OCT.— MAR. 1859-60.] 



Proceedings. 



367 



Read Extract from the New Zealand Government Gazette con- 

 taining a Lecture on the Geology of the Province of New Auck- 

 land, by Dr. F. Hochstetter of the Austrian Frigate " Novara," 

 communicated by the Madras Government. 



Ordered to be recorded. 



Read letter on the ^Photographic delineation of Microscopic ob- 

 jects by Lieut. Mitchell, Officer in charge of the Government Cen- 

 tral Museum. 



Ordered to be communicated to the Sub-Committee on Papers. 

 Read letter from the Rev. Mr. Foulkes on the power of the 

 Tamil Consonant p. 



Ordered to be communicated to the Sub-Committes on Papers. 



Read letter from Mr. George Bidie proffering his services to su- 

 perintend the proposed operations at Amaravutti. 



Ordered to be recorded. Mr. Elliot will reply to it. 



Read letter from Mr. Lewis H. Morgan of New York to the 

 Honorable Mr. Elliot enclosing a printed Schedule and letter in 

 explanation of an ethnological work on which Mr. M. is engaged. 



Mr. Morgan who is engaged in certain ethnological enquiries 

 regarding the American Indian Races is anxious to ascertain 

 whether, through their peculiar system of consanguinity and des- 

 cent, any connection can be traced with Asiatic Peaces, and evi- 

 dence thus obtained of a common origin. 



The great distinguishing features of this system, which, with 

 minor modifications appears to be universal on the American Con- 

 tinent, among the Indian tribes, are that descent follows the female 

 line, or passes through the mother, and that the collateral lines 

 are gradually re-absorbed in the lineal ; while in the Civil and 

 Canon law exactly the reverse is the case, descent being through 

 the father, and collateral lines by each remove from the common 

 ancestor becoming more distant from the lineal. 



The Schedule of questions which should have accompanied Mr. 

 Morgan's letter was unfortunately not received, but the Pamphlet 

 will be transferred to the Sub-Committee on Papers, that copious 

 Extracts may be published in the Journal, which may it is hoped 

 draw attention to the subject. 



* Published in our last No. — Ed. M. L. J. 



