V.—Oceanic Islands

Extract

The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans far from the continental masses of land are studded with islands, which from their being solely volcanic and of an age going back no further than the Tertiary period, are considered to lend great support to the hypothesis of the permanence of the great oceans and continents. Those who hold these views question the right of New Zealand to be considered a truly oceanic island, though on what grounds has never been quite intelligible to me. Waiving this objection for the purpose of argumeat, I propose to discuss the bearings of the facts, as formulated by those who believe in the “approximate” immutability of land and sea.