Thirty Years' Work of the Royal Geo-Graphical Society Author(s): J. Scott Keltie Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 49, No. 5 (May, 1917), pp. 350-372 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1779657 Accessed: 03-06-2016 09:09 UTC

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THIRTY YEARS' WORK OF THE ROYAL GEO- GRAPHICAL SOCIETY J. Scott Keltie, LL.D. Read at the Meeting of the Society, 5 February 1917. I HAVE been urged to put together some reminiscences of my official con- nection with the Society during the last thirty-three years in the form of a paper to be given at one of the evening meetings, before I finally retire from the Society's service. I have thought it might be of some interest to put what I have to say in the form of a brief review of the varied work of the Society during the years of my connection with it, referring to some of the outstanding episodes that have marked the Society's evolution towards its present position and Lowther Lodge. The year I880 seems a convenient starting-point from which to review the growth and work of the Society in recent years, as that was the date at which the late Sir Clements Markham concluded his history of the first fifty years of the Society's existence. I myself became a Fellow of the Society three years later, in I883, just thirty years after Sir Clements joined it. My official connection began in I884, and if I no longer occupy the dizzy position of the fly on the wheel, or, as some may regard it, the Secretarial throne, I am still on the staff, though transferred to what I may call "the Upper House." It may be useful to take stock of the position of the Society in the year of its jubilee, when it may be said to have entered upon a new career which has been marked by not a few interesting episodes. Who were the men who had the destinies of the Society in their hands at its start in I830 and again some thirty-seven years ago? It may be of some interest to compare the composition of the first Council of the Society with that of the governing body which was in office fifty years later, and to inquire to what extent, if any, its character had changed. While it was stated in the original resolution advocating the formation of the Society that " its sole object should be the promotion and diffusion of that most important and entertaining branch of knowledge-geography," still from the first the social element was a prominent feature in its constitution. This is not surprising when we remember that the Society originated in the Raleigh Club, which as the Geographical Club still flourishes and enter- tains the travellers and others who bring us their papers. The first list of the Society numbered 460 and was composed almost entirely of men of high social standing. While it may thus be regarded as having been to some extent a Society Institution to which everybody who was anybody was expected to belong, still the services, science, travel, literature, scholar- ship, and other callings were well represented. The first Council of the Society was thoroughly representative of the membership. The first President was Viscount Goderich, Secretary of

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State for the Colonies, and most of the councillors had travelled in one capacity or another; as a whole the Council was well qualified to direct the work of the Society, which was mainly the promotion of exploration and the publication of its records. It was at a later date that the first bye-law affirmed that the Society was founded for "the Advancement of Geographical Science." The first list of Council included two Secretaries, one the Rev. G. Renouard, Hon. and Foreign Secretary, the other Captain Maconochie, R.N., a paid Secretary, but included in the Council list. It was not until I847 that two Honorary Secretaries (besides the Foreign Secretary) were instituted. In I849 the designation of the paid Secretary was changed to Assistant Secretary, and so remained till I896, when the designation of Secretary was restored; but the actual duties of the permanent Secretary have remained the same throughout, while the functions of the Honorary Secretaries have varied with their idiosyncrasies. A Librarian was appointed in 1832, but it was not till 1874 that an assistant was added. The Librarian, it is to be presumed, had also charge of the maps, as it was not till twenty- two years later, in I854, that a Map Curator was appointed, and three years later an assistant. Presumably up to 1873 the maps published by the Society were produced by outside map-makers, as it was only in that year that a map-draughtsman was appointed, and until I883 one draughtsman was apparently sufficient for the Society's work. So far as the general character of the Council is concerned there had been practically no change in i880. Charles Darwin was a member for one year, I840, and I believe audited the Society's accounts, Huxley for one year in I870, and Dr. Whewell for two years in I853-4. Sir Roderick Murchison had been on the Council almost continuously from I833 to his death in I87I, holding the Presidency altogether for sixteen years. Charles Enderby, a worthy representative of the old merchant adventurer, was on the Council in the early years of'the Society and did much to promote Antarctic exploration. On the Council list of I880, we find the names of several men who might be regarded as geo- graphical specialists-Clements Markham, Henry Rawlinson, Richard Major, Douglas Freshfield, Richard Strachey, Francis Galton. But their energies were directed rather to the history of geographical dis- covery and to the exploration of particular regions than to geography as a department of scientific research. In the period covered by the first half-century of the Society's career there was such a vast area of the Earth unexplored that the Society naturally and rightly devoted its resources, mental and material, in the first place to the filling up of the great blanks without a knowledge of which the geographical student was seriously lacking in the data required for the solution of the problems with which he had to deal. From this point of view the men who were responsible for the conduct of our affairs were well qualified by training and personal experience to carry out the objects of

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the Society, as may be seen by any one who cares to consult the fifty volumes of the old Journal, and the twenty volumes of the old Proceedings. Indeed, they must have been often embarrassed by the abundance of the materials placed at the Society's disposal. In vol. o0 of the old Journal (1840) fifteen papers are published, and a list of thirty-three papers are given which had been received and read, but not yet published. When I became officially connected with the Society in I884 the Council was pretty much of the same character as it had been from the beginning. The late Lord Aberdare was President, singularly handsome, dignified, and genial, an admirable chairman both in the Council Room and in the Meeting Hall. His favourite attitude when speaking was to stick his hands in the tail pockets of his coat. Of all the Council of that date there is only one survivor, our present President, Mr. Douglas Freshfield, who was then one of the Honorary Secretaries along with the late Sir Clements Markham, and to whose influence I am mainly indebted for having become an official of the Society. That Council, let it be noted, contained one distinguished professional geographer, the late Mr. E. G. Ravenstein, who, though by birth a German, was a very lovable one. At one time it was proposed to make him the chief cartographer of the Society, but he would only accept it on condition that he was allowed to smoke on the premises. So shocking a proposal could not possibly be accepted by the Council of that day, and thus the Society was deprived of Ravenstein's valuable services - Tempora mzuantur / On that Council there were several names of distinction besides the two Secretaries; names such as Francis Galton, Henry Rawlinson, Richard Strachey, Lord Houghton, John Lubbock, Rutherford Alcock, Blanford the Indian Geologist, Bunbury whose 'History of Ancient Geography' is a classic, Frederic Goldsmid, Colonel Grant, Speke's old companion, Leopold McClintock, William Mackinnon, founder of British East Africa, R. H. Major, Rawson W. Rawson, Beauchamp Walker, Charles Warren, Allen Young, and Henry Yule, the editor of 'Marco Polo.' They all took an active part in the business of the Council, were keen for the Society's interests, generous and considerate in their treatment of the staff. Still they were never reticent in the expression of their views on any matter coming before the Council, and certain of them were capable of biting criticism. I fancy recent Councils have not been quite so argumentative. But in certain respects at least, probably the most distinguished name on the list of the Council and officers of that date was that of my dear friend and predecessor, H. W. Bates (Dear Old Bates, as we all called him), who had been Assistant-Secretary of the Society for twenty years when I was appointed to the staff. He was a remarkable man in many ways. He had the largest head of any man I knew, and that was covered with so thick a thatch of wiry hair that he had to get his hats, 81 inches, specially made for him. He was the most modest of men, almost shy. He was naturally reticent, and it was only under

