occupied the extensive plain through which the Zambezi passes | from 14° 35′ S. to 16° 25' S. throughout the reigns of twenty-two successive paramount chiefs and therefore approximately since the commencement of the 17th century. Previously, for an indefinite period, they dwelt on the Kabompo river, 200 m. to the N.E. of their present country, and here the descendants of a section of the tribe which did not migrate still remain, under the name Balokwakwa (men of the ambuscade), formerly known as Aälukolui. That the Barotse at a still more remote period emigrated from the far north-east is indicated by vague tradition as well as by a certain similarity in type and language to some tribes living in that direction, though the fact that natives from Mashonaland can understand those at Lialui (the Barotse capital) has led to the assumption by some writers that the Barotse are an offshoot of the Mashona. The variety in type among the Mashona and the homogeneity of the Barotse would rather point to an opposite conclusion.

Early in the 19th century a section of the Basuto tribe known as Makololo trekked from the south of what is now the Orange River Colony and fought their way through Bechuanaland and the Kalahari to the land of the Barotse, whom they ultimately subdued. Their chief, Sebituane, who as an administrator and general was far in advance of his compeers, established the rule of his house for some forty years, until about 1865 an organized rebellion of the Barotse led to the almost complete extinction of this Makololo oligarchy and the reinstatement of the original dynasty. It was the Makololo who gave the Barotse their present name (Rotse, plain-Burotse, country of the plain-Murotse, man of the plain-Marotse, people of the plain, the latter being inaccurately rendered Barotse, Ba being the equivalent of Ma in certain other languages).

The Barotse proper are comparatively few in number, but as is inferred from the fact that for many generations they have held in sway a country two and a half times the size of Great Britain, they are the intellectual and physical superiors of the vast majority of the negro races of Africa. Very black, tall in stature, deep in chest and comparatively speaking refined in feature, a Barotse is readily distinguishable amidst a mixed group of natives. Being numerically small they form an oligarchy in which, with few exceptions, each man holds rank in a chieftainship of which there are three grades. Next to the chiefs rank their descendants who have not themselves acquired chief's rank and hold an intermediate position as freeborn; all others, whether members of the subject-tribes or prisoners of war, being, up to 1906, mere slaves. This class was also graded. Slaves might own slaves who in their turn might own slaves, the highest grade always being directly responsible to some Barotse chief. As a reward of gallantry or ability the paramount chief occasionally conferred chief's rank on individuals not of Barotse birth, and these ipso facto assumed the name and privileges of the Barotse. It was a counterpart of the feudal system of Europe in which every grade from king to serf found a place. In 1906 the paramount chief, by proclamation, abolished the state of slavery, an act which, however, left untouched the predominant position of the Barotse and their rights to chieftainship. The paramount chief shares with a queen (Mokwai) his authority and prerogatives. The Mokwai is not the wife but the eldest sister of the ruling chief. With his death her privileges lapse. Theoretically, these co-rulers are equal, neither may promulgate a national decree without the assent of the other, but each has a capital town, councillors and absolute authority in a province, the two having joint authority over all other provinces. In their code of laws the Barotse show an advance on the standard of probably any other African negro state. By right, an accused chief is tried by his peers, each of whom in rotation from junior to senior gives his verdict, after which the president reports the finding of the court to the paramount chief, who passes sentence. As to their religious beliefs the Barotse imagine the sun to be the embodiment of a great god whose sole care is for the amelioration of man. Him they worship, though more pains are taken to appease evil spirits, in whose existence they also believe, to whom every evil to which man is heir is attributed.

The spirits of ancestors-especially of deceased chiefs-are also objects of worship. Christianity, of a Protestant evangelical type, was first introduced into the country in 1884 by François Coillard and has made some progress among the people, among the converts being Letia, eldest son and heir of Lewanika, the paramount chief.

2. Barotseland.-This term includes, in the sense of the country in which the authority of the paramount Barotse chief is acknowledged, not only the lands of the Barotse proper, but the territory of fifteen contiguous and subject tribes. This vast territory extends approximately from the Kwito river in the west to the Kafue river in the east, and from the CongoZambezi watershed in the north to the Linyante or Kwando river and Zambezi in the south, and may be divided into three groups:

(a) Central provinces directly administered by the paramount chief from the capital Lialui (a town on the Zambezi), by the Mokwai from Nalolo, and by two chiefs of the blood from Sesheke;

(b) Outlying provinces over which, in the absence of a central local system of government, Barotse chiefs administer districts under the direction of the paramount chief; and

(c) Tribes over which the local chiefs are permitted to retain their position subject to the payment of annual tribute and to their doing homage in person at Lialui when called upon to do so. With the publication of the king of Italy's award in 1905 in the Anglo-Portuguese Barotse Boundary dispute (see below), the term Barotseland may be said to have acquired a second meaning. By this award the western and part of the northern section of Barotseland as described above were declared to be outside the dominion of the paramount chief and therefore not in the British sphere of influence, while tribal boundaries were complicated by the introduction of a longitudinal and latitudinal frontier. Though this award altered the political boundaries, ethnologically Barotseland remains much as above described. The area of the country under British protection is about 182,000 sq. m.

