Vol. VIII. No. 87. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
which gradually improved as one ascended the river, were much superior to those of the 
Ibos. Of these tribes, short descriptions were given of the Igbiras, Igaris, and the Basas. 
To the north, again, were the Kakandas, dependents of the Nupes. The first time the 
lecturer had visited Muye, one of the chief Kakanda towns, he had found it absolutely 
deserted, with the exception of the principal chief and a few of his followers, owing to the 
people having fled to escape some of the princes of Nupe, who were out slave-raiding. The 
country round had been in a state of terror and but ill cultivated, the people hardly caring to 
grow what would, in all probability, be reaped not by themselves but by the slave-raiders. 
They were, however, expert fishermen, and had long nets with floats similar to those used 
in Great Britain. As a tribe the Kakandas were pagans, although Mohammedanism had 
lately gained some ground amongst them. They were an enterprising people, and well 
worthy of our attention. 
The Hausas, Fulahs, Nupes, and Yorubas were the most important of the races of 
Northern Nigeria, and of these the Hausas were destined, the lecturer considered, to play 
the most prominent part in the development of that region which was a portion of the great 
territory known to the natives as the Soudan. It was, however, with the less-known Nupes 
that he was better acquainted, and of whom he gave the most interesting account. 
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Nupes had been ruled over by a 
succession of pagan kings, but about the year 1803 several Fulani mallams had, by intrigue, 
obtained influence at Rabba, and, with the aid of the king of a neighbouring State, gained 
practical control. The manner in which the Fulahs had managed to get into their hands 
the chief power of all the great States of the Central Soudan was one of the most remarkable 
points in the history of this region ; for somewhat similar events to those which had taken 
place in Nupe had occurred in the Hausa States, in most cases previous to the Fulah conquest 
of Nupe. 
The typical Fulah was entirely different in appearance from the negro races of the 
Soudan, and his skin was as light as that of some of the dark inhabitants of Southern 
Europe. The Fulahs were essentially a race of herdsmen, and how these quiet shepherds 
had become the strong rulers of the great Soudan States would probably always remain a 
mystery. But their striking intellectual and administrative capacity, combined with the fact 
that they were devoted Mohammedans, had gained for them an influence which was 
remarkable. 
A detailed description was given of a party of missionaries Dr. Ilarford-Battersby had 
joined in a journey to Nupe in 1890. They had adopted the native dress- — which consisted 
of loose flowing robes — and endeavoured as far as possible to dissociate themselves from 
the British authorities. They had at first settled in the town of Lokja, and used to converse 
freely with the people. The two leaders of the party, however, had soon unfortunately died, 
and Dr. Ilarford-Battersby himself had been invalided home. He had, however, during his 
short stay made two journeys to Bida, the capital of Nupe, a city about two miles long and 
one-and-a-balf wide. The streets were broad and well kept, the inhabitants courtly and well 
dressed. It contained schools, where the boys were taught to read and write, and a large market, 
where daily abundant supplies of various goods — hats, sandals, baskets, ink, paper, live 
stock, brass and leather goods — made in Bida were sold. But in one corner was the slave 
market, where often 200 men, women and children would be exposed for sale. The problem 
of slavery was the chief difficulty to be met in dealing with this region. The question, 
although to a certain extent doubtless a religious one, was in another direction very practical. 
In the absence of a more satisfactory currency, slaves formed the most convenient way of 
paying tribute, and the slave raids were maintained largely because Nupe had to pay a heavy 
tribute to her liege lords. Slaves were, in fact, Central African bank notes ; and, if the 
means of transport could be improved, and the rulers of the Soudan offered a better currency 
and helped to solve the labour difficulty, there would be some hope of a better state of things. 
Patience, firmness and tact were needed by all who had to do with these Fulani rulers ; and 
the lecturer made eulogistic reference to the present Governor of Northern Nigeria, 
Sir Frederick Lugard, who might be trusted to leave no stone unturned to secure the 
confidence and co-operation of these powerful rulers. 
The position of the Hausas was unique among the natives of Central Africa. Their 
language was used in commerce, and for administration and religious purposes over a very 
wide area. Their literature was of the greatest importance, and their mallams men of marked 
ability. Their towns were surrounded by high walls, and the study of their language and 
customs was considered to be of such great importance that a special society, the Hausa 
Association, had been formed to make them better known. 
The Yorubas had probably benefited more than any other West African race from 
their contact with Europeans, and some of the most intellectual members of the negro races 
had come from this country ; but, in the lecturer’s opinion, the Hausas were distinctly the 
superior race, having a remarkable civilization of their own, a well-formed literature, a good 
system of education, great powers as travellers, and above all made good soldiers. 