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 353 extreme pressure that he could be moved to open his mouth at the Council. When he did yield it took him quite a minute, with his head at a backward angle, to make up his mind what to say; then with hesitation he briefly stated his view, which was always clear and definite and rigidly to the point. He was loved by every one who came into contact with him, and had the happiest knack of drawing out the best that was in any self-distrustful traveller who doubted whether he had a story worth telling. Bates never spared himself trouble in putting a badly written story of exploration into readable shape. The many years he spent in the Amazonian forests told badly on a digestion never robust. This must have been a great trial to him, for he enjoyed good cheer. He was never in better form than over a glass of good wine with a colossal cigar in his mouth; his reticence vanished, and with a few genial companions his always modest and thoughtful talk not only about science but about literature-and he was a widely read man-art and philosophy and other subjects of moment, was a delight and an inspiration. He had a great admiration for style, and in later years always had a volume of Gibbon at his bedside. I had known him for some years before that, and I well remember that from the very first, when we talked about geography, he insisted that if we were to develop it and raise it from its low estate, man in his relations to his habitat must be made the centre, the culminating factor of the whole subject. No one gave me more helpful advice than he when, as the Society's Inspector of Geographical Education, I, in I884-5, undertook my mission to inquire into the position of geography in the schools and universities of the Continent. We were colleagues in the Society for eight years, during seven of which I was Librarian, until I892, when Bates's death dimmed the sunshine of not a few lives. He had held the office of Assistant-Secretary for twenty-eight years, a longer tenure by far than that of any of his predecessors. Work was not so strenuous in the Society in those days as it has become since. The whole staff, principals and assistants did not exceed nine. The hours were from 10.30 to 5; there were nice long holidays, and there were other amenities which have lapsed years ago. Within a few days after Bates's death the Council did me the honour of appointing me his successor, and four years later the designation of the post was restored to what it was originally, that of Secretary. The President at the time was Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, who had much of the old-fashioned dignity that characterized the Presidents of the past, which he may have in part acquired when he was Lieutenant- Governor of Madras. Often at Council he would seem to dream that he was still in the gubernatorial chair of the Council of his old Indian Province. He had been elected President in I889, and retired in I893, amid the storm, which he failed to rule, raised by the first admission of women as Fellows of the Society; of that more anon and of the foundation of the Geographical Journal which took place in his reign. 2 A

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There was still a considerable number of the old guard alive and on the Council, such stalwarts as Sir Henry Rawlinson, Sir Rutherford Alcock, Sir Richard Strachey, Sir Clements Markham, Lord Aberdare, Sir John Lubbock, Sir Francis Galton, Sir William Mackinnon, Sir John Kirk, Sir Rawson Rawson, Mr. Douglas Freshfield. But there was a fair sprinkling of the newer leaven, such as the Hon. George Curzon, Sir George Goldie, Major Leonard Darwin, Sir Cecil Dalton, E. G. Ravenstein, P. L. Sclater, Admiral Wharton, General J. T. Walker, Sir Charles Wilson. The Honorary Secretaries were Mr. Freshfield and Mr. Henry Seebohm, the famous ornithologist, while Mr. Edward Cocks had succeeded his uncle as Treasurer. The only ones alive now are Sir John Kirk, Mr. Cocks, Sir Cecil Dalton, Mr. Freshfield, Lord Curzon, Major Darwin, Sir George Goldie. The last four are still on the Council, and have all been presidents. I have referred to Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff as President when I took up the duties of Assistant Secretary in 1892. He remained President for another fifteen months, when the late Sir Clements Markham entered upon his long reign. Grant Duff had been President for four years. With rare exceptions the custom from the beginning had been for the President to retire after filling the post for two years. Sir Roderick Murchison, it is true, had served as President for sixteen years in all; but he had filled the chair on several occasions separated by longish intervals; his longest con- tinuous Presidency was from 1862 to his death in I87--nine years. Lord Aberdare was President for four years in one case and two years later, Sir Clements Markham ruled the Society for twelve years, in some respects one of the most eventful periods in the Society's history. I have.written so fully about Sir Clements' career in connection with his recent death that it is unnecessary to repeat what has been already said. He had served for twenty-five years as Honorary Secretary, retiring in I888; five years later he entered on his Presidency, so that his official connection with the Society extended over thirty-seven years, not to mention the other years during which he served on the Council. During his Presidency British explorers were at work on all the continents, and many whose names stand high in the history of exploration it was his duty to welcome on their return. He did much to promote the more scientific and educational sides of the Society's work and to develop its functions in other directions. He was never more in his element than in the company of young fellows; he became one of themselves. His influence on young explorers was extraordinary -almost an inspiration. But undoubtedly the one great feature that marked his Presidency was the revival of Antarctic exploration. He had been at work in this direction even before he became President, and it was mainly due to his unconquerable determination that funds were raised adequate to equip the great expedition in the Discovery under the late Captain Scott, the real initiator of recent Antarctic exploration, leading to the discovery of the South Pole by Captain

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Amundsen, and the rich results obtained by Scott himself, by Drygalski, Shackleton, Amundsen, Charcot, Mawson, and others. Characteristically Sir Clements continued his Presidency until the success of Scott's expedi- tion and the publication of the results were well assured, and he lived to see the tragic success of the second expedition. One of the great episodes during Sir Clements' presidency was the meeting of the Inter- national Geographical Congress in London in 1895, over which he presided. It was one of the most notable and most successful meetings of the Congress, and nearly killed those who for three years were concerned in its organization. Personally Sir Clements was a man of strongly marked character, and his views of men and things absolutely definite in one direction or the other-and yet his apparent intolerance could often be overcome. Those whom he approved he was prepared to defend and support to the utmost limit. He was essentially tender- hearted, and I know that in many cases he has rendered substantial assistance to people in distress who had no claim on him. He was always ready to give credit for help rendered himr and to show his appreciation of any service by members of the Staff. In his time there were few explorers who had not dined at his hospitable board. During my long association with him we were always on the best of terms. It was through him I was admitted a member of the Geographical Club, the first instance of a permanent Secretary being so honoured; and I have been Honorary Treasurer of this club for something like twenty-three years. Altogether Sir Clements was the most striking figure, not only in the Society, but in British Geography, since the days of Murchison. Sir Clements retired in 1905 and was succeeded by Sir George Goldie. With regard to him and his three successors, all still alive and on the Council, I must be discreet and therefore brief, lest I lay myself open to the charge of flattery. I had known Sir George Goldie even before he became a member of the Council and was indebted to him for many favours. He had special qualifications for the Presidency. He was practically interested in geography, especially in that of Africa. He initiated and carried to a successful issue the Royal Niger Company, whose territories were ultimately made over to the Government, and are now the flourishing Protectorate and Colony of Nigeria, covering an area of 336,000 square miles with a population of seventeen millions and a trade of something like fourteen millions sterling. Obviously a man who could carry out an enterprise of such a scale must have had high business and financial qualifications. Much to the benefit of the Society he brought these qualifi- cations to bear on the conduct of its affairs. He was a drastic economist and placed the finances of the Society on a sounder footing than they had ever been before. There was one outstanding event during Sir George Goldie's reign: for the first time probably in the history of the Society a British Sovereign attended and spoke at one of our meetings. King Edward, when Prince of Wales, frequently attended the Society's meetings,

