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the lamentable consequences to government, and to the social condition and morality of the natives, of the ignorance of native ideas on the part of the ofificials, which is a necessary consequence of the Crown Colony system. Anthropologists in this country have not attempted to exercise the influence which they ought in this matter. I cannot discuss in these pages the best form of administration for these possessions, nor am I qualified to do so. But whatever form be adopted, it is beyond question that the men who are sent out to govern should, be their position in the government what it may, be provided with some elementary anthro- pological knowledge, and should be required to make a study on the spot of the native ways of thinking and acting, the motives which influence them, and the institutions in which their culture has taken shape. The same duty lies upon all missionaries. The utmost care should be taken to govern as far as practicable ac- cording to native ideas, and not to destroy the framework of society and the moral code, as we so constantly do. Change ought to be made only in the most cautious and tentative manner; for the native mind and habits can only accommodate themselves to it slowly and gradually. They cannot receive and assimilate new ideas without preparation extending over periods that seem almost endless to our modern impatience. In short, government and missions ought to be conducted by experts. Until this duty be recognised we shall have continual trouble. Social unrest, re- belHons, and misery will dog our footsteps as they have hitherto done, in spite (nay, partly in consequence) of the improvements in material condition that we introduce.
A chapter on property concludes the work, save for three ap- pendices, of which an account of the Niger Coast Protectorate by the Count de Cardi, for many years resident in the district, is the only one calling for notice here. Though not the work of a trained anthropologist, it is of much value as containing on a variety of points the testimony of an intelligent and interested observer.
Miss Kingsley, both in this volume and in its predecessor, shows the truly scientific spirit. She is no mere reporter. She is not content with setting down the appearance of things. What she is ever seeking to do is to penetrate to the underlying ideas. It is only thus that we can hope to reach any connected or intelligible account of the process of human civilisation. The evolution of
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