§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will consider and take steps to meet both the urgent need for anthropological research in questions of colonial development and the present lack of data both as regards physical development in various colonial races and the incidence of disease, the determination of which depends upon vital statistics, and the demand for which has constantly been stressed but has never been met; and whether he will institute a national anthropological survey board for the furtherance of which both material and personnel are now available at several British universities.
§ Colonel StanleyThe Colonial Research Committee, whose first progress report was recently published, has in its preliminary survey of the present state of knowledge about the Colonies in every field of science given special attention to the necessity of increasing our knowledge in the anthropological field, and in other aspects of social science. In particular they have recently made a recommendation, which has been accepted in principle, for the temporary appointment of a distinguished expert in demographic statistics to draw up specific plans for action to be taken in the various Colonial Dependencies and I am confident that that will lead in due course to a considerable improvement in the standard of information available. The establishment of a national anthropological survey board is a rather wider matter, which does not fall entirely within my sphere.