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but was present at only one after he ascended the throne-that held in the Queen's Hall to receive the Duke of the Abruzzi on his return from his exploration in the Himalayas, when the King proposed a vote of thanks to the Duke in a concise and appropriate speech. Major Leonard Darwin, who succeeded Sir George Goldie in 1908, had served as Honorary Secretary for fifteen years before that, so that I was associated with him for eighteen years altogether in carrying on the Society's work, an association which was never anything but a pleasure to me. Major Darwin's great common sense, caution, and geniality rendered his Presidency a great success. As President he was brought into close contact with two distinguished Americans. When Mr. Roosevelt returned from his African expedition in 191o, he declined to lecture to the Society, but accepted an invitation to lunch from the Geographical Club, with Major Darwin in the chair, when the ex-President of the United States, no reporter being present, responded to the toast of his health in a speech full of amusing indiscretions. As President, Major Darwin occupied the chair at the great reception given by the Society to Peary in 910o, on his return from the North Pole. He had previously, I fancy, passed some anxious moments in the crisis when Cook first appeared in Denmark, but his calm judgment saved him from any premature committal. It was mainly, I believe, through the influence of Major Darwin that Lord Curzon consented to be nominated as his successor. It was felt by the Council that there could be no further delay in making a serious endeavour to obtain for the Society a new home, adequate to its needs, and that if Lord Curzon would take the matter in hand as President success was practically certain. I shall refer later to the long-continued but vain aspirations of the Council to obtain new premises. I need only remind you now of the magnificent results of Lord Curzon's untiring efforts; Si monumentnm refuiris, circumspice-Lowther Lodge. Of our present accomplished President I dare not speak my mind in his presence; if I may reverse a proverb, The present must always suffer. I have always found the Members of Council most friendly and con- siderate, never disposed to interfere officiously with the working of the office, and as a body, with one or two conservative exceptions, ready to consider without prejudice any proposal for a new departure. As time goes on, while the old type of Councillor-the retired administrator, diplomat, general, admiral, peer, etc.-remains con- spicuous, and happily so, there is a much larger proportion of specialists in various departments of geography and in closely related sciences. This was a natural result of the action taken by the Council in 1884, leading to the elevation and expansion of the subject and its recognition by our Universities. A glance at the list of Council in 1884 compared with that of 1916-17 will show the change that has taken place in its composition during these years. In the former year there was practically no career for geographical specialists as such, while in 1917

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 357 there are quite a number of positions for which what we may call pro- fessional geographers are in demand. It is only right, therefore, that this altered state of things should be reflected in the composition of the Council of our great Geographical Society. At the same time, as I have said, it would be a serious mistake if what I may call the primary aspects of the subject-exploration, local investigation, and cartography in the widest sense-did not continue to be adequately represented. As to the staff of the Society in I88o, there are still three survivors, Mr. Reginald Suggate, who joined in I859 (now a pensioner), Mr. Evis, who joined in I866 as clerk and has been chief clerk since I883, and Mr. Reeves, who became Mr. Coles's assistant in I878 and succeeded him as Map Curator and Instructor in 900. I have already stated that before we left Savile Row the work of the Society had increased to such an extent since 1884 that the staff had doubled. As might have been ex- pected on removal to Lowther Lodge there has been still another increase. Altogether the permanent staff now numbers twenty-five in addition to daily outside help, as compared with ten in i880. In other directions the Society has grown apace. The membership in i880 numbered 3370, and Sir Clements Markham thought that we need not expect any further serious increase. It is now over 5000, and that though both entrance fee and subscription have been increased. The income of the Society in 1880 was '8600; in 1916 it was over 1I3,000. The Library thirty-six years ago comprised 20,000 books and pamphlets; this has grown in 1916 to about 68,ooo. A new Catalogue was published in I895, but the increase has been so rapid and great that a supplementary volume has been in preparation for some time, and but for the war would have been published in 1915. Here it may be appropriate to say that the Society was particularly fortunate in securing as my successor to the Librarianship Dr. Hugh Robert Mill. Dr. Mill had had a sound and comprehensive scientific training, and possessed a literary faculty rare in scientific men. When a youth he was an invalid for years, and had ample opportunity to nourish his mind' on the best literature. His services as Librarian were invaluable. To him is due the Authors' Catalogue published in I902 already referred to. He it was also who began and carried on for years the Subject Catalogue, continued by Mr. Heawood, and invaluable to the student. It is still in the card catalogue stage; if printed it would probably fill a volume as large as the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' It must be unique among subject catalogues in geography. His services on the Journal were of high im- portance, especially with respect to the Reviews, Monthly Record, and the Literature of the Month, which keeps us abreast of the. best geogra- phical publications, both books and the contents of periodicals. His duties as Librarian he discharged with admirable efficiency, ever ready to give his counsel to inquirers, even the most troublesome. His retirement in 1900, after a service of nearly nine years, was a serious loss to the Society.

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Fortunately we had a man quite worthy to become his successor, Mr Heawood. Mr. Heawood had been working for the Society for some years under Dr. Mill, and no one could have been found better fitted to take his place. His whole heart is in his work, and he fully maintains the standard set up by his predecessor. The increase in the Society's map collection has been proportionately great. In I880 it consisted of 35,000 sheets; it is now 140,000, beside atlases, relief maps, and models. It was only in 1884 that a beginning was made, at the instance of Mr. Freshfield, in forming a collection of photographs, and three years later of slides; now the catalogues of photo- graphs and slides amount to upwards of 40,000. There was a strong prejudice among the Council against the use of slides at the Society's meetings as being beneath the dignity of science. In fact, it was only by strategy on the part of our present President that the use of slides was introduced, and I need hardly say they soon became indispensable. The substitution of slide maps for the somewhat crude wall maps hurriedly drafted for the meetings is admitted to be a great improvement. On the efficiency of Mr. Reeves, who has served the Society for something like forty years, first as assistant in the map-room and since 900o as Map Curator and Instructor, I need not insist. I must recall stalwart John Coles who had charge of the map-room for twenty-three years from I877, and who was devoted to its interests. As a young naval officer he had hunted slave-raiders on the West African Coast, and encountered many adventures in Western Canada. From his platform in the map-room at Savile Row he gave his orders with a resonant quarter-deck voice that vibrated through the house. With the restricted space in Savile Row there was no accommodation for anything like a museum; a few photographs, instruments, and relics were scattered about the map-room, but many objects of interest had to be relegated to the cellar and many offers refused. The greatly increased accommodation in Lowther Lodge affords space for a museum which in a short time has grown to considerable dimensions, and contains relics and other objects of various interest. The same may be said of the Society's collection of portraits and pictures, both paintings and photo- graphs, for which there is now ample wall space. It would have shocked some of the conservative members of past Councils if any one had pro- posed to include in the Society's house a smoking-room, or a tea-room, or a lawn where the lady Fellows may stroll on sunny afternoons. This brings me to the fact that during the period with which we are dealing there have been two episodes of great moment in connection with the internal economy of the Society--the Society's House, and the admis- sion of women as Fellows. In order of date the former comes first, though in the end the two were intimately related to each other. I believe it is quite thirty years ago since the Council began to feel the need of much larger accommodation than that provided in Savile Row, and yet

