WCP3568

[1]¹

42 Rutland Gate SW

Jan 26 / 83

Dear Bates²

I have received the enclosed from Wallace and agree generally very cordially with ^{him in} both the points he raises. As regards the first; — could you get written out for Council the titles of the papers, & the number of pages in each and the probable cost of an edition ^{the whole} of (a) 500 copies (b) 1000 copies suitable for one of our "additional publications".

As regards the second point; — I have not energy or leisure enough to recommence a campaign to get [2] improvement, made in the ordnance maps, some of which you probably may recollect I spoke of at Brighton in the Pres: Address to Section E of the Brit: Assoc.

What I tried then was against the grain of both Sir H. James³ of the ordnance & Mr. Grey⁴ of the Stationery department, but things have changed since then.

Long ago, it was a feature of the Geograph: that Sir R Murchison⁵ would dwell on the slowness of production & in other senses ^the shortcomings of our ordnance maps & I wish we could recommence the agitation. We want [3] first what Wallace says; secondly (as I think) quarter sheets on thin strong paper easily procurable & portable; thirdly a reduction of the ^ordnance map to a scale like that of the French government carte postale, which is the basis of. I dare [illeg.] not say how many statistical, geological and other maps, & for which we have no equivalent. But it would require some energy to get up a general conviction of the use of all this and to resist the interested opposition of map makers who do not like the public (through their government) [illeg.] making maps for themselves [4] but think that their ^own industries should be "protected" at the cost of the public.

Very faithfully yrs | Francis Galton⁶ [signature]