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1918.] The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
On these grounds I am of opinion that the University of New Zealand 
should with all speed take steps, first, for the appointment of teachers in 
anthropology, and, second, for the establishment of travelling scholarships 
to be used for the prosecution of anthropological research in New Zealand 
and the other islands of the Pacific. 
(6.) R. R. Marett, M.A., D.Sc., Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford ; Reader of 
Social Anthropology in the University of Oxford. 
My only difficulty is to restrain myself on such a topic. The advantages , 
are so obvious, whereas the disadvantages amount to no more than a little 
expense and the effort involved in all pioneer work—the sort of effort 
that, I should think, appeals to New Zealand ! To speak shortly of the 
advantages of such a course, these may be classified as practical and 
scientific. Not to attempt to be exhaustive, there are at least three 
groups of practical activities which an education in anthropology can 
assist, namely— 
(1.) Administration.—New Zealand has had considerable experience in 
the handling of native affairs, and has stood the test well. After 
the war it is likely to have more. It is obvious that knowledge— 
knowledge of languages, of customs, and so on—must be the 
basis of successful government. 
(2.) Missionary work.—The missionaries of the Pacific region have a 
fine record. What we know of the anthropology of that part of 
the world is mostly due. to them. But the present generation, 
without knowledge, may easily fall behind. On the other hand, 
with the fuller opportunities now available they ought to improve 
on the old standards. 
(3.) Commerce.—In Germany the trade with the more backward peoples 
has been cleverly directed by scientific research, largely organized 
in connection with ethnological museums in which native arts 
and crafts are scientifically studied and illustrated. The British 
Empire has as yet hardly waked up to the possibilities of applied 
anthropology having such ends in view. 
So much for the practical advantages. The purely scientific side of 
such work, however, is no less important. I enclose copies of my presidential 
address to Section H of the British Association, which deals somewhat fully 
with this side of the subject, while it likewise makes suggestions as to the 
organization of a School of Anthropology, such as the one we have here in 
Oxford. Suffice it to say that New Zealand, by its geographical position, 
is a natural centre for research into the ethnology of the Pacific region. 
No doubt there are plenty of students ready to engage in such stimulating 
work—anthropology is an ocean in which every one can hope to catch 
big fish, if only they are trained to observe the right things in the right 
way. • 
The great increase in our numbers about the year 1913 was due to the 
encouragement given by the Colonial Office to the training of officers of the 
Public Service in anthropology. Of course, with the outbreak of the war 
such officers no longer came to Oxford, and our numbers dropped, though 
even during war-time the subject has remained alive as few others have 
done here. My object in reporting these facts is to show how quickly and 
steadily a modern subject such as anthropology can come to its own in a 
congenial atmosphere. 
