Coroner of the district, or to a corresponding officer, and such, officer 

 should be under instructions to see that the remains are preserved and 

 examined, a report being forwarded to a central bureau. If this were 

 done over a period of years a basis would be provided on which to 

 found definite conclusions as to changes affecting the physical constitu- 

 tion of the people during recent centuries. 



The Effects of the War on the Population. 



There is another anthropological matter which will require inves- 

 tigation when the war is over, but it is one which must be regarded as 

 totally distinct from an anthropometrical survey. It will be necessary 

 to ascertain how the mortality of the war has affected the manhood^of 

 the nation ; the distribution of the loss in its relation to counties and 

 cities; the percentage of loss as affecting various classes of the com- 

 munity, and particularly how far the losses have affected the persistence 

 of family strains. Such an enquiry would fall most naturally on the 

 Local Government Board, or on the Ministry of Health, were such a 

 Ministry established. 



Fate of the Recommendations of the Inter-Departmental Committee. 

 In conclusion, the Council thinks it may interest the Board of Scien- 

 tific Studies to know the fate of the Recommendations issued by the 

 Inter-Departmental Committee in 1904. In order that these recom- 

 mendations might not be shelved and forgotten, the Royal Anthro- 

 pological Institute organized in June, 1905, a powerful deputation to 

 wait on Lord Londonderry, then Lord President of the Council. The 

 deputation urged on him the need of carrying out the steps recom- 

 mended by the Committee. A discussion followed in the House of 

 Lords (July 20th, 1905). Lord Londonderry, replying on behalf of 

 the Government, whilst approving of an Anthropometrical Survey, ap- 

 peared to think that there would be a difficulty in carrying it out 

 because parents might object to their children being measured. In 

 short, the labours of the Inter-Departmental Committee, and the en- 

 deavours of a generation of anthropologists, were cast aside because 

 the Government of the day feared to face the prejudice and ignorance 

 of a small part of the population. 

 We are, dear Sir, 



Your obedient Servants, 



(Signed) H. S. HARRISON, 



T. A. JOYCE, 



Hon. Secretaries of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 

 January, 1917. 



Ill 



