136 REPORT— 1864. 



atmosphere, as well as of tlie earth, whicli must preve to be of ceaseless interest*. 

 Viewed in this broad sense, geogTaphy is, indeed, of siii-passing importance, and the 

 field for the range of our noble science becomes really unlimited f. 



Let us therefore hope tliat at this meeting we may gather together a few shreds 

 of that augmenting Ifnowledge of foreign parts wliich the wandering habits of our 

 countrymen have led them to acquire, respecting the outlines and structure of vari- 

 ous countries, their inhabitants and natural products, and thus justify my anticipa- 

 tion, that the Bath 3Ieeting -v^-ill be second to no one which has preceded it in the 

 interest of the Geographical and Ethnological communications which will be laid 

 before us. 



In conclusion, I have a just pride in quoting the animating and truthful words 

 which Mr. Gladstone recently addressed to geogTaphers, inasmuch as they cannot 

 be too widely known, and will, I am sure, be warmly applauded by this Assembly : — 

 " It is the love of adventure," said the eloquent statesman, " it is the boldness in 

 facing danger, it is the strong self-reliance, it is the ready presence of mind, it is 

 all that constitutes that powerful individuality which lies at the root of the whole 

 greatness of this country, and which likewise has lain at the root of the great- 

 ness and the perfonnances of geographers. The very same causes which have 

 made you distinguished as a Geogi-aphical Society, are tliose which have made 

 England distinguished among the nations of the world." 



On ihe Province of Azerbaijan. 

 B]] Keith E. Abbott, Consul-Ocncral at Teheran. 



Notes oil the Maories of New Zealand, with Suggestions for their Pacification 

 and Preservation. By Col. Sir James Edavadb Alexander, K.O.L.S. 

 The author specified the causes which led to the New Zealand wars of 18G0 and 

 1863, in the former of which he commanded a regiment. He believed that a 

 great wrong had been done to the ^Maories, whom he described as a generous and 

 improving people, snftering imder the prejudices and selfishness of tJie lower class 

 of English settlers. The plan he suggested for their pacification and presen-ation 

 was forming them into agricultural colonies, teaching them husbandly, and en- 

 couraging them in trade. 



On the Ethnologif of Camhodia. Bg Dr. A. Bastian, of Bremen. 

 The author remarked that, the more the extent of the splendid stone monuments 

 which spread over Cambodia, Laos, and tlie adjoining pro\inces of Cochin-China 

 becomes known and investigated, ihe more urgently will rise the demand on 

 scientific research to solve the problem of their construction. As the chronicles of 

 Cambodia are quite modern, and as on the early annals of the Siamese no reliance 

 can beplaced, one naturally l<.>ol>s for inCoruialion to another neighbouring state — 

 Tonquin, which, tlianks to its Cliincso civilization, presents something like Chinese 

 regularity and order in its rccoids. Till now, however, the studv of Tonquinese 

 history has been bare of any valuable n suits. In the eastern part" of the province 

 ofBindinh was discovered, some years ago, amidst the jungle, a large town in 

 ruins, consisting of fifty towers, wliich were ornamented with figures of men 

 and animals, and surrounded ^vith a square M-all of white stone. A Chinese tra- 

 veller, who visited Cambodia in llie year 1295, speaks of fiftv-four towers in the 

 capital, each containing the statue of a deity, with a serpent 'in its hand (as it is 

 seen in Java), to ward ofi" those passing. The ruins of Nakhon Vat were likewise 

 accidentally discovered by tlie Cambodians in the year 1570, after having lain 

 buried in_ the jungle for many centuries ; and, in travelling over the frontiers be- 

 tween Birmah and Siam, the autlior had many spots in that desolate region 



* See the new small work, ' Plivsical Geography,' by M. F. Maury, LL.D. Longman, 

 London. 



t In my last Address to the Royal Geographical Society, I explained how all the vari- 

 ous atEliatious of geography, in this extended sense, are combined in the operations of the 

 Imperial Geogi-aphical Society of St. Petersburg. 



