134 president's address — section r. 



have been advanced by writers who have theorised without 

 sufficient authority, for there are ample facts fully established to 

 guide him in his pursuit of knowledge. The efforts of the student 

 should be directed by a clear, patient, and persevering research. 

 He should carefully avoid being misled into a labyrinth of vague 

 conjectures, by which the truth often vanishes from the grasp. 



The Polynesian Islands afford a large field for anthropological 

 study and research, and a grand discovery will be made when it is 

 elucidated whence their inhabitants came, and how they made their 

 way to this part of the world. We in Australasia have not only a 

 more intense interest in these people, but also far better means and 

 opportunities for settling questions regarding them, than they 

 possess who are at a greater distance from these islanders. No 

 time should be lost in following up the inquiry. The data obtained 

 in the discoveries already made are so many landmarks of essential 

 value to the explorer in reaching regions not yet explored. The 

 time favorable for the acquisition of positive Knowledge of the 

 races of Polynesia is fast slipping away, and ere long it will be too 

 late to gather up facts now existing bvit gradually vanishing into 

 obscurity. It is a fact that must not be lost sight of that the lapse 

 of time is obliterating many sources of information which might 

 have afforded valuable aids in the investigation. In many islands 

 and groups the progress of civilisation is changing entirely the 

 former customs of the aborigines, and blotting out the memory of 

 their ancient traditions and legends. A generation has grown up 

 who are utterly ignorant of the ethnology of their forefathers, and 

 who possess but a very slight acquaintance with their myths and 

 legendary lore. Foreign residents, missionaries, and others at the 

 present day experience much difficulty in obtaining intelligence of 

 the native customs and mythology from the natives themselves, and 

 reliable information can be procured from the old people alone, 

 and these are becoming fewer and fewer, and ere long they will 

 have passed away. Missionaries, too, who took an interest in the 

 study of these subjects, and Avho by familiar intercourse with the 

 natives during a long residence among them when in their primeval 

 condition, are likewise moving off frona the active stage of the world. 

 Some have passed away without leaving a trace behind them of the 

 knowledp-e they had acquired, notconsideringits importance to future 

 generations in the advancement of scientific truth. It is greatly to 

 be regretted that valuable documents of deceased missionaries have 

 been lost through the indifference of surviving relatives. Some of 

 these were orderly compilations of facts, others little more than un- 

 connected notanda, all more or less useful had they been preserved. 



There is a question I would earnestly submit to the members of 

 this Association, especially to those interested in the subjects 

 of this section, and urgently press on their intelligent attention, 

 viz. — Can a satisfactory solution be obtained regarding the origin 

 of the Polynesian people ? 



