Bates was said later to come into conflict with Radcliffe-Brown after sending him her manuscript report of the expedition. Much to her chagrin, he did not return it for many years. When he did, he had annotated it extensively with critical remarks. At a symposium, Bates accused Radcliffe-Brown of plagiarising from her work. She was scheduled to speak after Radcliffe-Brown had presented his paper, but when she rose, she only complimented him on his presentation of her work, and resumed her seat.