148 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Aug. 



" Being then convinced that these races form a subject of inquiry 

 than which none can be more worthy of the Members of this Society, 

 I venture to suggest four Divisions of Inquiry. 



1 . The languages ; we should like to have, not only the Vocabu- 

 laries but the Grammar and structure. 



2. The appearance ; which can be now so well preserved and con- 

 veyed by Photographs. 



3. The mental qualities, manners, and institutions ; especially it 

 would be interesting to know whether the Oraons, Moondahs, Sontals, 

 &c, when settled, have municipal institutions like the Hindoos or 

 live under a patriarchal constitution. 



4. The Osteology ; the collection of Skeletons and Crania. 



" It should only be added that the aboriginal tribes are now in many, 

 or most places, so intermixed with Hindoos f whose more intense Arian 

 individuality more influences the cross breeds) that specimens, to be 

 of use, should be as pure as possible, in fact to get the true type it 

 would be well to seek for, as it were, exaggerated specimens — the most 

 aboriginal among the aborigines — the most ugly among the ugly, such 

 as Col. Dalton found among the more remote hills, and such as I can find 

 any day by a judicious selection of the most ill-favoured Coolees on the 

 Maidan. I beg to move the request to the Council of which I have 

 given notice." 



Dr. Colles said : 



" The ethnology of the aboriginal races of India, the study of which 

 has been advocated by Mr. Campbell, is one of the greatest importance, 

 and it is a stigma on the Society that it has been so long neglected. 

 Of the four subjects of enquiry proposed by Mr. Campbell, three, viz. 

 the language, appearance, and manners of the races in question, can 

 only be studied on the spot. The fourth subject, their osteology, can 

 only be studied where, as in the Museum of this Society, a collection of 

 Crania exists. It must be remembered, however, that Crania, in their 

 entire state, are only like the backs of unopened books ; to obtain 

 inferences from them sections must be made, so as to allow of 

 internal measurements being taken. The first step, in such a case, is 

 to obtain a standard, and for this purpose I would recommend that 

 sections of the most typical skulls, both of the aboriginal and invad- 

 ing (Arian) races in the Museums of the Asiatic Society and Medical 