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the Society had only been settled there for some fifteen years. I remember very well going about with the President of the time, with Mr. Bates, various members of Council, including Mr. Curzon as he then was, to view likely premises-the house which is now the Bath Club in Albe- marle Street, Willis's Rooms, and other places which might have been made fairly suitable and could have been purchased for about ,?25,000. We also tried at one time to get the house next door in Savile Row, so as to construct one large new building on the double site; but the trustees of the property would only give a lease. Thus inquiries went on for some years, the Council torn by different considerations and points of view, and always hesitating to come to a decision. At last it was settled to make certain alterations in No. i, Savile Row, so as to give the Fellows better accommodation and provide more space for the Library and other collec- tions. We ventured on new carpets for the Council Room (converted into a Fellows' reading-room) and the Central Library. This we should not have dared to do in the time of the present Treasurer's predecessor, who insisted on buying all carpets, rugs, etc., himself, as he was an expert at getting them second-hand. We ventured on two or three easy-chairs and other amenities, which were procured at wholesale prices in the city. These petty expedients did not meet the real need. During Sir George Goldie's Presidency, I905-8, the matter of a new House came up again, and various sites were suggested. Among others, the President obtained the offer of the freehold of the block of eight houses known as Cromwell Gardens, opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum for something like ?35,0oo. The idea was to demolish the houses and build a handsome and commodious home for the Society, leaving room for a smaller house for the Society of Arts, which might have been persuaded to join us and pay a proportion of the cost, as also for a hall and a modest club for the members. Unfortunately, as some think, the scheme fell through, as a section of the Council considered it would ruin the Society to remove to the wilds of South Kensington. Years before an attempt had been made to induce the Society to house itself in the Imperial Institute, but happily, in spite of the potent influence brought to bear, this suicidal step was not taken. The search for a new home continued, and although several more or less eligible sites were considered, none offered such superlative advantages as to induce the Council to take the final step. It was, as you know, only under the Presidency of Lord Curzon, who made up his mind to secure new premises for the Society, that we have been triumphantly moved to the magnificent home at Kensington Gore. Tubes, motors, taxis, and other conveniences have made South Kensington much more accessible than it was before. It would not be fair to take as a measure of the Society's progress since I870 the difference between ?I4,500, the price paid for i, Savile Row, and ,ioo,ooo, the price of Lowther Lodge. For, on the one hand, a considerable portion of the price paid was raised by a subscription, the success of which was due

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 36o THIRTY YEARS' WORK OF chiefly to the influence and enormous energy of Lord Curzon. On the other, the land which the Society acquired with the house is of the nature of an investment, which in ordinary times should be easily realizable. I need not insist on the great improvements that have been possible with the greatly increased accommodation, and when a new hall is built, as it must be and would have been but for the war, still greater improvements will be practicable. Long before women were admitted to the Fellowship of the Society there had been many applications for the privilege. The Society's Medal had been awarded to Lady Franklin and Mrs. Somerville. It was not tll the session of 189I-2 that the application of Mrs- Bishop, the well-known traveller, led the Council to take the matter into serious consideration and to adopt a resolution to admit ladies. Twenty-one ladies were conse- quently elected Fellows. In the following autumn strenuous opposition to the action of the Council arose in the body of the Society, and was supported by several Members of Council who had been absent when the decision was come to, and who maintained that the Charter of the Society excluded women. Hot words were bandied on both sides at our meetings, and the controversy passed into the Press, and even found a place in Punch. The Council, divided against itself, finally adopted as a body a neutral attitude, and after an informal ballot of the Fellows taken by voting papers had given the ladies a two-thirds majority, it was in the end carried by a small majority of those present at a General Meeting that the twenty-one already elected ladies might remain, but that no more were to be elected. This decision led to the resignation of the President, Sir M. Grant Duff, and one of the Honorary Secretaries. Into the merits of the controversy we need not enter. For twenty-one years the twenty-one ladies received no addition to their number, and of these twenty-one only fifteen now remain. In I9I3, with a new and much larger house in prospect for the Society, with much greater accommodation for the growing number of Fellows, the arguments against the admission of ladies were obviously weakened. It may be also that with the certainty of a very large initial and an increased annual expenditure, the admission of a proportion of lady Fellows was considered a legitimate method of adding to the Society's income. At any rate the question was taken in hand by the President, Lord Curzon, with his usual force, and was carried at a special meeting of the Fellows, with very few dissentients. Thus in the next three years the mass of some 5000 male Fellows has been leavened by about 200 ladies, without any of the ill consequences apprehended in some quarters. In nearly every case the ladies elected have made a special study of geography, or have travelled extensively, or in some other way shown direct interest in the subject. Judging from the number of ladies who visit the Society's new house, they fully appreciate its various ameni- ties, including the afternoon Scientific Meetings, and they in no way inter- fere with the convenience of Fellows of the other sex.

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These are some of the directions in which the Society has expanded and developed during the last thirty odd years. But after all they are only the means to an end-the accomplishment of the great object for which the Society was founded according to the first bye-law, "the promotion of geographical science." This object is accomplished largely by the encouragement of exploring expeditions and publication of the results, and by scientific research in the wide field of geography, for which such results to a large extent furnish the data. So far as exploration goes, the publications of the Society from the beginning form a store- house of information probably unparalleled. And there is very little of the " globe-trotterdom " of which the Germans used to accuse us in these narra- tives of exploration, even in the fifty volumes of the Society's old Journalz which cover a period when there still remained so much of the world to be explored. They are the serious results of the observations of competent men, often imbued with a distinctly scientific spirit, and I do not think the character of such work has been lowered in the Proceedings and the Journal, which have been the organs of the Society since I880. I am afraid it is a common belief that the study of the scientific aspect of geography is a modern innovation. An examination of the earlier volumes of the old Journal will show that this is a misconception. In documents connected with the founding of the Society, in early Presi- dential addresses, and in not a few papers published in the Journal, it will be seen that even at that early period it was recognized that geography was entitled to be treated as a science, and that man is the centre of the whole subject. In 1832 several subjects for prizes were proposed; among others, "an essay on the actual state of Geography in its various departments, distinguishing the known from the unknown, and showing what has been and what remains to be done, in order to render it an exact science." If essays were sent in, I cannot trace that any were published. About the same date as the foundation of the Royal Geographical Society a geographical society was founded in Bombay, and in a communication to the Secretary of the London Society a long statement is made as to the Bombay Society's views and objects. The grand divisions of geography are stated to be mathematical, political, and physical. The political division is stated to be the geography of the human mind. Its further definition simply corresponds with what we now call the influence of geographical environ- ment on human communities. About the same date, 1832, the Premium for the year (the forerunner of the Royal Medals) was offered for "a Traveller's Manual," containing a clear and concise enumeration of the objects to which a geographer's attention should be especially directed; a statement of the readiest means by which the desired information in each branch may be obtained; a list of the best instruments, with instructions for their use and working out the results, etc.; a foreshadowing, indeed, of the ' Hints to Travellers' and the school for instruction in surveying and other subjects which came many years later. Turning over the volumes of

