40 
us is what is the origin of that particular part of the dark race represented 
by the Negro, and I must confess that as I followed Mr. Titcomb’s arguments 
he has brought me to the same conclusion as himself. He seems to have cu 
away, right and left, all other arguments, and to have left us. only this one 
conclusion, I do not say that I am prepared to hold by it, but it seems 
to me at the present time, and without being able to think it over carefu y, 
to be the one that a careful thinker would arrive at. Mr. Titcomb bas bad 
an opportunity of studying the question in a way which very few of us have 
had, and I should like to give my tribute of admiration to him for the pi e- 
pa, ration of the paper, and the courage he has had in bringing t e su jec 
forward. With regard to the relative thickness of the Negro and Hindoo 
skulls, I can confirm the observation of the Chairman that the Hindoo skulls 
are usually very thin indeed. _ . ,. 
The Chairman. — I must explain that we sometimes have adjourned .is- 
cussions, but I do not think it is very desirable to have them as a rule. 
After a paper has been read and an interval has elapsed, people forget 
the subject, and, besides, we generally consider the paper of more consequence 
than the discussion. We also print the papers beforehand, and send copies 
of them to any one who is likely to speak. Had I known Mr. Croft would 
have been here to-night, I would have sent a copy to him. 
Mr. Mayhew.— May I be allowed a word of explanation ? I was not ais- 
posed to repudiate the force of the Divine malediction on Canaan. I think 
I do not misquote you, sir, when I say that you looked upon the curse as the 
mere words of Noah. Noah, I think you said, foresaw the debased sta^e 
of his son ? , , 
The Chairman.— We can scarcely prolong the discussion now. But what 
I said was that I did not think we had grounds for considering it a Divine 
malediction. I only used the words of Scripture, that Noah said so-and-so, 
and pointed out that God blessed Noah and his sons, but I did not venture 
to say absolutely that he merely foresaw the debased state of has son, thoug 
I think that very probable. 
Mr. Mayhew— But was not the second member of the sentence a 
prophecy, and may we not take the first member in that sense also ? 
The Chairman. — Oh yes. That is what X said. But my meaning, 
I think, will be seen quite plainly when the report of this discussion appears 
in print. I must now call on Mr. Titcomb to reply. 
Mr. Titcomb.-I am sorry that the discussion on this subject has 
degenerated into a talk about the curse, which has nothing to do with 
the subject. The curse of Canaan was, in my judgment, confined to tie 
Canaanites, upon whom it fell, and whose history up to their extermination 
by the Israelites we have recorded. To suppose that the curse extends to all 
Canaan’s descendants to the end of time is to controvert facts. Who were 
those descendants ? Among them were the Copts and the ancient Egyptians, 
who were in no way a class of people with an adaptability to slavery-- 
The Chairman.- If they are the children of Canaan, and their biethren 
are s’aves to them, it would rather confirm my view and what Scripture says, 
