XXVI ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



D. P. Penhallow as Chairman, be appointed as a Standing- Committee of the 

 Society to co-operate with the British Association Committee on an Ethno- 

 logical Survey of Canada, and that they be empowered to take such steps 

 as may be necessary to secure from the various provincial governments, as 

 also from the Dominion Government, the adoption of legislation relative 

 to the establishment of Provincial Museums of Ethnology and the organiz- 

 ation of a permanent Ethnological Survey of the entire Dominion." 



In order to give force to Ihe resolutions thus adopted by the Royal 

 Society of Canada, and to provide that the work of investigation may pro- 

 ceed with as little delay as possible, wo would respectfully urge upon your 

 Government the adoption of such measures as may be necessary to establish 

 a Provincial Museum of Ethnology ; to appropriate the sum of 

 annually for the prosecution of Ethnological research within the limits of 

 your province ; to appoint a suitable representative to act as a member of 

 the Cential Con mittee, who may or may not be a member of the 

 present Committee of the Royal Society, and to empower the Central 

 Committee to act on behalf of your Government with respect to : 1st, the 

 direction and control of all matters relating to the scientific investigation of 

 the Provincial Ethnology ; 2nd, the proper expenditure of such funds as 

 may be voted for that purpose, and 3rd, a genei-al oversight of the form- 

 ation of museum collections under the special direction of such curator as 

 may be appointed. If these conditions are fulfilled, the Committee would 

 conduct the Ethnological work on the following lines : — 



1. A complete survey of each province would be made with respect to 

 (cf) The aboriginal or Indian population. 



(6) The white population. 



2. The work of the Committee will involve the collection of data 

 respecting : 



(a) Vital statistics, and statistics relating to movements and extent 



of population. i 



(6) Physical types of the inhabitants, 

 (c) Current traditions and beliefs. 

 id) Peculiarities of dialect. 



(c) Monuments and other rem.ains of ancient culture. 

 (f) Historical evidences of continuity of race. 



3. All Ethnological material will be deposited in the first instance in 

 the museum of the province from which obtained. Duplicate material will 

 be used for purposes of exchange, and also deposited in the British Museum 

 or such other place as may be selected. 



In conclusion, we would respectfully refer to the very great energy with 

 which the ethnology of Canada has been exploited for many years, under 

 the direction of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History at New York. While wishing to accord 

 all credit for the admirable and thorough way in which this woi'k has been 

 done, and to acknowledge the benefit which it must be to Canada, we never- 

 theless feel strongly that such work should be initiated by ourselves and 

 that whatever ethnological material of value may be derivable from our 



