II.

STATEMENT BY SCIENCE ABSTRACTOR.

The parts of the following Journals published during the last
six years have now been gone through and all articles likely to be
of use in the work of the proposed Bureau of Information catalogued:-

Agric. Gas. of New South Wales.

Journ. Agric. Victoria.

Queensland Agric. Journal.

Journ. Agric. S. Australia.

Journ. Roy. Soc. N. S. Wales.

Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria.

Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland.

Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Australia.

Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania.

Journ. Agric. Research (U.S.A.)

Journ. Agric. Science (U.K.)

Some volumes of the following have also been dealt with:-

Journ. Board of Agric. (Great Britain.)

Bulln. Imperial Institute.

Kew Bulletin.

The 18-drawer cabinet purchased in November is now nearly full and another 18-drawer section is required, 1000 more guide-cards are also needed.

| | | |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Cost of 18-drawer cabinet section | £15 1s. | |
| 1000 guide-cards @ 3/6 per 100 | 1 15 | |
| | | 214 16s. |

During the last three months eleven abstracts have been prepar-
ed of which eight were summaries of documents received by the
Committee and three involved research amongst literature at the
Public Library.

(Sgd.) W. B. ALEXANDER

March 10, 1917.

pipes in Mailu, as they are found in other parts of the territory. I was in-
formed that the Mailu know how to ornament the *Baubau*, but evidently they are
only poor experts in the art or else they do not care very much for it, as I
don't remember seeing a single carved or burned *Baubau* in Mailu, and in some
other villages they are plentiful.

An analagous social function, as is played by tobacco smoking, is also
characteristic of betel chewing. The ingredients here are: the areca nut
(Weni; in Motu *Buntau*) the wood and barb of betel pepper (in Motu *Fono*) some
leaves (betel leaves ? ) and lime. The latter is carried about in the lime
gourds which form one of the most characteristic accessories of a New Guinea
native. In order to use the lime the natives have the lime spatulae. The
Mailu natives do not manufacture either of those two articles in any really art-
istic or fine execution. There are in Mailu some of the well known ebony carv-
ing of the N. Massim, used as spatulae. But spatulae manufactured on the prem-
ises are poor and not characteristic, nor do the Mailu really care for the
finer ones in contrast to their neighbours, the Massim of Bonabona and Suan.
Those, although as a rule unable to produce the good carvings of the Trobriand
Islanders, import and value them, and are very loath to part with them.

exist fundamental rules which must be observed. The infraction of these rules is a hireling temptation, and there are always individuals who succumb. As a preventative or reaction to this there exist some measures of restriction and redress, broadly speaking some restraining forces. To discover the rules, the possibilities of infringement the restraining forces, to classify them, following as closely as possible the conditions of native social life, and to find out the natives' own point of view in these matters - all this constitutes the ethnographers task under the heading of law.

Broadly speaking the most elementary of the social rules are identical in all societies: they protect a person's body from injury and they guarantee a certain amount of personal freedom. Murder, bodily hurt, assault rape and other attempts on person or liberty are considered to be wrongs in all human communities at the top as well as at the bottom of the scale of development. Again there are everywhere some rules protecting a man's personal property. The infringement of any of these rules is resented by the injured person and by the social group to which he belongs. (family, clan, village).

This is one source of criminal law. The other springs from the public resentment which follows the violation by the individual of the essential rules, which constitute the given social structure ( as e.g. rules of exogamy