688 KEPORT — 1881. 



Another most urgent need is the collection and preservation of the evidences 

 of the physical structure of the various modifications of man upon the earth. 

 Especially urgent is this now, as we live in an age in which, in a far greater degree 

 than any previous one, the destruction of races, both by annihilation and absorption, 

 is o-oin"- on. The world has never witnessed such changes in its ethnology as those 

 now taking place, owing to the rapid extension of maritime discovery and mari- 

 time commerce, which is especially affecting the island population among whicli, 

 more than elsewhere, the solution of the most important anthropological problems 

 may be looked for. If we have at present neither the knowledge nor the leisure to 

 examine and describe, we can at least preserve from destruction the materials for 

 our successors to work upon. Photographs, models, anatomical specimens, skele- 

 tons or parts of skeletons, with their histories carefully registered, of any of the 

 so-called aboriginal races, now rapidly undergoing extermination or degeneration, 

 will be hereafter of inestimable value. Drawings, descriptions, and measurements 

 are also useful, though in a far less degree, as allowance must always be made for 

 imperfections in the methods as well as the capacity of the artist or observer. Such 

 collections must be made upon a far larger scale than has hitherto been attempted, 

 as, owing to the difficulties already pointed out in the classification of man, it is 

 only by large numbers that the errors arising from individual peculiarities or 

 accidental admixture can be obviated, and the prevailing characteristics of a race 

 or group truly ascertained. It is only in an institution commanding the resources 

 of the nation that such a collection can be formed, and it may therefore be confi- 

 dently hoped that the trustees of the British Museum will appropriate some por- 

 tion of the magnificent new building, which has been provided for the accommoda- 

 tion of their natural history collections, to this hitherto neglected branch of the 

 subject. 



I have mentioned two of the needs of anthropology in this country — more 

 workers and better collections : there is still a third — that of a society or institution 

 in which anthropologists can meet and discuss their respective views, with a journal 

 in which the results of their investigations can be laid before the public, and a 

 library in which they can find the books and periodicals necessary for their study. 

 All this ought to be provided by the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain 

 and Ireland, which originated in the amalgamation of the old Ethnological and 

 Anthropological Societies. But, as I intimated some time ago, the Institute does 

 not at the present time flourish as it should; its meetings are not so well attended 

 as they might be ; the journal is restricted in its powers of illustration and print- 

 ino- by want of funds; the library is quite insufficient for the needs of the student. 



This certainly does not arise "from any want of good management in the Society 

 itself. Its affairs have been presided over and administered by some of the most 

 eminent and able men the country has produced. Huxley, Lubbock, Busk, Evans, 

 Tylor and Pitt-Kivers have in succession given their energies to its service, and 

 yet the number of its members is falling away, its usefulness is crippled, and its 

 very existence seems precarious. Some decline to join the Institute, others leave 

 it, upon the plea that, being unable from distance or other causes to attend the 

 meetino-s, they cannot obtain the full return for their subscriptions ; others on the 

 ground that the Journal does not contain the exact information which they re- 

 quire. 



There surely is to be found a sufficient number of persons, influenced by 

 different considerations, who feel that anthropological science is worth cultivating, 

 and that those who are laboriously and patiently tracing out the complex problems 

 of man's diversity and man's early history are doing a good work, and ought to be 

 encouraged by having the means afforded them of carrying on their investigations 

 and of placing the results of their researches before the world — who feel, more- 

 over, that there ought to be some central body, representing the subject, which 

 may, on occasion, influence opinion or speak authoritatively on matters often of great 

 practical importance to the nation. 



There must be many in this great and wealthy country who feel that they 

 are helping a good cause "in joining such a society, even if they are not individu- 

 ally receiving what they consider a full equivalent for their small subscription — 



