TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 141 



market is well supplied with rich merchandise, much better than the market of Kano. 

 But there is a great defect in the scarcity of current coin,— salt, a rather heavy, un- 

 manageable sort of money, being the standard for all larger things much more than 

 gold, while cowries are extremely scarce, and dollars are scarcely accepted in payment 

 by anybody. The population of Timbuctoo, as well as its government, are consi- 

 derably mixed. The original, and by far the most numerous part of the inhabitants, 

 are the Tonray, who, after the supremacy of Morocco had ceased, regained once 

 more the government of their town, and were not disturbed by the Bambara, who did 

 not obtain possession of Timbuctoo, though on the south side of the river their 

 empire extended as far as Hombori. Besides the Tonray, there are the Arabs, partly 

 settled, and partly belonging to different tribes of the desert, and remaining only for 

 several months or years. Certainly, the mixed population of this place for itself is 

 not able to repulse any serious attack, as it was taken twenty-eight years ago (one 

 year before the unfortunate attempt of Major Laing) by the Fullan of Mohammed 

 Lebbo, almost without a struggle." Referring to the Fullan of Hand Allahi, whom 

 he was desirous of visiting. Dr. Barth says, — " Their fanaticism would, if not endanger 

 greatly my situation when among them, at least make it all but intolerable; for 

 these Fullan, who call their brethren of Tokoto ' infidels,' and have threatened them 

 with teaching them Islamism, think themselves the only true Moslems.^ Amongst 

 other things, they have made smoking a capital crime ; so that even in Timbuctoo, 

 except near the house of El Bakay, a man smoking is in greater danger than in the 

 streets of Berlin." 



On the different Centres of Civilization. By John Crawfurd. 



The Manual of Ethnological Inquiry and the Ethnology of Polynesia. By 



Richard Cull, Fellow and Honorary Secretary of the Ethnological 



Society. 



The two editions of the ' Ethnological Manual ' issued at the expense of the 

 British Association have been circulated far and wide. The second edition, with 

 which I have had more to do, has been sent to every missionary station in the world, 

 to many of our naval and military stations, to men of science and known ability ia 

 various countries, and to travellers. It has been thought that the results have not 

 been in proportion to the expenditure, pecuniary and otherwise, of our two ' Manuals,' 

 and accordingly it has been proposed to discontinue further outlay in the distri- 

 bution of the remaining copies of the second edition. The collection of informa- 

 tion, in accordance with special directions such as those contained in our ' Manual,' 

 is necessarily slow. We can only request persons to observe and record their ob- 

 servations for the use of science. Still the ' Manual ' has been of use in many ways. 

 The late lamented Capt. Owen Stanley used it as his guide in his surveying 

 expeditions, and I am informed by Mr. Brierly that it was constantly on the captain's 

 table as a book of very frequent reference. Several officers both of the Royal Navy 

 and of the Mercantile Marine have expressed themselves to me as deeply indebted 

 to our little ' Manual ' as a useful guide in observing man. 



In the interval between the exhaustion of the first edition and the issue of the 

 second, ' The Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry ' was published. Dr. Prichard 

 contributed to this ' INianual ' the Section on Ethnology, and avowedly drew largely 

 upon our little ' Manual,' adding new matter, improving and adapting it for the 

 special service of the Royal Navy. 



In editing the second edition of our little ' Manual,' the Committee naturally 

 availed themselves of Dr. Prichard's improvements, and I think we improved it still 

 furtlier. 



The ' Admiralty Manual ' has been published more than six years, but beyond the 

 most interesting information collected by Capt. Collinson of the Western Esquimaux, 

 I am unaware of any results from the Ethnological section of it. When we consider 

 the great difficulty of observation, we ought not to feel disappointed at the seemingly 

 inadequate results, and we ought to have patience in waiting for results, as I am 

 about to show. I hold in my hand a copy of ' The Samoan Reporter,' a periodical 



