LIBERIA [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I am glad
to see that Dr. Christy confirms my view about the Vai and Gola tribes. Conditions, no doubt, are very different in the South-East, and I may have under- rated the extent of abuses in that area. In the North, however, the Busi, Kpelle and Gbandi peoples cover a large area and appear to have much in common with the tribes further West. They practise the same initiation rites and use a dialect of the widespread Mendi language. They have not forgotten how to make war.
In drawing attention to the relative independence of these tribes, I had no desire to minimize the significance of the Commission's Report. It has a lesson for everyone concerned in African administration. But, if its recommendations are carried out, how will such people react to closer administra=
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