[eee pepe 
4 
294 THE ABORIGINES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
without precedent in this, for in more civilized communities else- 
where, in which hereditary right was fully. acknowl, in! 
heir to a throne has been set seide because of his unfitness for 
duties of the office ; while, on the other hand, the mere eae 
worth and ability has raised a stranger even to the imperial purple 
The general council of the tribe, then, consists of these chiefs, who 
have — sole control of all its affairs, the determination of peace 
and war, the power to summon assemblies, and the right to enforee 
the neler of tribal punishments. The tribe, if not too small, 
is divided into several sub-tribes, each one occupying its own 
tawrai or hunting and food ground, within which it must stri 
confine itself,* The head man of each of these sub-tribes iss 
chief and a member of the Council. When a matter occurs ¥ 
demands deliberation they assemble apart from the cam 
and resolve. “I once,” writes a friend, “ came =addanly npon alt 
of the old men sitting in a circle in’ anxious ¢o onsultation. 
I passed on, one of them whispered to me not to tell anybody that I 
had seen them.” In these meetings the oldest ne presides, 
measure by his single voice. The chiefs sit as vie 
on all complaints that are brought before them. e punishm 
they impose are various ; for serious offences agains + tribal pe 
such as the divulging of sacred things, they decree death by 
spear ; if a man has spoken to his wife’s mother, he is obliged al 
~ the camp and pitch his guny yah at sqme distance from it, 
in there for some time; if a husband complains that bs i 
wife is capa (‘‘ wanton”), and the council find of all 
is taken without the camp and exposed there to the 3 sealers 
who choose to come ; but for smaller offences, the man is 0 shield 
by the chiefs to stand forth armed only with a heelaman soe oe 
and defend himself against the spears and ae is a v 
g to 
him by a set number “of men varying acco Pett him a8 
' the fault he has ——— 
tion, I gre this an 
Lay a ee eae the sogency Arc? cag son the tbe had es 
- — in numbers that ¢ their hunting-groun 
ey t 
e 
} 
scarcity of food e therefore ging thet 
adjacent sub-tribe humana them to surrender 4 porti 
This was refused the ground that rie was agains 
m 
-neig! ee 
their forces and met; as sage num. ae vale 
no oratory ; it was a aad “that next day an 
each side healt fcht it ot aa when the time 
is the ews souees a issue of 
