ABSTRACT
Indirect Rule is a positive theory of government based on the assumption that sound administration rests on the traditions of the people and should continuously evolve a new technique to meet changing social and economic conditions. The theory and practice of Indirect Rule were understood and applied many years ago on the West Coast, in Nigeria and in Uganda, but it has only recently come to be more generally accepted by those European nations that are responsible for the government of African dependencies. The evidence is strong that the introduction of Indirect Rule into Northern Rhodesia has greatly strengthened the authority of the Chiefs, whose influence is sufficient to advance or to retard progress among the Natives. The political machinery for tribal government will have to face other difficulties. At the moment society in Northern Rhodesia is based on a larger group than the family as that word is understood in Europe.
