current of carbonic anhydride sent through the mixture. Not the slightest reaction was perceptible in the cold. The sodium remained perfectly metallic-looking, even after the expiration of twenty-four hours. On gently heating the liquid for a few minutes, a vigorous reaction at once set in; the mass became suddenly very hot, and gave off abundant fumes of hydrobromic acid and a small quantity of a thick oily liquid boiling at a high temperature, and possessing the character of the distyrolyl, The Society then adjourned over the Christmas Recess to Thursday, January 6th, 1870. January 6, 1870. Lieut.-General Sir EDWARD SABINE, K.C.B., President, in the Chair. The Presents received were laid on the Table, and thanks ordered for them, as follows: Transactions. Birmingham :-Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Proceedings, 1868, naque Nautico para 1871. 8vo. Cadiz, 1869. The Observatory. Cherbourg-Société Impériale des Sciences Naturelles. Mémoires. The Society. Tome XIII. 8vo. Paris 1868. Coimbra :-Observatorio da Universidade. Ephemeris Astronomicas para o anno de 1871. 8vo. Coimbra 1869. The Observatory. Danzig:-Naturforschende Gesellschaft. Schriften, neue Folge. Band II. Heft II. 8vo. Danzig 1869. Two copies (one with Photographs). The Society. Habana :-Colegio de Belen. Observaciones Magneticas y Meteorológicas. Año Meteorológico de 30 de Noviembre de 1867, a 30 de Noviembre de 1868. 8vo. Habana 1869. The College. London-British Museum. Hand-List of Genera and Species of Birds, by G. R. Gray. Part I. 8vo. London 1869. Catalogue of the Specimens of Dermaptera Saltatoria, by F. Walker. Part 2. 8vo. London 1869. Guides to the First and Second Vase Rooms. 12mo. London Transactions (continued). 1869. Guide to the Printed Books. 12mo. London 1869. A Guide to the Slade Collection of Prints. 12mo. London 1869. The Museum. The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for 1873. 8vo. London 1869. The Admiralty. Melbourne :-Williamstown Observatory. Astronomical Observations made in the years 1861, 1862, and 1863, under the direction of R. L. J. Ellery. 8vo. Melbourne 1869. The Observatory. Moscow: Bulletin, Année 1868, -Société Impériale des Naturalistes. Nos. 3, 4. 8vo. Moscou 1869. Paris-Observatoire Impérial. Atlas Météorologique. Années 1867, 1868. fol. Paris 1869. Atlas des Mouvements généraux de l'Atmosphère. Année 1865, Janv.-Juin 1869. fol. Paris 1869. The Observatory. Société Météorologique de France. Nouvelles Météorologiques. 1869, Nos. 7-12. roy. 8vo. Paris 1869. The Society. Pulkowa:-Observations de Poulkova, publiées par Otto Struve. Vol. I., II. 4to. St. Pétersbourg 1869. Jahresbericht am 5. Juni 1869 dem Comité der Nicolai-Hauptsternwarte. 8vo. St. Petersburg 1869. Tabulæ Quantitatum Besselianarum pro annis 1750 ad 1840 computatæ. 8vo. Petropoli 1869. The Observatory. St. Petersburg :-Observatoire Physique Central de Russie. Annales, publiées par H. Wild. 4to. St. Pétersbourg 1869. The Observatory. Bertin (E.) Étude sur la Houle et le Roulis, 8vo. Cherbourg 1869. The Author. Durdik (J.) Leibnitz und Newton. Ein Versuch über die Ursachen der Welt auf Grundlage der positiven Ergebnisse der Philosophie und der Naturforschung. 8vo. Halle 1869. The Author. Kronecker (L.) Ueber Systeme von Functionen mehrer Variabeln. 8vo. Berlin 1869. The Author Kudelka (J.) Die Gesetze der Lichtbrechung. 8vo. Greifswald. The Author. The Author. Mueller (F. de, F.R.S.) Fragmenta Phytographia Australia. Vol. VI. 8vo. Melbourne 1867-68. Plantamour (E.) Résumé Météorologique de l'Année 1868 pour Genève et le Grand St.-Bernard. 8vo. Genève 1869. Turbiglio (S.) L'Empire de la Logique, Essai d'un nouveau système de Philosophie. 12mo. Turin 1870. The Author. L'Album de la Fabrique. Troisième Année, 1869. fol. Paris. The Author. VOL. XVIII. Messrs. L. Berger & Co. L The following communication was read :— "Some Account of the Suez Canal, in a Letter to the President.” By J. F. BATEMAN, Esq., F.R.S. Received January 3, 1870. 16 Great George Street, Westminster, 27th December, 1869. MY DEAR SIR EDWARD,-On my return from the opening of the Suez Canal, where, by your kind selection, I had the honour of representing the Royal Society as the guest of the Viceroy, I think it incumbent on me to give a short account of my journey and my impressions of the great and important undertaking which was so magnificently inaugurated. Nothing could exceed the splendid hospitality of the Viceroy, who had in every possible way provided for the accommodation and the comfort of his guests. The crowd of visitors, however, was so great, and his own personal attendance was so constantly given to the Empress of the French, the Emperor of Austria, and other Royal personages who honoured him with their company, that it was almost impossible for him to bestow any special attention on other individual guests; but few or none could complain of any want of attention or of any material inconvenience. I was fortunate in being present at every important point and on every important occasion, and in receiving all the civilities which might be considered due to the representative of the Royal Society. Of the work itself I have no hesitation in pronouncing it a decided success—not all that could be desired, nor all that was promised, and very far from being finished, even on the contracted scale on which it has been executed. A reef of rocks at Serapeum, extending for about 85 metres in length, at a depth of 16 or 17 feet below the surface of the canal, and which was not discovered till just before the period fixed for the opening, at present limits the draft of vessels which can use the navigation. There are some objectionable curves and narrow places, and many miles of unprotected slopes, all of which must be improved or remedied before the canal can be placed in a satisfactory condition. Still, in its present state, vessels drawing not more than 16 feet can pass from end to end with facility and safety; and when the rocks alluded to are removed, the depth will be increased to 21 or 22 feet. For years before the commencement of the project which has been, so far, happily concluded, the practicability of forming and maintaining a maritime canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean was a muchdisputed point among modern engineers. It was known that a water communication between the two seas had