TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. IT'S 



But I have said notliing as yet about the country cousins. If the heads of the 

 families are such as I have endeavoured to describe them, what must the country 

 cousins be ? I have spoken of the g'uttcr-eliildreu of the metropolis; but we must 

 follow the gutters into the sewers before we can form a just estimate of the con- 

 dition of the local societies ; and yet I believe that with a very small amount of 

 organization the local societies are capable of performing the most important func- 

 tions in regard to at least one branch of our science. It is hardly necessary for me 

 to observe that my remarks apply exclusively to the question of orc/anization, and 

 cannot for a moment be supposed to have any bearing on the abilities of the indi- 

 vidual members, amongst whom are included many very able men ; but Ave all 

 know that the best army in the world may be rendered impotent through defective 

 organization. The conditions under which local societies are established are in- 

 compatible with a very high standard of elficiency in any special department of 

 science ; owing to the very various qualitications of a small body of members, their 



J»roceedings must necessarily be miscellaneous ; but they are usually supported by 

 ocal interests, which may be of the utmost value, and are often indispensable in 

 promoting the exploration of local prehistoric antiquities, and they only require 

 the prestige derivable from a national organization to render them efficient in this 

 respect. As it is, local societies have often reason to complain of the metropolitan 

 societies, which draw some of the best correspondence from the counties and give 

 but little in return. 



I trust that I have made it apparent that anthropology in its various branches 

 includes some of the most popular and widely disseminated scientific interest of the 

 country, and that the loss of power is enormous ; }iot only is there no means of 

 organized exploration, but the information which is published is either repeated 

 over and over again in the different societies, or it is so scattered as to be beyond 

 the reach of the majority of the students. They labour also under the disadvan- 

 tage of being supported chiefly by men of small means ; for the well-to-do classes 

 in this countrj' do not, as a rule, take any interest in either scientific or anthropo- 

 logical investigations. During the past year a single American has done more in 

 the way of anthropological exploration than the whole of the English societies, 

 institutes, and associations together. 



I will now briefly state my views as to the remedies for the evils of which I 

 have spoken. I am averse to the principle of amalgamation : the most active 

 members are not always the most enlightened ; narrow views are often the most 

 pronounced, and if they become dominant are liable to bring down the standard of 

 an amalgamated society instead of enlarging its sphere of usefulness ; besides, this 

 amalgamation necessarily entails a certain loss of income by the loss of double 

 subscriptions. 



If my experience as a member of the council of most of the societies of which I 

 speak does not deceive me, it should be the object of those who have the progress 

 of anthropological studies at heart to induce the metropolitan societies to specialize 

 their functions. The following might then become the titles of the various so- 

 cieties included under the term anthropology ; and they would represent not only 

 the natural divisions of the science, but practically the divisions which are most 

 consonant with the organization of the existing societies. Setting history and his- 

 toric archajology aside as bej'ond our province, we should have : — (1) Proto-historic 

 archaiology ; I adopt the term proposed by Mr. Hyde Clarke for this branch, which 

 practically includes all that conies under the head of Biblical Archoeology at 

 present ; (2) Prehistoric Arclueology ; (3) Philology ; (4) Biology, including 

 Psychology and Comparative Anatomy, in so far as it relates to Man; (.5) 

 Descriptive Ethnologj', viz. original reports of travellers on the races of man, 

 conducted in association with geographical exploration. Under these heads 

 we should, I believe, include all the various classes of special workers. These 

 should constitute independent, but associated societies — that is to say, the 

 members of one should be privileged to attend the meetings and take part in 

 the discussions of the others, but not to receive the publications of any but 

 their own society. By this means each would profit by the experience of the other 

 societies, but the funds necessary for the maintenance of each would be secured. 

 As branch sections of authropologv they would be under the control of a general 



1872. ' 13 