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 362 THIRTY YEARS' WORK OF the old ournal, one comes on not a few papers on subjects of interest in scientific geography, quite apart from the narratives of exploration which naturally form the staple contents of the volumes. In vol. 4, for example, there is a paper by Colonel Jackson, even now worth reading, on geo- graphical arrangement and nomenclature. What the writer aimed at was "the systematic arrangement of the objects of the science, the establish- ment of a precise and comprehensive nomenclature, and the further im- provement of maps." "No period," Colonel Jackson states, " was ever so favourable for such an undertaking as the present. Geography," he goes on, "long considered puerile, has at length received from philosophers the degree of attention it so justly merits." Colonel Jackson was perhaps rather premature in his views as to the serious recognition of geography as a field of scientific research; it is not so many years ago that such recog- nition was substantially accorded. But I only refer to these instances to show that in the very earliest days of the Society there were among its founders and others those who maintained that its object was not simply to encourage exploration, but to see that it was conducted on scientific methods, and that the results should be arranged and studied in their various bearings, and especially with reference to the human life of which they formed the environment. But it took many years for this aspect of the subject to develop. It was some years after Colonel Jackson wrote his paper that he published a little volume in I840, 'What to observe, or the Traveller's Remembrancer,' followed by Galton's 'Art of Travel' in I860, the forerunner of' Hints to Travellers,' first published in the old Journal in I854, and afterwards issued as a pamphlet. The original pamphlet has reached a ninth edition in two volumes. In I879 there was in- stituted under the late Mr. Coles a school for instructing surveyors which, under his successor Mr. Reeves, has undergone large develop- ments. But it was only in the eighties that geography as a department of scientific research came into its own, though the Council worked strenuously for many years to raise the standard of the subject, to improve its position in our public schools, and to obtain its recognition at the Universities. On more than one occasion memorials were presented by the Council to Oxford and Cambridge, but our two great Universities turned a deaf ear. In 1868 the Council offered gold and bronze medals for the results of examinations in geography to our great public schools. These were continued till i884, when it was recognized that they were not achieving the result hoped for-the introduction of an improved pro- gramme of geography as a regular part of the school curriculum. This attempt to influence the public schools was supplemented by the institu- tion of a series of well-paid lectures by men of the highest distinction in the wide field of geography. There was a Scientific Purposes Com- mittee, and the Council devoted .5Joo annually for the purpose. Three lectures were given annually for three years, but they were discontinued because, according to Sir Clements Markham, "they were found not

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suited to the large mixed audiences which assembled at the Society's meetings." I wonder how they would be received by the audiences of the present generation. The lectures were admirable, but probably more suited to study than to listen to at a meeting. It is a pity they were not published separately, and so made accessible to teachers and all interested in the progress of the subject. Sir Richard Strachey's introductory lecture on Scientific Geography might be regarded as the basis of the further evolution of the subject, while Sir Archibald Geikie's lecture on Geo- graphical Evolution is valuable as showing the relations between geology and geography. With a moderate amount of revision these lectures might even now be issued in a cheap form. I think all this shows, that while the Council rightly considered that the main function of the Society was to accumulate the fullest possible information about the great unexplored and little-known areas of the Earth's surface-probably covering more than half-they never lost sight of the fact that exploration ought to be conducted on scientific methods; that the results of a thorough knowledge of the surface and all that it sustains furnish the data for many problems, not only of scientific interest, but of great practical value to humanity; and that geography was of high value to education both as a branch of knowledge and as a mental disci- pline. After the unsatisfactory results achieved by the school medals and the scientific lectures the Council decided to reconsider the whole subject of the position of geography in the country, and especially in education. As a preliminary to this it was considered desirable to obtain a report on the position of the subject in continental countries and in America. I was fortunate enough to be appointed Inspector of Geographical Educa- tion in I884, and in that year and in 1885 I visited Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, obtaining information about other European countries and about the United States by corre- spondence. I need not say I had a very interesting time on the Con- tinent, and was well received everywhere, nowhere, I must say, more cordially than in Germany. I made a large collection of books, maps, atlases, pictures, and appliances of various kinds which were exhibited in London and elsewhere for some months. I also visited various schools in England and Scotland. Taking action on my Report, the Council suc- ceeded, with comparatively little trouble, in obtaining recognition for geography in the curricula of Oxford and Cambridge, where schools of geography were established which have achieved a gratifying measure of success. Fortunately there were a certain number of younger geographers whose assistance proved of the highest value in radically improving the position of the subject in the schools and universities of this country, men like Dr. Mill, Mr. Mackinder, Dr. H. N. Dickson, Mr. Chisholm, Mr. Herbertson, Mr. Oldham, Mr. Lyde, and others. In time other trained geographers were turned out, so that we were able to supply the demand which arose when chairs were established in the Universities of London,

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Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Aberystwith, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. This recognition of the subject in the Universities and its intro- duction into the Civil Service examinations had a marked influence on the public schools; while the introduction of greatly improved programmes by the Board of Education into the elementary and secondary schools entirely changed the position of geography in education in this country. The old dull text-books and featureless maps have almost disappeared, and others modelled on the reformed conception of the subject have taken their place. Other appliances, unknown here before, photographs, slides, models, simple instruments, have been introduced, and in many cases the pupils are taken into the field for practical work. A beginning has been made with a literature of the subject, which will compare favourably with the geographical literature of Germany, while very creditable attempts have been made by the students at the Universities and by geographical specialists to carry out research work in special departments. Nor must the Christmas lectures be overlooked, as they play their part in interest- ing the young in geography. Even the newspapers have been affected by the change-geographical articles are much more frequent than in the old days; and the lavish use of maps in connection with the great war goes beyond all precedent. The Geographical Association may be regarded as a notable outcome of the Society's efforts. It consists of teachers, and has grown from humble beginnings to over a thousand members and a quarterly journal. It has done much to diffuse among schools a greatly improved type of geographical teaching. Mr. Freshfield was its president for several years. I have referred to the Scientific Purposes Committee and the special lectures of eminent scientific men. As the result of the new movement we have had at intervals short courses of afternoon lectures by trained geographers on various subjects for students and teachers and others interested, which were well attended and much appreciated; no doubt in happier times these will be resumed. One other notable result has been the establishment, as part of the regular work of the Society each Session, of Afternoon Research Meetings. These were begun so long ago as I894, under the designation of Afternoon Technical Meetings, where subjects were brought forward for discussion that might be likely to be of interest only to specialists. These meetings were held at irregular intervals each Session, until in I904 it was considered desirable to regularize them by fixing dates for them as for the evening meetings. A large committee was formed under the designation of " The Research Committee," which may be regarded as the successor of the old Scientific Purposes Committee. It was sought to gather into this committee all the Fellows who were specialists in one or other department of the subject, with a special chair- man. A grant was made annually by the Council to promote research under the committee's guidance; meetings were arranged for once a month. These meetings have been continued regularly ever since, and

