Next, there is the question of judicial reform.  Mrs. Roy tells us that, under what is called the Code de l’Indigenat, “a native can be arrested and imprisoned practically without trial at the will of the administrateur for his district.”  It would require full local knowledge to treat this question adequately, but it would obviously be desirable that the French Government should go as far as possible in the direction of providing that all judicial matters should be settled by judicial officers who would be independent of the executive and, for the most part, irremovable.  Some local friction between the executive and the judicial authorities is probably to be expected.  That cannot be helped.  It might perhaps be mitigated by a very careful choice of the officials in each case.

In the third place, there is the question of political reform.  M. Philippe Millet, who has published an interesting article on this subject in the April number of The Nineteenth Century, is of course quite right in saying that political reform is the “key to every other change.”  Once give the natives of Algeria effective political strength, and the reforms will be forced upon the Government.  But, as has been already stated, it would perhaps be wiser and more statesmanlike that these changes should be conceded spontaneously by the French Government, and that then, after a reasonable interval, the bulk of the political reforms should follow.

A distinction, however, has to be made between the various representative institutions which already exist.  The Conseil Superieur and the Delegations Financieres have very extensive powers, including that of rejecting or modifying the Budget.  At present these bodies may be said, for all practical purposes, to be merely representative of the colonists.  It would certainly appear wise eventually to allow the natives both a larger numerical strength on the Conseil and on the Delegations, and also, by rearranging the franchise, to endeavour to secure a more real representation of native interests.  It must, however, be borne in mind that the difficulties of securing any real representation of the best interests in the country will almost certainly be very great, if not altogether insuperable.  In all probability the loquacious, semi-educated native, who has in him the makings of an agitator, will, under any system, naturally float to the top, whilst the really representative man will sink to the bottom.  It would perhaps, therefore, be as well not to move in too great a hurry in this matter, and, when any move is made, that the advance should be of a very cautious and tentative nature.