ABSTRACT
Chirol (Chairman of the Society in 1907-1908): ‘That with our vast interests in all parts of the East, this country should still be [the] only one amongst the chief countries of Europe that does not possess any national institute for the study of Oriental languages . . . is an almost unaccountable fact, which increases the difficulty of finding at a moment’s notice suitable men even for the posts which are recognised to be the most urgently needed.’ Chapman’s idea was by no means new. It had first been voiced by Sir Richard Wellesley in 1798 when he was Governor General of India, and by the start of the twentieth century there were two colleges in London, and others at provincial universities, that did teach Oriental languages. But a need was felt to create one major establishment in London dedicated to this purpose.
