BASUTO TRIBAL SYSTEM. 281 



not rather have sons than daughters. But if a man, in the old 

 days, could have got a wife without payment, there would have 

 been no guarantee for the permanence of the marriage, the 

 respect and consideration of the woman, the care of the children, 

 or, on the other hand, for the good behaviour of the wife. 



The present writer has no desire to suggest that the native 

 bohali is an ideal institution ; he is merely concerned to show 

 that it is not so bad as it is sometimes made out to be, and that 

 a fair allowance of decent happiness and contentment is possible 

 under it for both sexes. Mr. E. Casalis, the famous pioneer 

 of the French Mission in Basutoland, after pointing out the evils 

 of the system, as he saw them from the missionary point of view, 

 was constrained to admit that : — 



" Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, it cannot be denied, that 

 marriage by purchase, contracted in the presence of witnesses, of the several 

 parties, has been a valuable institution to these barbarous people, who, 

 from the absence of any settled principles of morality, might have fallen 

 into a state of brutal degradation. From the time that a woman belonged 

 to a man for his whole lifetime, the family tie was formed."* 



To show that the system does not in itself, degrade women, 

 to the position of slaves or chattels one has only to refer to the 

 number of famous women — Mantatisi, the Queen of the Batlokoa, 

 for instance — who were all married according to it. The respect 

 and obedience paid to them, would hardly have been paid to 

 a slave or a chattel. 



There are many other aspects to the Basuto social and political 

 system, which is really very complete in all its ramifications ; 

 but it would take volumes to consider it in detail, and a much 

 longer paper than this to deal with it adequately even in outline. 

 But if this little paper succeeds in conveying a rough general 

 idea of the conditions of society under which these people have 

 lived for many centuries, it will, notwithstanding its shortcomings, 

 in some small measure, have fulfilled its object. 



* " The Basutos," page 180. 



INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF TROPICAL AGRI= 

 CULTURE. — The Second International Congress of Tropical 

 Agriculture and Colonial Development will be held in Brussels 

 from May 20th to 23rd. Amongst others the following South 

 African papers have been promised: "South African cereal 

 rusts; with observations on the problem of breeding rust- 

 resistant wheats," I. B. Pole-Evans, Plant Pathologrist, Trans- 

 vaal; "Problems connected with maize growing in South 

 Africa," J. Burtt-Davy, Government Botanist, Transvaal; 

 ■' Tobacco culture in South Africa," G. M. Odium, late 

 Tobacco Expert, Rhodesia; " Dry farming and land settlement 

 in South Africa," Dr. W. Macdonald, Dry-land Agronomist, 

 Transvaal; " Economic Zoology in African Colonies," E. M. 

 Jarvis, Government Veterinary Surgeon, Rhodesia. 



