Address to the Royal Geographical Society Author(s): Rutherford Alcock Source: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. 22, No. 5 (1877 - 1878), pp. 305-379 Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1799794 Accessed: 11-06-2016 18:33 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:33:08 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ( 305 ) ADDRESS TO THE EOYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. Delivered at the Anniversary Meeting on the 27th May, 1878* By Sir Eutherford Alcock, k.c.b., etc, President. Gentlemen, The CounciPs Eeport, which you have heard read, shows the steady progress of the Society; 187 new Fellows have been elected during the year, and the finances are in a satisfactory state. Great activity has been shown in all departments: in the Library, Map- room, and publications of the Society. The editing of the ' Pro? ceedings ' from month to month, and the * Journal' annually, en? trusted to Mr. Bates, the Assistant-Secretary, is a work of great labour, which could only be accomplished by one possessing special aptitude and qualifications for the task. It is but an act of justice to say that for these valuable and permanent records of Geogra? phical progress and research the Society is mainly indebted to this officer. Without his unremitting industry and zeal it would be impossible for any one single-handed to deal satisfactorily with such a mass of material as the Papers forwarded to the Society constantly supply, to say nothing of a large correspondence. Nor can it be otherwise than a subject of congratulation, that there has been a marked and rapid increase in the number of Geographical Societies both in Europe and America. There are now thirty-eight, and some of these, like the Italian, number their members by thousands ;* showing the popularity of the subject, and the general sense entertained among civilised nations of the utility of the Science, and the importance of a systematic prosecution of Geographical research in regions still imperfectly known. Nor is this interest limited to individuals or to Geographical Societies, for * The Italian Geographical Society numbered 2200 members at their last Anniversary. This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:33:08 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 306 SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S ADDRESS. [May 27, 1878. many Governments, even within the last year, have obtained grants in their respective Parliaments, of considerable amount, in aid of exploratory undertakings. We have further to congratulate ourselves on the continuation of the privilege, accorded to us by the Senate of the London University, of holding our meetings in this commodious Hall; our cordial thanks for which special favour it is my pleasure and duty to record in this place. With these few words by way of introduction, I now proceed to the sad duty which annually devolves upon the President of noticing the losses sustained by the Geographical Society from the decease of numerous members during the year. OBITUAEY. Captain James Erederick Elton, late British Consul at Mozam? bique, the accomplished traveller whose recent loss we have all so much deplored, was born on the 3rd of August, 1840. He was the second son of the late Lieut.-Colonel Eobarts W. Elton, of the 59th Eegiment, Bengal Army, and grandson of Jacob Elton, Esq., of Ded- ham, Essex. Captain Elton entered the Bengal army at the time of the Indian Mutiny, and saw much service with several regiments during that eventful epoch. He was with the relieving armies at the retak- ing of Lucknow and Delhi, and subsequently served for some years as aide-de-eamp to General Sir Hugh Eose (Lord Strathnairn), then Commander-in-chief of India. Eor these services Captain Elton received the Indian medal with two clasps. In 1860 he volunteered for service in China, and was present at the taking of Peking and in other engagements, receiving the China medal after the campaign. Shortly after obtaining his captaincy he quitted the English service. In 1866 he joined the staff of the Erench army in Mexico during the unfortunate Maximilian episode, and on his return to England at the conclusion of the war he published a book entitled, ' With the Erench in Mexico,' which attracted some attention at the time. In 1868 he went to Natal, and occupied his time in travelling about the colony till 1870, when he undertook a long journey of exploration from the Tati gold district down to the mouth of the Limpopo, his narrative of which, accompanied by an excellent map, was published in the s Journal' of the Society, vol. xiii. In 1871 he was sent to make reports on the Gold and Diamond Fields, and was also em? ployed on a diplomatic mission to settle differences with the This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:33:08 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms May 27, 1878.] OBITUARY.?CONSUL ELTON. 307 Portuguese authorities. In 1872 he was appointed Government Agent on the Zulu Frontier, which country he was well acquainted with. After some months thus spent, he returned to Natal to re- cover from a severe attack of fever, caused by his incessant work and exposure. While at Natal, he acted as protector of the immi- grant native labourers, and became a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils. This work was not, however, suited to his energetic mind, and in 1873 he left Natal, intrusted with various important missions: one of which was to treat with the Governor-General of Mozambique and the Sultan of Zanzibar, re? garding the laying down of a telegraph cable from Aden ; the second, to inquire into the emigration of native labour from Delagoa Bay and to confer with the Governor-General of Mozambique; and the third, to meet Sir Bartle Frere at Zanzibar, and assist in con? sidering the Slave-trade question. In 1873 he was appointed Assistant Political Agent and Vice-Consul at Zanzibar by Sir Bartle Frere. Thus he entered into direct Government employment after four years of hard work on the East Coast of Africa. Whilst occupying this post, he made an interesting journey along the coast country between Dar-es-Salaam and Quiloa, or Kilwa, an account of which, enriched with observations on the products of the country, is published, with a map supplied by him, in the 44th volume of our ' Journal.' In March 1875 he was appointed British Consul in Portuguese Territory, with residence at Mozambique. He was here engaged in many expeditions for the suppression of the slave- trade from this and other parts of the east coast, in the course of which he made numerous journeys by sea and land, to the south as far as Delagoa Bay, and over the Indian Ocean to the Seychelle Islands and Madagascar. Early in 1877 he undertook a more important expedition into the interior from Mozambique, as far as the Makua country, up the Lurio to the cataracts of the Bomba, descending again to Ibo; 450 miles of this journey were performed on foot. He then visited the Querimba Islands and explored the coast up to the frontier of the Zanzibar territory. Before starting on his last, and to him fatal, expedition to Lake Nyassa, Captain Elton sent to England the MS. of a book entitled { Notes and Sketches in East Africa and on the Suppression of the Slave-trade, 1873-1877:' this book was not then published, but is now, with the addition of the narrative of his subsequent longer journey of exploration, preparing for publication during the present year. This last journey, of which we have had a brief account in This content downloaded from 144.82.108.120 on Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:33:08 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 308 SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK'S ADDRESS. [May 27, 1878. the paper read by Mr. Cotterill, at our Meeting of March 25th, commenced early in July last. In that month Captain Elton left Mozambique for the Zambezi and the Shire rivers; his intention being to visit the Scottish Mission Stations on Lake Nyassa, explore the Lake and surrounding country, visit various chiefs con? nected with the slave-trade, and ascertain the possibility of a route from the north end of the Lake to Quiloa, at which seaport he proposed to embark in a steamer for Zanzibar, hoping to reach the latter place in November, or early in December. His mission to the chiefs and circumnavigation of the Lake were successfully accomplished, but with the land journey troubles began; the country was devastated by wars among the different tribes, porter- age and food were often unobtainable, and instead of taking a direct route to the east, Captain Elton was compelled to travel by a very circuitous one to the north.