Biographical Sketch of Dr Prichard. 221 



who now inhabit distant regions, but who will soon find their 

 allotted doom, if we proceed on the method of conduct thus 

 far pursued, from the time of Pizarro and Cortez to that of 

 our English Colonists of South Africa. But independently 

 of the claim of humanity and justice which this admirable 

 undertaking presents, there are numerous points of view in 

 which it is particularly interesting to the philosopher and to 

 men devoted to the pursuit of science. How many problems 

 of the most curious and interesting kind will have been left 

 unsolved if the various races of mankind become diminish- 

 ed in number, and when the diversified tribes of Amei'ica, 

 Australia, and many parts of Asia, shall have ceased to exist ! 

 At present we are but very imperfectly acquainted with the 

 physiological character of many of these races, and the op- 

 portunity of obtaining a more accurate and satisfactory know- 

 ledge will have been for ever taken away. The physical his- 

 tory of mankind, certainly a most interesting branch of human 

 knowledge, will have been left for ever imperfect, and but 

 half explored," 



I know that Dr Prichard had the Aborigines' Protection 

 Society in view in giving an important paper on the Extinction 

 of Races, to the British Association for the Advancement of 

 Science at its Meeting in Birmingham in 1838. 



On accepting the office of Inspector of the Lunatic Asylums, 

 Dr Prichard relinquished private practice, resigned his post 

 as Physician to the Infirmary, which he had held for more 

 than twenty-six years, and transferred his residence from 

 Bristol to London. To this change our Society is indebted 

 for the privilege which we have enjoyed of having the great- 

 est of ethnologists as our President. He succeeded our first 

 President, Sir Charles Malcolm, to whose able exertions at 

 its origin, and during the progress of its formation, the Eth- 

 nological Society of London is incalculably indebted. 



After his settlement in London, Dr Prichard completed the 

 third edition of his work, which extended to five closely- 

 printed volumes, forming a mass of learned and scientific re- 

 search and laborious compilation far superior to anything 

 which had been previously produced on Ethnology, and 

 scarcely surpassed in the literature of any other science. 



VOL. XLVII. NO. XCIV. — OCTOISBH 1849. Q 



