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he is chosen for his authority, for his capacity as an administrator and for the name he bears.

It must be remembered, however, that though the Government tries as far as possible to appoint men of noble lineage, this is not necessarily done, and the Government does not recognize any sort of official succession from father to son. If the eldest son is considered worthy of the post he is probably appointed to take his father’s place, but cases occur where a distant relation, and sometimes an Arab chief of another family is brought in, if the actual ruling house is considered unworthy.

The bash agha has under him one or two aghas whom he recommends to the Bureau Arabe for appointment. One of the aghas is often his eldest son, but here again there is no rule.

The confederation of tribes is divided into sub-tribes, which, though they each have their own name, all belong to the main clan. These differ in numbers, but the confederation is usually composed of from ten to twenty tribes. These tribes are estimated by the numbers of tents or heads of families they contain. They each represent about two thousand people and have at their head a caïd. It is, moreover, interesting to note that the bash agha and the aghas belong to one of these tribes of which they are honorary chiefs.

The caïd is, as in the case of the agha, recommended by the bash agha to the Bureau Arabe, who, if agreeable to the recommendation, passes it on to the Governor-General for confirmation. Here, again, they try as far as possible to select the caïds from the same family as the bash agha. The appointment of the caïd is most important, as it is he who is in direct touch with the tribe wherever it happens to be. He is assisted in his duties by the khaliphat, who