president's address. — SECTION F. 179 



wary at all, and perhaps he never imagined that I would be foolish 

 enough to think that he really meant that he had — he may have 

 meant something quite different, but I do not know what it was. 



Many Inquiries Abortive. 

 This, I fear, has been the end of many such inquiries ; they so 

 often result in nothing. I remember once taking some trouble to 

 investigatei the action of a man whose wife had been murdered, 

 and who summoned the neighbouring villages to " pay back " for 

 her death by cutting off her hair and sending it round to them. 

 The effect was magical ; avengei's simply swarmed to his assistance. 

 But when I M'anted to inquire into the meaning of what he did, 

 and why he did it, T came full tilt against the inevitable brick 

 wall. " We don't know why he did it," said the witnesses; " we 

 think it must have been because he was a fool." And probably 

 they thoiught me a still greater fool for troubling to inquire. 



Anthropology has not yet been of Much Practical Assistance 

 in Administration. 

 On the whole, I must, I suppose, admit that anthropology, so 

 far, has not played an important part in administration, and I 

 am, I think, fully aware of the many difficulties that must be sur- 

 mounted before this science can come into its own as a practical 

 guide to the government of subject races. It has, of course, often 

 happened that an officer stationed in so'me unsettled district has 

 had a taste for anthropology, and in that case, if the charms of 

 this particular branch of learning do not cause him to neglect his 

 other duties, his services will be all the more valuable ; but there 

 are dangers before him — there are lions in the path. The greatest 

 danger is that he may become an unpractical doctrinaire — in other 

 words, a prig; and a prig, as the governor of uncivilized races, is 

 frankly impossible. Or, avoiding the Scylla of priggishness, he 

 may fall into the Charybdis of inexactitude, and cease toi be scien- 

 tific altogether. And the temptation to be inexact in such matters 

 is almost irresistible. You see, it is so easy. Yon are probably 

 one of a very small number who know anything about the country 

 in which you are stationed, so that you can practically say any- 

 thing you like without much fear of contradiction — and, if you 

 are contradicted, is not your word as good as another's? Thus, 

 you are likely to weary of thei careful collection of data, to 

 generalize too quickly, and to jump at conclusions with results 

 that may be quite the reverse of what you intend. 



Jjut is Likely to be of the Greatest Assistance in the Future when 

 Initial Difficulties have been Overcome. 

 Still, in spite of all difficulties, and in spite of the fact that 

 my own attempts to find an anthropological basis for my adminis- 

 tration have often had but small result, I entertain no doubt 

 whatever that administrators of the future will derive more and 

 more advantage from enconraging the study of anthropology, either 

 1084.— 15 



