Kos and Symi by a canal. I send a drawing of a gate standing amongst the ruins of ancient Keramus, interesting both from its antiquity, its solidity, its complete state of preservation, and the elaborate manner in which it is ornamented. The city has been of moderate size, but contains the remains of temples and porticoes, which seem to have been overthrown by an earthquake, leaving, however, enough to show the wealth and good taste of its former inhabitants after much search I found some imperfect inscriptions. The door-way and gate at Keramus approaches in form to the Egyptian style of architecture, which frequently occurs in this place, but no others are thus ornamented. The number of sarcophagi found along the shores of the gulf is considerable, more especially at Keramus, where a double line seems to have formed the principal entrance to the city; they are very massive, but have all been

opened. Some fluted columns with Corinthian capitals and well executed amphoræ and grape vines lead me to believe, that a temple to Bacchus once existed there; the columns are in excellent preservation, but prostrate and overgrown with trees and shrubs; the city has passed through many hands, and several styles of architecture may be seen. The walls, which are plainly traced, and in some places perfect, are principally Cyclopean, repaired at different periods with Hellenic masonry, and guarded by square towers at unequal intervals; they are carried up to the foot of a range of hills joining the north end of the city. On a small hill at the extreme end of the range there has been a square fort, surrounded by a triple wall, which has probably been the citadel. At Giova, at the head of the gulf, I found some tombs cut in the rock, of which I also enclose a drawing and ground plan."

Mr Brock's letter was illustrated by two large charts of the island and gulf of Kos, on the scale of one inch and a half to a mile, showing the sites of the ancient towns, the heights of all the mountains, &c., together with various plans of ruins, and several colored drawings of headlands.

2. An abstract of Mr Russegger's journey from Mount Sinai to Hebron and Jerusalem, communicated by W. I. Hamilton, Esq.

On his return from Egypt at the close of 1838, Mr Russegger went to Suez, and from that point set out in a south-east direction, to ascend Mount Sinai; and he gives a series of barometrical levels from the shores of the Red Sea, to the summit of Mount St Catherine which, by his measurements, rises 8168 French feet above the sea. From Mount Sinai he crossed the desert of Et-Tih, or of the "wandering" in a direct north line to Hebron, and obtained twentytwo levels on this route also; from Hebron he went to Bethlehem, and found its elevation to be 2538 feet; and thence to Jerusalem, which he states at 2479 French, 2640 English feet above the sea. Mr Russegger concludes his notice with some interesting remarks respecting the neighborhood of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. First, he observes, that although the mountains between Jerusalem and the Jordan, in the valley of the Jordan itself, and those around the basin of the Dead Sea, bear unequivocal evidence of volcanic agency, such as disruptions, up-beavings, faults, &c., proofs of which agency are still notorious in the continual earthquakes, hot springs, and formations of asphalt, yet not a trace could anywhere be discovered of volcanic or plutonic rocks, porphyry, granite, trachyte, &c., or, indeed, of any rock at all resembling them. Secondly, he devoted much attention to the barometric measurements of the level

of the Dead Sea, and after other observations on hanging up his barometer on the shores of that sea, he could no longer continue his observations, for the quicksilver rose to the top of the tube. Mr Russegger then calculates the following depressions:-village of Rikhah, in the valley of the Jordan, 774 feet; bathing place of pilgrims in the Jordan, 1269 feet, and the Dead Sea, at its northern end, 1319 French feet, or nearly 1400 English feet below the level of the Mediteranean!

3. On the practicability of exploring the sources of the White Nile with a steam-vessel, by Arthur T. Holroyd, Esq.

"In my recent journey to Sennar and Kordofan," says Mr Holroyd," my attention was directed to one of the great desiderata in African geography, namely, the exploring the sources of the Bahr el Abyad. If an expedition left Cairo in the month of July in a steamer, with a draught of water not exceeding two feet, it might, with a little care, pass all the cataracts between Cairo and Khartum. At high Nile, the cataract of Essuan disappears and becomes a rapid. The second cataract is a succession of rapids from Wadi Halfah to the third cataract, at Hannek, which latter is most improperly called a cataract, since even at low Nile there is hardly any fall to attract notice. The fourth and fifth I have not seen, but I learned that they would form no obstacle; and the sixth is passed without any difficulty. I mentioned the subject of passing the cataracts to Mr Perring, an eminent civil engineer in the employ of Mohammed Ali Pasha, who very kindly made a drawing of a steamer calculated for a steam expedition. He recommended a boat of light sheet-iron, 70 feet long, 16 feet beam, and 8 feet deep, including keel; and which would not draw, with all stores on board, more than 2 feet water; the power to be 2 twelve-horse oscillating high-pressure engines; the fuel to be wood or charcoal. If a steam expedition left Cairo in July, it might get to Berber in September, where it should remain till the end of the tropical rains, which generally take place there during that month. An express might be sent from thence to Khartum, for provisions to be prepared against the arrival of the expedition without delay. It would then proceed up the Bahr el Abyad, and probably it will be found that six months would be sufficient to survey both branches of the river. The expedition might then return to Berber, and when the Nile had risen high enough to pass the cataracts in the following year, it should immediately proceed to Cairo. The probable expense of such an expedition would not exceed 50007., and if assisted by government with men and stores, much less; doubtless, too, volunteers would

be found gladly to serve in a cause which must excite the greatest interest in all geographers."

BATH CHURCH OF ENGLAND COLLEGE.

It is proposed to erect a new College at Bath, to be called " Queen's College," auxiliary to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the site of which is to be on one of the heights called Claverton Down. The object is to check the progress of Romanism, by affording facilities for the education of youth in the Protestant faith and principles, and to cultivate in those intended for the Church of England, a sound knowledge of her claims and merits, together with adequate means of obtaining a literary and scientific education, of a profound and extensive nature, on the lowest possible terms. The sum required is not to exceed £50,000, nor less than £30,000, in shares of £100 each, which entitle the holder to the right of nominating one student for every share he holds. The number of students at first to be limited to 215.

BRIGHTON CHIMNEY SWEEPER'S SCHOOL.

The Brighton Chimney Sweeper's School was established in 1834, through the agency principally of the late Major Stewart. A subscription of five shillings was obtained from several of the resident inhabitants, and permission given to use one of the National School rooms. The School is under the patronage and inspection of the Vicar of Brighton, and a Committee of Clergymen and others; and the expectations of its founders have been fully realized. A master exceedingly well adapted for the office having been appointed, the school has continued to prosper, being open on the evenings of three days in the week, and is commenced and concluded by prayer for the Divine favor, which has not been withheld. The boys are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic; each is provided with a large dark-colored frock to put over his working dress, and thus any annoyance from soot may be avoided. The Brighton scholars have evinced a great desire to obtain instruction, and the two thousand boys now employed in this trade in different large towns in England may by means of such schools be rescued from their present degraded state of ignorance, and enabled to earn a livelihood in some other employment.