THE ABORIGINES OF THE I.SLANDS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 81 



All human conduct and action is framed on the belief of a 

 future, whether immediate or far distant is not the point, but on 

 the belief of a future, and there is no reason why that belief 

 should be supposed to come to an end at the moment of death. 

 The idea of a creator would appear to be not perhaps innate, but 

 a primal formation of intelligence. 



The vote of thanks was then put to the Meeting and carried. 



The Chairman. — I think, if I might -venture to say so on behalf 

 of the author, he would very clearly acknowledge that these 

 heathen were aOeoi ev tw kov/luc in the strict and plain sense of the 

 word ; but I think he would say that as well of the Athenians, 

 and therefore the question is whether the idea of God is or is not 

 spreading amongst the heathen which I think is the special point 

 he had in his mind. 



The Meeting then terminated. 



THE FOLLOWING COMMUNICATIONS ON DR. EELLS' 

 PAPER WERE RECEIVED. 



1. From Mr. M. V. Portman, Officer in Charge of the Andama- 

 nese. 



The Honorary Secretary has been kind enough to send me a 

 copy of Dr. Eells' paper on " The Worship and Traditions of the 

 Aborigines of the Islands of the Pacific Ocean," and to invite me 

 to give my views on the same. 



I notice in the first paragraph of the paper the words, "the 

 cradle of the human race in Asia." What scientific facts have we 

 to prove this ? 



I have lately had an opportunity of seeing Dr. Dubois in 

 Calcutta, and studying his remarks on the Pithecanthropos 

 erectus. While not agreeing that this is a man-ape, I do think 

 that his discovery proves the existence of the human race in these 

 inter-tropic parts during the Tertiary period. The particular 

 subject found appears to have a skull of the Neanderthal type, 

 and may have been an idiot or maniac. 



My study of the Andamanese, who are the last pure remnant of 



G 



