THE INDUSTRIAL TYPE OF SOCIETY. 617 



control. Take next the &quot; quiet, unoffensive &quot; Santals, wlio, 

 while they fight if need be with infatuated bravery to resist 

 aggression, are essentially unaggressive. These people &quot; are 

 industrious cultivators, and enjoy their existence unfettered 

 by caste.&quot; Though, having become tributaries, there habi 

 tually exists in each village a head appointed by the Indian 

 Government to be responsible for the tribute, &c. ; yet the 

 nature of their indigenous government remains sufficiently 

 clear. While there is a patriarch who is honoured, but who 

 rarely interferes, &quot; every village has its council place, . . . 

 where the committee assemble and discuss the affairs of the 

 village and its inhabitants. All petty disputes, both of a 

 civil and criminal nature, are settled there/ What little is 

 told us of tribes living in the Shervaroy Hills is, so far as it 

 goes, to like effect. Speaking generally of them, Shortt says 

 they &quot; are essentially a timid and harmless people, addicted 

 chiefly to pastoral and agricultural pursuits ; &quot; and more 

 specifically describing one division of them, he says &quot; they 

 lead peaceable lives among themselves, and any dispute that 

 may arise is usually settled by arbitration.&quot; Then, to show 

 that these social traits are not peculiar to any one variety of 

 man, but are dependent on conditions, I may recall the 

 before-named instance of the Papuan Arafuras, who, without 

 any divisions of rank or hereditary chieftainships, live in 

 harmony, controjled only by the decisions of their assembled 

 elders. In all which cases we may discern the leading traits 

 above indicated as proper to societies not impelled to corpo 

 rate action by war. Strong centralized control not being 

 required, such government as exists is exercised by a council, 

 informally approved a rude representative government ; 

 class -distinctions do not exist, or are but faintly indicated 

 the relation of status is absent ; whatever transactions take 

 place between individuals are by agreement ; and the func 

 tion which the ruling body has to perform, becomes substan 

 tially limited to protecting private life by settling such disputes 

 as arise, and inflicting mild punishments for small offences. 