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 365 many problems in all departments of geography have been brought forward for discussion, the discussion being regarded as perhaps the most important part of the meeting. Some valuable researches have also been carried out under the auspices of the committee. These scientific meetings have become an important part of the regular work of the Society, and may be regarded as indicative of the gratifying evolution of the subject under the Society's guidance. But after all, during the period with which we are dealing, the principal function of the Society has been to carry on the work of previous years by promoting the exploration of the unknown or little-known areas of the globe and publishing the results. I maintain that the period from I860 till now is one of the greatest in the history of exploration. Indeed, we have to go back to the half-century which followed 1492 (when Columbus stumbled upon a New World) before we find a period so prolific. The two Poles have been reached and large additions made to our knowledge of the Polar regions. The unknown two-thirds at least of the Dark Continent have been more or less provisionally mapped, and all but a small fraction partitioned among the Powers of Europe. Great areas of North America have been surveyed and occupied; while much has been done for the exploration of Central and South America. The map of Asia has to a large extent been reconstructed; whilst the vast unknown interior of Australia has been traversed in all directions. Even much of Europe has been resurveyed. A new department of our science, Oceanography, has been developed as the result of the Challenger and other oceanic surveys. Now the thirty-seven years since I880 is well within this great age of dis- covery, and directly or indirectly the Society has been concerned in nearly all the great episodes that have marked the period. It has contributed thousands of pounds to the promotion of expeditions; it has trained men to carry on the work on scientific lines and lent instruments for this pur- pose; it has received nearly every one who has had a story to tell, and published his story in its Journal; it has honoured explorers and geo- graphers of every nationality, and the ambition to be so honoured has acted as a powerful incentive to accomplish something outstanding in discovery. I need hardly say that it has been a source of the highest pleasure to be brought into contact during these many years with the great army of explorers returning after having " done their bit" all over the globe in the cause of geographical knowledge. It is, I venture to think, a position to be coveted; to be at the centre of all these comings and goings over the face of the Earth and to hear red hot the story of the man who may have been where no white man has been since the making of the world, and to welcome him on behalf of the body whose appreciation and, recognition he values as a soldier does his D.S.O. And it is not only Britons who regard the Royal Geographical Society as their Mecca, but Americans and foreigners of many tongues, as may be seen from an examination of our

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cosmopolitan medal list. Among the men with whom I have thus been brought into contact I have made many friends and, I trust, no enemy. It is impossible for me to recall the names of all even among the most distinguished of these hundreds of explorers; the names of most of them are recorded in the list of recipients of medals and other awards in the Society's Year Book. Livingstone I never met, though I was present at his funeral, and there for the first time saw Stanley, who had already made his name and received the Society's medal for finding and relieving the greatest of African pioneer explorers. Later I saw a great deal of Stanley, and had much of his con- fidence. I first made his acquaintance when he had returned from the Congo after securing most of its great basin for the King of the Belgians. After that I met Stanley frequently. He loved to give little dinners to his friends, and, after dinner, take one guest after another round the table and say what he thought about him. It was a bit embarrassing, but some- what amusing. His last enterprise was the attempted rescue of Emin Pasha. On his return the Society received him at an Albert Hall meeting, and awarded him a special medal, the first occasion on which we held such a meeting and awarded such a medal. Stanley was a hard task-master to those who served under him in trying tropical conditions, and he spoke his mind without reserve. It was no doubt a bit galling at the time to men like Jephson and Stairs, and Parke and Nelson on the Emin Pasha Expedition, but they forgot it all when they arrived in England. They were devoted to him and would all have gone out with him again. In his later years, after his marriage, and perhaps due to the softening influences of his accomplished and devoted wife, his face mellowed, his eyes lost that defiant and suspicious expression, which seemed natural to them in his fighting years, and altogether he bore the aspect of a man satisfied with himself and his life's work. And well he might be, for few men played so big a part in the stirring events of the last half of the nineteenth century. In the library of the Society are two snlall terra-cotta busts, one of Stanley and one of Livingstone, both executed when the subjects were comparatively young. They may not be very striking likenesses, but the resemblance between the two is so remarkable that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the other. In each, the lower part of the face especially is almost identical, the same massive square jaw and firm mouth, indicative of unconquerable will, inexhaustible endurance, unflinching pur- pose. Between them they may be said to have filled up a very large part of the great blank which existed in Africa, from the Central Sudan to the tropic of Capricorn, sixty years ago when Livingstone began his work. There may be differences of opinion as to Stanley's methods-his faults lie gently on him-but there can be none as to the magnitude and import- ance of the work he accomplished in Africa, and the profound influence it has had on recent history. I was one of the pall-bearers at his funeral,

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He was buried near Woking, but his body was taken to Westminster Abbey for the service, and it was touching as we passed up the Abbey to stop as we did for a minute or two over the grave of Livingstone, by whose side Stanley ought to have been laid to rest. We cannot pass from Livingstone without recalling the name of Sir John Kirk, with whom he was so closely associated in his early journeys some fifty years ago, and who still survives, as keenly interested in Africa as ever. Speke, the discoverer of the Victoria Nyanza, who, with Colonel J. A. Grant, did so much for our knowledge of the Upper Nile Basin, I think I never met, but the genial Colonel Grant I saw much of. Burton I knew only during his last years. Although generally accom- panied by a doctor when he went about, he held himself as erect and bright as ever. He was then working on his translation of 'The Arabian Nights,' and would bring the proofs with him to show me with great satisfaction how successful he had been in translating into idiomatic English some of the Arabic words, especially in the case where synonyms were used. He was a great friend of Paul du Chaillu, the "Gorilla Hunter" as he was called. Paul had had his day long before, away back in the sixties and seventies, and used to counsel young explorers like Joseph Thomson to make the most of their popularity in Society, as the day would come when Society would have no use for them. He was a little man, not much over 5 feet. At a meeting of the Anthropological Institute, where the gorilla was hotly discussed, a very tall man attacked Du Chaillu's veracity somewhat ruthlessly, much to Paul's indignation. Burton, who was present, urged Paul, at the end of the meeting, when people were on the move, to get up on a convenient chair and inflict personal chastisement on his opponent. In his later years when in some- what straitened circumstances the dignified and friendly patronage of Judge Daly, President of the American Geographical Society, enabled him to live in tolerable comfort. He died in Russia when trying to collect materials for a book on the lines of his well-known " Land of the Midnight Sun." But these explorers may be said to belong to a past generation. One of the first of the younger generation whose friendship I made even before I became connected with the Society, was Joseph Thomson, after he returned from the expedition to East Central Africa, to which he was appointed as assistant to Keith Johnston. The leader died just after entering the Continent, and although Thomson was little more than a boy at the time, he unhesitatingly took command of the expedition and led it right into the heart of Africa and back with complete success, managing his men with wonderful tact and shrewdness. Other expeditions he carried out in East and South and West and North Africa. With admirable decision and rapidity he succeeded in forestalling both French and Germans on the Niger, and no doubt Sir. George Goldie will admit that he owes much to Thomson's co-operation. His rule on meeting native chiefs of doubtful

