xxvi Annual Address. [i'ebruary, 1907 



Grovernment lias at tlie time officers engaged in sucli enquiries 

 and researches as are within the scope o£ this Society, We have 

 educational officers engaged in the study of the languages of India, 

 archaeological officers engaged in the study of its antiquities, 

 'Scientific officers concerned in its natural history, botany and 

 cognate subjects, Superintendents of Ethnogi^aphy concerned with 

 Anthropology, and the like. Xow, if some of these were enlisted 

 as members of the Society, they miglit become, as it were, agents 

 to assist the Society in directing and encouraging research among 

 enthusiastic officers of enquiring mind, who might be recruited 

 young to our membership. I should be very glad, if it were 

 possible, to devise some system for improvement in this respect. 

 If the Society would appoint a Committee to consider the matter 

 it would no doubt find some of its members in the service of the 

 Government of India, like my distinguished friend Sir Hei'bert 

 Risley, ready to repi'esent Government on such a Committee; 

 and there might perhaps be some definite and appi^eciable result. 

 I should like to see many of our officers enlisted as members of 

 the Society, and some arrangement made to give them local 

 guidance in their researches. 



What I have said has been mainly concerned with my own 

 service and with European officers. This is due to the fact that 

 one speaks best of what he knows best. But I am far from 

 confining my observations to my own service or to my own 

 I'ace. Any one who has studied the subject knows that my 

 lemarks are of the widest application. The evil resulting 

 from ignorance of the people in those who work among them 

 is as much seen among other services and occupations as in my 



service ; and it is seen among Indians as well as among Euro- 

 peans. In the Ranchi case, to which I have just referred, the 

 officers who ignored the customs of the Mundas were for the most 

 part Indians, There are many Indian gentlemen who might be 

 encouraged in the course of their duties, whether official or non- 

 official, to take up some interesting subject of enquiry and 

 research in regard to their own people and their own country. I 

 believe that this is very desirable. There are causes in operation 

 which tend to prevent men. from devoting themselves to such 

 researches and anything that can be done to encourage them to 

 overcome the operation of these obstructive forces would be of 

 great advantage. 



Gentlemen, I have said that I shall leave the report of the 

 year's work to speak for itself. I have already occupied your 

 time as long as I ought to do; and I do not think that there is 

 anything to be gained by my endeavouring to say over again 

 what the report has said, briefly enough but clearly and much 

 better than I can say it, under each section of the Society's 

 work. I congratulate the Society on a fair record of woik; I 

 congratulate you on the formation of a medical section during 

 the year ; I congratulate you also, on the whole, on the financial 

 position ; and there is one thing which has struck me in connec- 

 tion with what I have seen of the work of the Society during my 



