320 GOVERNMENT OF SUBJECT PEOPLES 



It is not necessary to dwell upon the value to a 

 ruler of a knowledge of the psychology of the people 

 he is called upon to govern. The difficulty here 

 is not so much to obtain recognition of this value 

 as in the backward state of our knowledge. It 

 is largely through our knowledge of custom and 

 institution that we can expect to understand the 

 psychology of savage and barbarous peoples. 

 Every advance in this direction will mean also an 

 advance towards the appreciation of the mental 

 similarities and differences which are so important 

 in the art of government. 



Of the third task of anthropology, the inquiry 

 into the history of social institutions and the laws 

 which govern their growth and decay, also, little 

 need be said. The science is still only feeling its 

 way towards the principles and methods by which 

 these subjects may be studied, and any results so 

 far reached can be of little practical importance. 

 It is generally acknowledged, however, that a 

 knowledge of the history of an institution is useful 

 to the legislator or administrator who wishes to 

 remove abuses, remedy defects, or devise measures 

 which will adapt the institution to new conditions. 

 We can be sure that, if this is true of civilised 

 communities, it must also be true of the uncivilised. 

 May we hope that, before the savage and barbarous 

 peoples of the earth have become extinct or have 

 become subject to the drab monotony which will 

 result from too faithful an imitation of European 