Fie hoped that every effort would be made to help forward the education of the 
native races, particularly in industrial pursuits ; that great care would be taken not to 
denationalise the people, but to encourage them to adopt the best features of European 
civilization without throwing aside certain of their habits, which, in many cases, were far 
better adapted to the country than European ones. He laid great stress upon the importance 
of the question of language study, and, above all, hoped that religious liberty would be granted 
so far as was consistent with morality, and strongly deprecated the tendency, which existed 
in some influential quarters, of practically encouraging Mohammedanism under the delusion 
that it was more suited to the people of the country than Christianity. He considered that 
Mohammedanism, as a religion, should have fair play, but religious toleration had been one 
of the proudest boasts of the British nation and he hoped that it might always continue to 
be so. 
The various points of the lecture were admirably illustrated by a selection of lantern 
views, and the chairman, in proposing the vote of thanks, said that the lecture could not have 
failed to have given those who had listened to it a deeper interest in all questions bearing 
upon the administration of the vast territory of Nigeria. 
“ THE WORKS OF A. N. MAIKOV.” 
By Mr. F. P, March ant. 
(ANGLO-RUSSIAN LITERARY SOCIETY.} 
At the last meeting of the Society on February 4, Mr. E. A. Cazalet, president, in the 
chair, a paper was read by Mr. F. P. Marchant entitled “The Works of Apollon N. 
Maikov.” 
In his introductory remarks Mr. Cazalet dwelt upon the able and energetic way in which 
Mr. Marchant had always helped on the work of the Society. Pie had read interesting 
papers on Russian authors with whose works he had intimate acquaintance, and almost every 
number of the Society’s Journal of Proceedings contained some of his translations of Russian 
poems and Reviews of books presented to the Society. 
While admitting at the outset that the Russian poet Maikov did not command the 
eminence and influence to which Pushkin, Lermontoff, and even Nekrarsov, had attained, 
Mr. Marchant expressed his conviction that all who had not as yet read A. N. Maikov’s 
works would be amply repaid by a study of this writer. 
Mr. Marchant briefly enumerated the chief incidents of the poet’s life. Born in 1821, 
of a noble and ancient family, he was brought up amidst congenial surroundings at his father’s 
estate near the Troitsko Sergievskaya Monastery. He began his career as a chinovnik in the 
Ministry of Finance and ended it as an Imperial Censor. The lecturer then proceeded to 
42. 
[March, 1902.] 73 
a detailed examination of Maikov’s work, beginning with a very large collection of short 
graceful poems dealing with an immense variety of subjects. Some of these headed, From 
i he Eastern World , recalled Byron’s Hebrew Melodies. A philosophical poem, The 
Spirit of the Age, contained some profound reflections and the idea of the “ Zeit-geist ” was 
wonderfully well brought out. Among the series headed Art was a charming eulogy of 
Glinka’s songs. The well-known ancient fragment Song of the Expedition of Igor , a 
subject of keen dispute, occupied Maikov for four years, and he produced a lengthy essay and 
rhythmical version of the poem. But Maikov’s finest work was probably the Two 
Worlds, a tragedy showing the struggle of the decaying Greco-Roman world with the new 
world of Christianity, introducing fresh principles into the lives of men and into their relations 
to each other. Besides all his original poems Maikov had left a number of translations of 
works of Longfellow, Hafiz, Sappho, and especially of Heine, for whose writings he had a 
great admiration. 
In conclusion Mr. Marchant said that he did not claim to have given an exhaustive 
account of Maikov’s works, but he hoped that he had said enough to show that their writer 
was a glory to the literature of his country. No other Russian writer had evinced such a 
grasp of the spirit of the ancient world and at the same time so entirely sympathised with 
modern progress. His tone was delicate and refined, his verse musical and artistic. His 
philosophy and morality, drawn from a wide experience of humanity, and letters breathed a 
noble and lofty spirit. In short, none could read Maikov without feeling the better for 
contact with this pure-minded, cultured Russian artist and singer. 
Captain Hussey Walsh made some interesting remarks, in the course of which he 
compared some of Maikov’s work to Pushkin’s. He also drew attention to the fact that 
whereas the lives of most Russian poets, Pushkin, Lermontoff, Nekrarsov, etc. were full of 
trouble and anxieties and were spent in a continual struggle to make both ends meet, 
Maikov’s circumstances seemed to have been easy and comfortable from first to last. 
Mr. Kinloch could not agree with Captain Hussey Walsh in his comparison of Maikov 
to Pushkin ; the genius, spontaneity and much of the national spirit of Pushkin were entirely 
wanting in Maikov’s poetry. 
Mr. Cazalet, in bringing the meeting to a close, after a hearty vote of thanks to the 
lecturer, said that he had met Maikov, who was then about forty, at St. Petersburg in the 
sixties. The President read aloud a translation by Doctor John Pollen of Maikov’s poem on 
the Liberation of the Serfs, which it had been the speaker’s privilege to hear read by the 
Russian poet himself. 

PROCEEDINGS OF INSTITUTIONS. 
THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 
At the monthly Council held on the 5th ult. the Earl of Coventry (Vice-President) 
occupied the chair; 37 new members were elected. Mr. Bowen-Jones, in presenting the 
report of the Chemical and Woburn Committee, reminded members of the Council that 
their attention had been drawn to the question, which was now under the consideration of 
a committee appointed by the Privy Council, of the operation of the Pharmacy Act of 186S, 
which at present regulated the sale of poisons, especially in its relations to the very 
numerous articles now used in agricultural and horticultural operations as insecticides, 
sheep-dips and the like, which contained poisonous ingredients. The Act of 1S6S made 
it illegal under penalties to sell or keep open shop for retailing certain poisons by any 
other person than a duly qualified chemist. The poisons that could not be sold other- 
wise were enumerated in Schedule A of the Act, and they could be added to from time 
to time under Section 2 of lhaL Act by a resolution of the Pharmaceutical Society declaring 
other articles to be poisons under the Act, provided that resolutions were approved by the 
Privy Council. The poisons named in Schedule A of the Act of 1S68 that were used 
generally in preparations or compounds for agricultural and horticultural purposes were 
arsenic and its preparations, corrosive sublimate, strychnine, and all poisonous vegetable 
alkaloids and their salts. Since the passing of the Act, carbolic acid had been added under 
Section 2, but through the opposition of the agricultural interest, this substance was excepted 
“ in any preparations used for agricultural and horticultural purposes.” The poisons referred 
to in the original Schedule A of the Act entered largely into the composition of insecticides, 
vermin-killers, dressings for live stock, sheep-dips, sheep-fly powders, fruit tree- and hop- 
sprayers, and disinfectants, and others might still be added from time to time under Section 2, 
such as butter of antimony, sulphuric acid, and sulphate of copper, which were extensively 
employed in agricultural and horticultural operations. The ordinary layman’s construction 
of the Act of 1S68 would be that it never was intended to apply to such compounds as he 
had named, used for the purposes stated. But the action of the Pharmaceutical Society two 
or three years ago had rather set aside such a contention. Probably the considerable increase 
in the use of these articles in connection with agricultural and horticultural work which had 
taken place in recent years might have been the exciting cause for their action, but, be this 
as it might, some cases were — at the instance of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society — 
brought before the Courts, and penalties were claimed against vendors (who were not chemists) 
of preparations containing arsenic, for weed -killing, and of nicotine used as an insecticide. 
It appeared therefore, that pharmaceutical chemists had to some extent obtained a monopoly, 
and there were signs of a desire to extend it. The Poisons Committee had been appointed 
to enquire and report the alterations which they deemed expedient in Schedule A of the 
Pharmacy Act of 1868, and to consider whether a third sub-division might not properly be 
added to the schedule containing substances which, whether sold by pharmaceutical chemists 
or not, should be labelled or otherwise distinguished. The Chemical Committee were of 
opinion that it would be inconvenient to farmers and others living in rural districts to be 
compelled to purchase the articles referred to at no other place than a druggist’s shop ; that 
the effect of such action would be to create a monoply, which would much enhance the price 
of the commodities purchased to the detriment of farmers and gardeners ; and that such 
action would be strongly resented and resisted by agriculturists generally. 
With regard, therefore, to the first subject of reference to the Poisons Committee, 
“ To report the alterations which they deem expedient in Schedule A of the Pharmacy Act 
of 1868,” the Chemical Committee were of the opinion that it was necessary («) That 
Schedule A of the Act of 186S should be more strictly defined than at present (for example, 
the first item, “Arsenic and its preparations” might be held at present to cover sheep-dips, 
weed-killers, Paris green — for fruit trees — arsenical soaps, and other articles used in agricul- 
tural operations, which were totally unconnected with pharmacy, and were not required to be 
dispensed, being already prepared in the form in which they are used by the public). Such 
articles should either be excluded from Schedule A or otherwise excepted from the provisions 
of Section 15 of the Act. (i) That the power at present given under Section 2 of the Act to 
the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society to declare by resolution that “ any article in such 
resolution named ought to be deemed a poison within the meaning of the Act of 1868,” 
should, as regards agricultural and horticultural articles, be only exercised with the previous 
approval of the Board of Agriculture. 
With regard to the second reference to the Poisons Committee, “ to consider whether a third 
sub-division might not be added to the schedule, containing substances which, whether sold by 
pharmaceutical chemists or not, should be labelled or otherwise distinguished,” the Chemical 
Committee thought that it would be reasonable if the sale of what, for convenience, might be 
called “agricultural and horticultural poisons” should be allowed, provided the article were 
sold in the condition in which it was received from the manufacturers, the packet, bottle, 
or other receptacle being kept intact and unopened, and marked outside with an indica- 
tion of its contents, and of the poisonous nature of the substance. The specific articles 
