Oct. 1845.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. cix 



4. Mr. Blyth now, for the first time, as the Secretary believes, informs the Society 

 that it was intended " to notice all the alterations in the text." He does not perceive 

 that this would amount only to the very stigma which the Committee have been so care- 

 ful to guard the Society's reputation from. Let it be but once announced that the Soci- 

 ety's Curators alter drawings ; (except at the special desire of the authors) or its Secre- 

 taries papers confided to them, and who will trust such a Society with drawings or 

 papers ? or who will refer to its researches with confidence ? Mr. Blyth's assumption 

 here is (the notes of Dr. Lord having disappeared) that the Society and the scientific 

 world are wholly to trust to his discretion and knowledge, and even, as in the case of the 

 hyena and sheep, to that of which he can have no knowledge. Both the Secretary and 

 Members of the Committee again and again explained to Mr. Blyth that the honest and 

 straitforward and simple system was, to publish exact copies of the drawings, which 

 would fulfil the Society's public duty, and that he would then have the best opportunities 

 in the world of shewing his own knowledge of the subject, and of having something inter- 

 esting to say about, perhaps, a very uninteresting bird or animal. 



5. The Secretary cannot also on this occasion refrain from adverting again to the attempt 

 to undervalue Dr. Lord's labours, to the extent, nearly, of asserting that he knew nothing 

 of Natural History, in Mr. Blyth's MSS. excuse for the disappearance of the notes for- 

 merly submitted to the Committee, and this specially, as he is now enabled, fortunately 

 to shew what the notes may have been, and how ill-deserved any dyslogism applied to 

 them must be. A friend has pointed out to him the following passage which occurs at 

 the close of a very able paper entitled, " A Medical Memoir on the Plains of the Indus," 

 in the Eighth Vol. of the Transactions of the Medical Society of Bengal, Appendix, No. 

 24, p. 81. 



" Animals. Of the animals to be found in these regions, I shall at present say 

 nothing-. They must be looked on as rather influenced by, than exercising any influence 

 on the Medical constitution of the country, which it is my more immediate object to illus- 

 trate. But I may be allowed to add that between specimens and drawings,* I have 

 already made some advances, as opportunities have allowed, towards a sketch of the 

 Zoology of the plain of the Indus, which I hope at some future time to render so far com- 

 plete as to be not unworthy of notice." 



It will be seen from this that so far from being, as Mr. Blyth has put forward, " nearly 

 ignorant of Zoology," Dr. Lord projected at least a Zoological Memoir. 



The Secretary submits that so far from any blame attaching to the Committee (whose 

 labours have already been approved by the meeting) the Society are greatly indebted to it 

 for its steady opposition to this " correcting" system. 



The Secretary does not conceive it necessary to remark on that part of Mr. Blyth's 

 paper which enters into the defence of naturalist editors and artists generally, as being an 

 accessary discussion, quite uncalled for, and which would introduce a precedent tending 

 to check the free expression of opinions in Committees, and moreover, because he conceives 

 that Mr. Blyth has himself, in the above quoted paragraphs, amply shown that, if allowed, 

 he would himself have rendered (and if the Secretary understands his expressions with 

 respect to the sheep correctly) would even now render reference to the original drawings 



* " I should acknowledge with thanks that several of these drawings which had been 

 made previous to my joining the Mission, were immediately on my arrival placed altoge- 

 ther at my disposal by Captain Burnes." 



