52 President's Address. [Feb. 



Jjefore all others, the masterly account of Bihar by Mr. Broadley, contain- 

 ing a mass of accurate description and information, the result of most zea- 

 lously conducted researches and excavations. During the year also we have 

 had the reports of General Cunningham, the Archaeological Surveyor, detail- 

 ing his researches during the seasons of 1862 to 1865 and affording a rich 

 treasure of historical and other information regarding the districts visited, 

 Behar, Gya, Tirhoot, &c, with a full discussion of the accounts of FaHian and 

 Hwen Thsang. The second year was devoted to Delhi, Mathura, Kanauj, Alla- 

 habad, Ajudhya, &c. The third year's report takes up the Punjab and its 

 ethnology and antiquities, while the fourth discusses the history of Jaipur, 

 Ajmere, Gwalior, &c. A portion of these reports originally appeared in the 

 Journal of this Society, but without the many and valuable illustrative plans 

 and drawings which now accompany them. The work, in two goodly-sized 

 volumes of more than 500 pages each, forms a convincing proof of the justice 

 and wisdom of Lord Canning in first appointing General Cunningham to this 

 task, and shews too what an almost exhaustless supply of valuable informa- 

 tion bearing on the history, the architecture, the dynastic divisions and the 

 geographical features of the country yet remains to be worked out. There 

 is no question that many of the views put forth will be subject to modifica- 

 tion and change as knowledge increases or more extended research is made. 

 But this is the case in every such enquiry and in no way detracts from the 

 value of these interesting reports. 



Another work published, or at least received in India, during the year 

 treats of another and very interesting part of the archaeology of the country. 

 The rites of sepulture, the curiously varied and complicated ceremonies ob- 

 served by some people, and the simpler ritual which marks the proceedings of 

 others give a special interest to all remains of the ruder monuments which 

 in many countries mark the localities where the great dead have been interred, 

 or their ashes entombed. Mr. Ferguson, to whom Indian archaeology is so 

 largely indebted, has given us a very full and satisfactory account of these rude 

 stone monuments in all countries and among others in India. The portion of 

 his work bearing on India, is by no means so full or satisfactory as other 

 parts. But seriously deficient as it is, it gives an approximation to the state 

 of knowledge on the subject, which will be of vast use. Indeed the real 

 value of all such general treatises consists in this, that they indicate the boun- 

 dary between the known and the unknown, and enable students to start from 

 the advanced posts of existing knowledge without wasting time in preliminary 

 investigation, or going over ground which had been fairly examined before ; 

 and in this point of view, such works as Ferguson's are of high value. But 

 the very facility which they give ought to lead to early refutation or con- 

 firmation of their statements. Such sweeping assertions as that these rude 

 stone monuments do not exist in the valley of the Ganges or any of its tribu- 