existed and been maintained for 600 years before, and for about 800 years after, the commencement of the Christian era; subsequent to which time it was allowed to fall into decay, and for a thousand years has so remained. The first idea, in modern times, of restoring this ancient water commu nication, or of forming another more suitable to existing circumstances, seems to be due to the Emperor Napoleon I. (then General Bonaparte), who, at the close of the last century, during his occupation of Egypt, directed that a complete survey of the ancient canal should be made under the direction of M. Lepère, a French engineer of reputation. This survey was completed, and a project for a canal was designed in accordance with the apparent facts resulting from M. Lepère's survey. The evacuation of the country by the French put an end to further investigation, and arrested all progress in this direction for many years. The conclusion at which M. Lepère arrived was, that the level of the Red Sea at high water at Suez was 30 feet higher than low water in the Mediterranean in Pelusium Bay; and his scheme was projected in accordance with the existence of such a difference in the level of the two seas. He also ascertained that the rise and fall of the tide in the Red Sea was 5 or 6 feet, and in the Mediterranean about 1 foot, leaving still a difference of 25 feet between the respective low waters of the two seas. Doubts of the accuracy of the statement as to the difference of these levels were entertained by those who carefully considered the subject; but it was not till the year 1847 that these doubts were set at rest. In that year the late Mr. Robert Stephenson, in conjunction with M. Talabot, a French engineer, M. de Negrelli, an Austrian engineer, and Linant Bey, a French engineer in the Egyptian service, directed a series of independent levellings across the Isthmus, which determined beyond all doubt the important fact that "at low water there was no essential difference in the level of the two seas, and that at high water it was not more than 4 feet, the rise of tide being about 1 foot in the Mediterranean and about 6 feet in the Red Sea." Up to that time Mr. Stephenson seems to have been in favour of the proposal to form a canal across the Isthmus, in accordance with the views of Linant Bey, who "proposed to carry a canal from the Red Sea through the Bitter Lakes to Lake Timsah, and thence through the lagoons of Menzaleh to Tineh (Pelusium) on the Mediterranean:" it was "thus expected to create a current through the canal of three or four miles an hour;" and "the project appeared very feasible, and was calculated to excite high hopes of success." When, however, it was ascertained that the level of the two seas was practically the same, Mr. Stephenson remarked "it became evident that it would not be practicable to keep open a level cut or canal without any current between the two seas, and the project was abandoned." The fact of there being no difference in the level of the two seas led other men to very different conclusions; for shortly after the period here referred to, M. Ferdinand Lesseps conceived the idea which has since been so successfully realized. His project was to cut a great canal on the level of the two seas by the nearest and most practicable route, which lay along the valley or depression containing Lake Menzaleh, Lake Ballah, Lake Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes. The character of this route was well described in 1830 by General (then Captain) Chesney, R.A., who examined and drew up a report on the country between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. At that time a difference of 30 feet between the two seas was still assumed, and all proposals for canals were laid out on that assumption. Allowance must, of course, be made for this error, in so far as it affected any particular project of canal; but it would not affect the accuracy of any general description of the district to be traversed. General Chesney summed up his report by stating, "as to the executive part, there is but one opinion there are no serious difficulties; not a single mountain intervenes, scarcely what deserves to be called a hillock; and in a country where labour can be had without limit, and at a rate infinitely below that of any other part of the world, the expense would be a moderate one for a single nation, and scarcely worth dividing among the great kingdoms of Europe, who would all be benefited by the measure.” M. Lesseps was well advised therefore in the route he selected, and (assuming the possibility of keeping open the canal) in the character of the project he proposed. From 1849 to 1854 he was occupied in maturing his project for a direct canalization of the Isthmus. In the latter year Mahomet Saïd Pasha became Viceroy of Egypt, and sent at once for M. Lesseps to consider with him the propriety of carrying out the work he had in view. The result of this interview was, that on the 30th of November in the same year a Commission was signed at Cairo charging M. Lesseps to constitute and direct a Company named "The Universal Suez Canal Company." In the following year, 1855, M. Lesseps, acting for the Viceroy, invited a number of gentlemen eminent as directors of public works, as engineers, and distinguished in other ways, to form an International Commission for the purpose of considering and reporting on the practicability of forming a ship canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. This Commission, which included some of the ablest civil and military engineers of Europe, was honorary, and its members were considered as guests of the Viceroy. The Commission met in Egypt in December 1855 and January 1856, and, accompanied by M. Lesseps, and by Mouge Bey and Linant Bey, engineers, and other gentlemen in the service of the Viceroy, they made a careful examination of the harbours in the two seas and of the intervening Desert, and arrived at the conclusion that a ship canal was practicable between the Gulf of Pelusium in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea near Suez. They differed, however, as to the mode in which such a canal should be constructed. The three English engineering members of the Commision were of opinion that a ship canal raised 25 feet above the sea-level, and communicating with the Bay of Pelusium at one end and |