74 The American Geologist. August, looi 
When, in 1884, the liritish Association appointed a commit- 
tee to study the physical characters, lang-uaj^es and social con- 
ditions of the northwestern tribes of Canada, Dr. Dawson was 
made a member, and it devolved upon him to organize and 
administer the work of the committee. The work was car- 
ried on for years with much success and small money expendi- 
ture, and when, in 1896, an Ethnological Survey of Canada 
was instituted, Dawson was chosen as the head of the survey 
committee. 
Not the least of his services to his country were those in 
connection with the Behring sea arbitration. He was one of 
the commissioners and was sent by the British government to 
.the north Pacific ocean to inquire into the conditions of seal 
life there. Subsequently, his evidence and forcible arguments 
undoubtedly secured for the British side of the case a much 
more favourable finding than would otherwise have been ob- 
tained. Lord Alverstone (now Lord Chief Justice of Eng- 
land) writing of him in this connection, says: "It is not possi- 
ble to overrate the services which Dr. Dawson rendered us 
in the Behring sea arbitration. I consulted him throughout 
on many questions of difficulty and never fovmd his judgment 
tO' fail, and he was one of the most unselfish and charming char- 
acters that I ever met. I consider it a great pleasure to have 
known him." In recognition of his services on the arbitra- 
tion, Dr. Dawson was made a companion of the Order of St. 
Michael and St. George ( C. M. G.). 
He received the degree of D. Sc. from Princeton in 1877, 
and that of LL.D. from Queen's L^niversity in 1890, 
from McGill University in 1891, and from Toronto 
L^ni versify some years later. In 1891 he was, award- 
ed the Bigsby gold medal by the Geological Society for 
his services in the cause of geology, and was also elected a 
Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1893 '""^ was elected president 
of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1897 was president of 
the geological section of the British Association for the Ad- 
vancement of Science at the Toronto meeting. In 1897 he 
was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society. 
Last year he was president of the Geological Society of Amer- 
ica, and gave his retiring address at the Albany meeting in De- 
cember, choosing as his subject "The Geological Record of the 
