1899.] 
Introduction . 
in 
the co-operation of fellow-labourers in the field of Central Asian research, 
and such assistance as the British Government has always been prepared 
to extend to endeavours for the advancement of knowledge. 
Among the places above mentioned Kashghar and Leh, especially 
the former, are those which are most favour- 
Contributors to the ably situated for the object in view, the collec- 
collection. tion antiquities from Eastern Turkestan. It 
is from the Officers stationed at these two 
places that nearly all the objects which at present form the collection 
have been obtained. Captain Stuart H. Godfrey, who was the British 
Joint-Commissioner in Leh, in 1893, when the instructions of the 
Foreign Department were issued, informs me (in a letter, dated the 26th 
September, 1897), that he already before that date, on his own initia¬ 
tive, commenced endeavouring to obtain Central Asian manuscripts. 
His endeavours, though then unsuccessful, bore much fruit later on, after 
he had left Leh, as may be seen from the following list of consignments. 
Mr. George Macartney, who is stationed in Kashghar, as Special Assistant 
for Chinese Affairs to the Resident in Kashmir, being in the most 
favourable position, has also been the most successful in his contribu¬ 
tions to the collection. To both these officers great credit is due for the 
successful part they have taken in the formation of the collection. To 
Sir Adelbert C. Talbot, K.C.I.E., the British Resident in Kashmir, the 
collection is under special obligation for the hearty support given to it 
throughout, without which it would probably never have reached its 
present dimensions. 
List of 
contributions. 
The following is a list, in chronological 
order, of the contributions to the collection, 
received by me from time to time :— 
(1) From Mr. G. Macartney, a collection of small fragments of 
manuscripts, found near Kuchar. It was received by me 
early in April 1895 from the Foreign Office, with their 
D. O. letter, dated the 28th March, 1895, and reported on 
in the Proceedings, As. Soc. Beng., for May 1895, and 
in the Journal, As. Soc. Beng., Vol. LXVI, for 18 97, 
pp. 213-224. 
(2) From Captain S. H. Godfrey (G. 1), a collection of frag¬ 
ments of manuscripts, received by me towards the end of 
November 1895, and called the “ Godfrey Manuscripts.” 
They are said to have been found near Kuchar. A preli¬ 
minary report on them was submitted by me to the 
Government of India on the -|-^th March, 1897, and a fuller 
report (with facsimiles) was published by me in the Journal 
