Vol. 62. ,] ANNIVERSARY ADDKESS OF THE PRESIDENT. lxi 



Almost immediately he set to work, in association with Dr. 

 Blanford, on the ' Manual of the Geology of India/ the first two 

 volumes of which form a permanent memorial to the two authors 

 and colleagues. Having reached the age-limit of service in 1884, 

 Medlicott was accorded by Government an extension till 1887, in 

 April of which year he surrendered the reins of office to Dr. King, 

 after completing 33 years' service, most of which was spent in 

 India. 



During his Indian service Mr. Medlicott married Louisa, second 

 daughter of the Rev. D. H. Maunsell, who survives him. While 

 Superintendent (or Director) of the Survey, Medlicott, during his 

 wife's absence in England, lived almost the life of a hermit when 

 on office-duty in Calcutta — a course which did not perhaps tend to 

 promote the welfare of his department. In addition to writing his 

 vshare of the ' Manual,' Medlicott edited some ten volumes of the 

 Survey-Memoirs, as well as other official publications. His policy 

 of allowing his subordinates to express their views in print without 

 censorship, even if he believed them to be wrong, gave rise to some 

 amount of friction ; but otherwise his rule — mild but firm — was 

 beneficial to the general interests of the Survey. While Blanford's 

 work inclined strongly to the palaeontological side, that of Medlicott 

 was strictly confined to the stratigraphical aspect. How much he 

 accomplished in unravelling the tangled skein of Indian Geology 

 may be learnt by reference to the Survey-publications and, more 

 concisely, by the memoir of Medlicott written by his colleague 

 Blanford only a few weeks before his own death, and published in 

 the 'Records' of the Survey for 1905. It may be said, however, that 

 during his Directorship he absolutely devoted himself, body and soul, 

 to the duties of his office. 



After his retirement Medlicott lived very quietly at Clifton, 

 Bristol, where he passed away on April 6th, 1905, while seated 

 in his study. In 1856 Medlicott became a Fellow of our Society, 

 from which he received the Wollaston Medal, on his retirement 

 from the Indian Geological Survey, in 1888. He was elected a 

 Fellow of the Royal Society in 1877, and was also honorary Fellow 

 of several foreign scientific societies ; but he never used any 

 distinctive letters after his name. In disposition he was retiring 

 and shy to a degree, although affectionate to, and beloved by, the 

 few with whom he was intimate. The present writer is indebted 

 to him for many a kindness and much consideration. [R. L.] 



