64 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. — SECTION D. 



(c) Then also well-managed archives would doubtless 

 attract large stores of material, which would be invaluable to 

 students of the future who desire to understand the social 

 life of earlier times. There are many religious, philanthropic, 

 educational, scientific, social and even sporting' societies, and 

 institutions, which in the nature of things can have no provi- 

 sion for the permanent keeping of their minutes and records 

 for which they have no future use, but which will have an in- 

 creasing \'alue as bearing on sociology, one of the great studies 

 of the future. Such are the materials which should constitute 

 one of our greatest national assets in the future. 



On the treatment which these materials will receive at the 

 hands of a skilled archivist it is not my purpose to dwell, (^n 

 arrangement and indexing there is much which might be 

 written. (Jn the archivist himself and his staff, their qualifica- 

 tions and spirit, their relations to the student and the public 

 it were an easy task to enlarge, but I forbear. This, however, 

 must be stated, that the staff must be selected with the idea 

 of placing the work upon a sound basis from the beginning, 

 or much waste will he entailed. In arrangement and indexing 

 there must be technical knowledge, and to overcome the 

 drudgery of the task there must be genuine enthusiasm. 



In this relation there is one point I would like to emphasize 

 as affecting a wide range of interests outside the archives, and 

 that is the necessity of starting with a fixed arrangement of 

 dealing w^ith the prefixes of our French and Dutch surnames. 

 At present all is confusion, and one is never certain whether 

 research has accomplished its perfect work until it has ex- 

 hausted all the permutations of " de," and " van," and "der," 

 and the names themselves, a slovenly method and productive 

 of a great waste of time, and, personally, I should like to see 

 adopted what is in vogue in some of the principal institutions 

 of England and the Continent, namely, the principal place 

 given to the name, all prefixes following in a subsidiary posi- 

 tion. 



Of course this great national asset cannot be realised with- 

 out money, and even such inteligent assemblies as Parliaments 

 are not always easily convinced of the public utility of work 

 of this nature, while more ignorant persons who call them- 

 selves practical, that blessed word which claims so much and 

 often means so little, will perhaps desire to see something more 

 striking for their money, but I hope in some little way, at least 

 we who are interested in this matter may, through this paper 

 and discussion, be able to enlist the sympathy and help of those 

 being wise to conceive and strong to do may assist in develop- 

 ing this idea of South African Archives, which should prove 

 one of the best and mose enduring assets of our Union. 



So shall the nation come to know itself, and that knowledge 

 being honestly accepted and candidly considered, mistakes will 

 be acknowledged, weaknesses confessed, and mutual forgive- 

 ness extended. That being accomplished, the way will have- 

 been opened for a people of one heart and mind, one ambition 

 and hope, to march forward and take its true place among the- 

 peoples of the earth. 



