Proceedings of Hie Asiatic Society. [April, 



Honor the Lieutenant- Governor, the accompanying letter from 

 Dr. Fayrer to the Natural History Secretary of the Asiatic Society 

 of Bengal, and a copy of a letter addressed by the Council of the 

 Asiatic Society to the Foreign and Home Secretaries to the Govern- 

 ment of India. 



" I am requested by the Council to lay before you a modification of 

 Dr. Payrer's proposal, in the hope that it will meet with the approval 

 of His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor. The Council believe that 

 this modi lied proposition might be carried out with comparative ease 

 (luring the Agricultural Exhibition at the end of the present year, 

 and with great advantage to Anthropological Science. 



" This modified proposition is not intended to interfere with or super- 

 sede the original one, which the Council fain hope will meet with the 

 cordial support of the Government of India. 



" The Council are of opinion that an Ethnological Congress of all the 

 tribes found in Bengal, Nepal and Burmah, and in the Andaman and 

 Nicobar islands would be one of easy accomplishment ; especially at 

 the time indicated, as examples of many of the above tribes will be 

 drawn to Calcutta by the Agricultural Exhibition. 



" If this proposal meets with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor, 

 the Council of the Asiatic Society have to request, with a view to 

 further details, that His Honor will be pleased to instruct all Com- 

 missioners in Bengal to furnish official lists of all the races of men 

 found in their respective districts, and to indicate in these lists the 

 means at their disposal for the transport of individuals of each tribe 

 to the Congress in Calcutta, and the probable expense of so doing. 



" The Council, after a careful consideration of the whole subject, 

 believe that this is the first step to the completion of the design, and 

 as all the arrangements will still remain to be made for the transit of 

 specimens of each race to Calcutta after the above returns have been 

 supplied, the Council earnestly request that the information now called 

 for, may be furnished not later than the end of April. 



" The Council, in recommending this project for the consideration of 

 the Lieutenant- G-overnor, feel certain that there can only be one opinion 

 regarding the scientific importance of Dr. Fayrer's conception in its 

 modified form, and of the amount and kind of knowledge it will 

 convey to us of Indian Ethnology ; and they have therefore every 