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friendliness was to get them to laugh; in this he had extraordinary success, and friendship invariably followed. He remained the same simple Scotch boy to the end. It was amusing to see this man who had evaded so many dangers in so many parts of Africa trying to cross a London street. He would stand on the edge of the pavement looking up and down, anxious to snatch a favourable moment to dart to the nearest refuge, with more apprehension than if the many vehicles had been the wild denizens of the African forests. What would he have suffered had he lived now! It must be quite thirty years since I made the acquaintance of Fred Selous, and remained his friend till his sad but noble death, fighting in Africa which he knew and loved so well, in defence of the Empire. He went to Africa in I871, at the age of nineteen, to make his living as an elephant-hunter, and succeeded. But he did much more. Soon he combined sport with exploration, and for our first knowledge of a great part of Central South Africa we are indebted to him. No one, probably, -knew Matabeleland better than he, and naturally he was the right man to lead the pioneer expedition to what is now Rhodesia. He was a keen naturalist, and in search of big game and birds' eggs (of which he formed a unique collection) he visited many lands. He was one of the most strenuous, courageous, honest, modest, single-minded, almost boyish men I ever knew; he never smoked and his only beverage was tea, which he would ask for even at sumptuous banquets. He never used glasses. He was sixty-three when he joined the British Forces in East Africa with the constitution of forty; he was sixty-six when as Captain Selous, D.s.o., he laid down his life fighting for the might of right. But one of the first explorers who has achieved world-wide distinction, whose acquaintance and lasting friendship I made after I entered the service of the Society, was undoubtedly Fridtjof Nansen. He had already been to the East Greenland Sea; but it must have been about I890, twenty-six years ago, that he first called at the Society after he had returned from his great expedition across Greenland, which brought him into prominent notice. Nansen was then (and he has not changed much since) a young man of over 6 feet, with a perfectly proportioned figure, erect with easy gait and unconscious bearing. It was interesting to walk along Regent Street or Piccadilly with him in his tight-fitting Jaeger costume and pork-pie hat and watch how many heads he turned, not of one sex only. One of the most thrilling moments at any meeting of the Society was when Nansen laid the plans of the Fram expedition to the North Pole before it, and answered the entreaties of the veterans to change his plan by "I am going all the same." When he arrived in Norway from his North Polar Expedition Sir Clements Markham (then President) and I (as Secretary) went to Christiania to represent the Society at his reception. We went down to Larvig, 50 miles below Christiania, the home of Colin Archer the builder of the Fram, where Nansen had landed, and where

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 369 we found him in a characteristic Scotch atmosphere, and there we welcomed him with the national accompaniments. Next day we sailed up the fjord to Christiania, amid a scene never to be forgotten. All the way up we passed through a double procession of vessels of all kinds, with continuous cheers and firing of guns, the vessels turning after pass- ing the Fram and ranging up behind. We landed in a boat at the pier where the crowd was impenetrably dense. There were festivities of all kinds lasting almost a week. The Norwegian Geographical Society gave a dinner to the delegates from all parts of Europe, about forty alto- gether. The dinner began at half-past four, and Sir Clements and I left at one in the morning. I don't know when they broke up. King Oscar gave a dinner at the palace, and Nansen came away with the decoration of the highest grade of the Order of St. Olaf on his breast. After the sepa- ration of Norway from Sweden Nansen was sent here (I906-8) as the first minister of Norway to the Court of St. James'. No better choice could have been made, as he had long been a persona grata to the British Court and Society. He bore himself in a manner in every respect worthy of the dignified position which he held. But he never lost sight of his old friends, to whom his manner was always as frank and simple as in the early days of the crossing of Greenland. Notwithstanding all that has been done since, Nansen's push towards the North Pole of three degrees beyond the furthest then reached, in about a fortnight over floating ice, with no ship to fall back upon, still remains one of the greatest feats of exploration. Of the other heroes of Arctic exploration with whom I have had friendly intercourse I can only mention the names of Baron A. E. Norden- skjold, Captain Sverdrup, Sir Albert Markham, General Greely, the Duke of the Abruzzi, and last of all Admiral Peary, whose success in reaching the coveted goal was fully recognized by the Society. There is a crowd of names connected with the outburst of Antarctic enterprise during the last twenty years. But we must not forget the part played by the late Sir John Murray, who was inspired by his visit to the edge of the Antarctic Continent in the seventies on board the Challenger. It was at the International Geographical Congress in London in I895 that Mr. Borchgrevink unexpectedly turned up to tell of his having been the first to set foot on the Antarctic Continent while on a whaling expedition. He afterwards succeeded in fitting out an expedition for purposes of exploration, and did a certain amount of useful work at Cape Adare and on the Ross Barrier. Then came the Belgian expedition, which made many additions to our knowledge in the Graham Land region, but unfortunately was caught in the ice and drifted about for many months. Undoubtedly the real pioneer of the great amount of work in the Antarctic Continent in recent years was Captain Scott, whose tragic death, after reaching his goal, was a loss not only to geography but to the navy and the country. My friendship with Captain Scott I regard as one of the great privileges which I owe to my official 2 B

