Primitive Law

Abstract

ANTHROPOLOGY is to most laymen and to jTx. many specialists still mainly an object of antiquarian interest. There are, however, certain aspects of it which are of a genuine scientific character, in that they do not lead us beyond empirical fact into realms of uncontrollable conjecture, in that they widen our knowledge of human nature, and in that they are of a direct practical application. I mean such a subject, for example, as primitive economics, important for our knowledge of man's economic dispositions and of value to those who wish to develop the resources of tropical countries, employ indigenous labour and trade with the natives. Or again a subject such as the compara tive study of the mental processes of savages, a line of research which has already proved fertile to psychology and might be made useful to those engaged in educating or morally improving the native. Last, but not least, there is the subject of primitive law, the study of the various forces which make for order, uniformity and cohesion in a savage tribe. The knowledge of these forces should have formed the foundation of anthropological theories of primitive organisation and it should have yielded the guiding principles of Colonial legislation and administration. Yet of all branches of anthropology, primitive jurisprudence has received in recent times the scantiest and the least satisfactory treatment. This is the reason why the present book by Mr. Sidney Hartland deserves special attention, devoted as it is exclusively to the discussion of primitive law and written by one who is both a learned anthro pologist and a professional lawyer.

Primitive Law.

By E. Sidney Hartland. Pp. vi+222. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1924.) 7s. 6d. net.