198 REPORT— 1881. 



Tour Committee, however, think that there is a reasonable chance of 

 the work being done, and therefore recommend their reappointment, and 

 that a further sum of lOOL be placed at their disposal. 



S. Sumatra, 

 December 8, 1880. 



Sir Joseph Hooker, 



Dear Sir, — ^Accept my warmest thanks for the kind interest you 

 have taken in my intended visit to Timor-laut, which has obtained for 

 me a grant of 50Z. frona the Council of the British Association. 



For the present I am engaged in Sumatra, but about the end of 

 February, or beginning of March, I intend to return to Batavia, in order 

 to make my way to Timor-laut. His Excellency the Governor- General 

 kindly placed at my disposal such ships of the Dutch Navy as might be 

 on the Amboina Station going down towards the Tenimber Islands. I 

 have, however, given up the hope of being able to accomplish my object if 

 I travel by this means, as the islanders are at best not very friendly, and 

 by landing from a man-of-war I am not likely to meet with greater 

 favour. I mean, therefore, to attemjit the journey in one of the Arab 

 prahus instead, which go there to jjurchase horses. I have been fortunate 

 in securing the friendly assistance of the highest rank Arab in Java, a 

 very clever influential man (the Native Master of Ceremonies to the 

 Governor), whose brother is one of the largest traders to the Eastward 

 Islands. He has offered to send forward intimation of my coming, and to do 

 his best to secure, as far as he can, the goodwill towards me of the natives, 

 with whom his countrymen deal. 



Neither the time of my departure nor of my return can I positively 

 fix ; the former date depends on the state of the monsoon, which these 

 few years back has been very irregular, the latter on the amount of 

 goodwill which the natives show towards me. If I find them not very ill- 

 affected towards strangers, I may extend my stay over the diy monsoon, 

 and do my best to hold out till the return of the trading season at the 

 end of nest wet monsoon. 



If, therefore, the British Association grant be placed at my disposal, 

 I shall draw upon it only on my actual departure for Timor-laut. Not- 

 withstanding the very bad character given to the Tenimber Islanders by 

 the Dutch officials, I have good reason to think that the perils are much 

 exaggerated ; and I hope for the best. 



Again offering you, and those who so kindly supported the application 

 made on behalf of the exploration of Timor-laut, my best thanks, 



Believe me, yours obediently, 



(Signed) H. O. Forbes. 



Report on the Marine Fauna of the Southern Coast of Devon and 

 GornivaU,by Spence Bate, F.R.S., and J. Brooking Rowe, F.L.S. 



In presenting our report on the exploration of the marine fauna of the 

 south-western coast of England, we beg to state that we have carried on 

 a series of dredgings off the coast between Plymouth and Falmouth, more 

 especially off the district known as the Dudman. 