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 370 THIRTY YEARS' WORK OF connection with the Society. He was a man to love and admire, a man of many interests apart from his profession as a naval officer and his work as an explorer, and a gallant English gentleman who would always play the game. In these respects he and Nansen had much in common. Perhaps some of you may not know that Scott, with certain additions not quite characteristic of him, is the hero of an interesting novel by A. E. W. Mason, 'The Turnstile.' The incident therein as to where and how the President of the Royal Geographical Society (Sir Clements Markham) asked him if he would care to undertake the leadership of an Antarctic expedition is, I believe, quite true. Sir Clements had known him for several years. There is no doubt that in time the work he began and carried so far will be completed, and we shall know all that need be known about the ice-bound continent. Scott's comrade on his first ex- pedition, Sir Ernest Shackleton who got so near to the Pole, added much to our knowledge of the interior of the continent, and if on his last expedi- tion he did not succeed in carrying out his full programme, he has shown qualities of organization, determination, endurance, and devotion to his comrades that cannot but command our admiration. Hence no doubt his comrades' loyalty to and trust in their leader. These are only samples of the several hundred men of various nationalities whom I had the privilege and pleasure of welcoming to the Society during my thirty odd years of office. There are other Antarctic heroes whom I can only name, like Bruce, Gerlache, Charcot, Drygalski, Otto Nordenskjold, Amundsen, Mawson, Davis, and others. Turning to Africa there are many worthy of special mention if time allowed: Baker and Lovett Cameron, men just before my time. There is Sir F. Lugard on his return thirty years ago from his adventure in Nyasaland, and his expedition to British East Africa for the infant com- pany of that name; Sir Harry Johnston, back from the Congo, whose friendship I made much in the same way as in the case of Stanley-through an article in a daily paper; Grenfell, who mapped the Congo; O'Neill, Southern Africa; Boyd Alexander, whose life was cut short in the midst of his last expedition; Donaldson Smith, who did good work in Somaliland, Lake Rudolf, and the Nile; Theodore Bent, whose work covers both Africa and Asia; Major Wissmann and his companions, delightful company though Germans, who in the seventies and eighties swarmed over West Africa apparently partly in the interests of exploration. Then there is Sir Alfred Sharpe, who even at his age cannot keep away from the fascinating continent. Turning to Asia, let me remind you that Lord Curzon, long before he received any of his well-deserved honours, had away back in the eighties done noteworthy work as an explorer in Asia. I well remember him at the Newcastle meeting of the British Association, where he came to give a paper at the same time as Nansen came on his honeymoon to tell of his journey across Greenland. Since then Lord Curzon has added

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 37I much to his distinction as an explorer both in Western and Eastern Asia. It was in the eighties also that Charles Doughty made his memorable journey through Arabia, and wrote his narrative 'Arabia Deserta,' in a strange mixture of Elizabethan English and Arabic idiom, which un- fortunately prejudiced opinion against him. He did not receive his well- deserved medal until a year or two ago. His book is now a classic. I well remember the long and lank and lean Colborne Baber, whose great work on China, published in our "Supplementary Papers," has also become a classic; the Littledales who crossed Tibet to the gates of Lhasa, with their little dog, who was decorated by the Society for his pluck and fidelity. The names crowd upon one: Carey, Godwin-Austen, Woodthorpe, Younghusband, Bower, Holdich, McMahon, Rockhill, Stein, Campbell, Abruzzi, De Filippi, Prince Henry of Orleans, Freshfield, Conway, Longstaff, Molesworth Sykes, Carruthers, Deasy, and, may I whisper, Hedin. Nor must we forget the name of the first lady who ever gave a paper at an ordinary meeting of the Society, Mrs. Bishop, who was never well except when she was enduring the hardships of travel in remote parts of Asia. She was followed by two other ladies, at long intervals, Mrs. Bullock Workman and Miss LowthianiBell, the latter's knowledge of Arabia having been of great service in the present crisis. Miss Ellen Churchill Semple, one of the leading American geographers, delighted the Society on several occasions by brilliant accounts of her travels. But I must not go further in this direction, though America, Australia, and the Islands of the Ocean might suggest many others. I have said enough to give you an idea of the vastly interesting time I have had during my Secretaryship, coming into close relationship with men and women arriving home with fascinating stories of the unknown from all ends of the Earth. Perhaps one of the most striking evidences of the expansion of the Society is to be found in the evolution of the Society's publications. The old Journal, invaluable as a record of exploration during the fifty years of its existence, was almost entirely confined to the publication of the papers read at the Society's Meetings. In 1855 this was supplemented by the old Proceedings which contained additional information of geographical interest. In I879 the two were amalgamated in the new Proceedings which endeavoured to cover an even wider field. They were not started without considerable opposition in the Council, some of whose members held that anything in the nature of a magazine was below the dignity of the Society. This formed the Society's organ for fourteen years, when in 1893 the Pro- ceedings were superseded by the Geographical Journal which, while including the records of the Society's work, seeks to cover the whole field of geo- graphy, and at home and abroad is admitted to do so successfully. It is about twice the size of the Proceedings and three times the size of the old Journal (though now inevitably cut down owing to the war), and is lavishly supplied with plates, diagrams, and maps. It has a circulation of over a thousand outside the Society. Its title was an advance on Proceedings, but

This content downloaded from 143.89.105.150 on Fri, 03 Jun 2016 09:09:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 372 THIRTY YEARS' WORK OF

I may say that some of us wanted to give it the title of " Travel and Geo- graphy" in the hope of attracting a wide circle of readers; however, in deference to the conservative element in the Council, the present title was adopted, though happily those who objected to advertisements as un- dignified were overruled. Without advertisements and outside sales it would be impossible to publish the Journal on its present scale. The Journal is admittedly the World's leading Geographical serial, and its vary- ing contents, with the wealth of illustrations and maps during its existence, are a very good evidence of the evolution of the subject in recent years. The other publications of the Society-the four volumes of' Supplementary Papers,' followed by many volumes of' Extra Publications' and special maps and the Year-Book, are further evidences of the activity of the Society during the past thirty-six years. I have thus endeavoured to bring before you a resume, somewhat imperfect I fear, of the varied work of the Society during the thirty odd years that I have been on the staff. I trust that I have shown that under the direction of successive Presidents, Honorary Officers, and Councils, not only has the high standard of previous years been maintained, but that constant efforts have been made to raise that standard, to open up new avenues of activity, to apply scientific methods to exploration as well as to geographical research, and to insist-it must be admitted with considerable success-on the subject being allotted a place in education worthy of the position to which it has attained mainly through the Society's efforts. Our collections had grown far beyond the capacity of the Savile Row house, great improvements have been introduced in connection with the Society's meetings, and these will be much extended when the Society possesses a hall of its own. Finally, the Journal, which has now been published for some twenty-five years, may fairly be regarded as worthy of what I hope we may regard as the greatest Geographical Society in the world. I may be permitted to say, in conclusion, that I am gratified and even proud to have been in the midst of all this activity for so many years, even if only as the "fly on the wheel." I have tried to do my best in the honourable and responsible position conferred upon me by the Council, to promote the objects for which the Society was founded; and if I can trust, as I feel bound to do, the language of successive Presidents and the action of the Council, my efforts have met with a certain measure of success. By its removal to the spacious premises at Kensington Gore the Society has entered upon a fresh stage of its successful career; it is bound to expand in various directions and to attain higher levels of achievement. That means greatly increased work for, let me be frank and say, the man at the wheel; work, I fear, beyond the capacity of a veteran in his seventy- seventh year. It is gratifying to me, as it must be to all who have the welfare and progress of the Society at heart, to feel assured that under the care of my friend and successor, Mr. Arthur Hinks, its highest interests are secure.

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