The Indian Minority of Zambia, Rhodesia, and Malawi

instrument well suited to their needs if not to those of the private bankers. These same firms and their outport correspondents imported the raw materials for the early industrialists and exported their manufactures. Until we know more about such 'traditional' institutions, we shall have a most distorted picture of the credit world in which the early industrialists operated. Finally, would we not be helped by some systematic comparative study of the varying role of the state? One is immediately struck by the great range of circumstance and objectives in the relationship of government to the financial community: at the one extreme we find the limited horizons and naive sinking funds of the eighteenth century; at the other, the Russian state directing vast resources towards capital building by depositing significant amounts of government funds in banks specializing in long-term loans to heavy industry. There are profound qualitative differences here not brought out by just counting banking offices. These comments, reflections and suggestions of areas for further work should not confuse the reader about the great merit of the work of Professor Cameron and his collaborators. The conception of this volume is intelligent, imaginative, even daring: its shortcomings are measures of its ambitions. All persons interested in planning multi-lateral international and inter-temporal comparative studies in economic or social history will do well to start by considering this volume carefully and pondering the methodological problems it raises.