Excluding the ridge of high ground running east and west which, culminating at a height of 5000 ft., forms the CongoZambezi water-parting, the extreme east (Batoka) and the district in the immediate vicinity of the Victoria Falls (q.v.) throughout which, with local variations, a red laterite clay predominates, the main physical features of Barotseland may be described as a series of heavy white sand undulations covered with subtropical forest vegetation. These are intersected by alluviumcharged valleys through which streams and rivers flow inwards towards the central basin of the Upper Zambezi. There is evidence that this has at one time been the site of a large lake. These valleys, which towards the close of the wet season become inundated, afford rich cattle pasture, the succulence of which prevents cattle losing condition towards the end of the dry season, as is the case in many parts of Africa. There seems to be little or no indication of mineral wealth in the white sand area, but in the north and east there is not only every prospect of a great agricultural and pastoral future but also of considerable mining development. Though basalt predominates in the neighbourhood of the Victoria Falls and large fields of granite crop up on the Batoka plateau and elsewhere, there is every indication of the existence of useful minerals in these districts. Gold, copper, tin, lead, zinc and iron have been discovered.

Much of the area of Barotseland is within the healthy zone, the healthiest districts being the Batoka and Mashikolumbwe plateaus in the east with extreme altitudes of 4400 and 4150 ft. respectively, and the line of the Congo-Zambezi watershed which rises to 5000 ft. in many places. The Zambezi valley from the Victoria Falls (3000 ft.) to the Kabompo confluence (3500 ft.), though involving little or no risk to health to the traveller, cannot be considered suitable for white settlement. Taking into consideration the relative value of altitude to latitude, the plateauland of Barotseland compares very favourably with existing conditions elsewhere, being several degrees more temperate than would be expected. Approximately the mean

maximum and minimum temperatures stand at 80° and 55° F. respectively, with an extreme range of 100° to 35° and a mean annual temperature of 68° to 70°. The rainfall varies according to district from 22 to 32 in. a year and has shown extraordinary stability. Since 1884, the first year in which a record was taken by François Coillard, Barotseland has known no droughts, though South Africa has suffered periodically in this respect. The Zambezi, as would be expected, forms a definite boundary line in the distribution of many species of fauna and flora. In these respects, as well as from an ethnological standpoint, Barotseland essentially belongs not to South but to Central Africa. The great river has also served to prevent the spread

from South Africa into Barotseland of such disastrous cattle diseases as tick fever and lung sickness.

3. The Establishment of British Suzerainty.-By the charter granted to the British South Africa Company in October 1889, the company was allowed to establish its rule in the regions north of the Middle Zambezi not included in the Portuguese dominions, and by a treaty of the 11th of June 1891 between Great Britain and Portugal it was declared that the Barotse kingdom was within the British sphere of influence. The dispute between the contracting powers as to what were the western limits of Barotseland was eventually referred to the arbitration of the king of Italy, who by his award of the 30th of May 1905, fixed the frontier at the Kwando river as far north as 22° E., then that meridian up to the 13° S., which parallel it follows as far east as 24° E., and then that meridian to the Belgian Congo frontier. In the meantime the British South Africa Company had entered into friendly relations with Lewanika (q.v.), the paramount chief of the Barotse, and an administrator was appointed on behalf of the company to reside in the country. A native police force under the command of a British officer was raised and magistrates and district commissioners appointed. In the internal affairs of the Barotse the company did not interfere, and the relations between the British and Barotse have been uniformly friendly. The pioneers of Western civilization were not, however, the agents of the Chartered Company, but missionaries. F. S. Arnot, an Englishman, spent two years in the country (1882-1884) and in 1884 a mission, fruitful of good results, was established by the Société des Missions Evangéliques de Paris. Its first agent was François Coillard (1834-1904), who had previously been engaged in mission work in Basutoland and who devoted the rest of his life to the Barotse. Though always an admirer of British institutions and anxious that the country should ultimately fall under British jurisdiction, Coillard in the interests of his mission was in the first instance anxious to delay the advent of white men into the country. It was contrary to his advice that Lewanika petitioned the "Great White Queen to assume a protectorate over his dominions, but from the moment Great Britain assumed responsibility and the advance of European civilization became inevitable, all the influence acquired by Coillard's exceptional personal magnetism and singleness of purpose was used to prepare the way for the extension of British rule. Only those few pioneers who knew the Barotse under the old conditions can fully realise what civilization and England owe to the co-operation of this high-minded Frenchman.

as its one bar to navigation between Barotseland and the sea, will supply a cheap line of communication. (See RHODESIA) See David Livingstone, Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (London, 1857). Major Serpa Pinto, How I crossed Africa (London, 1881); F Coillard, On the Threshold of Central Africa (London, 1897) Major A. St H. Gibbons, Exploration and Hunting in Central Africa (London, 1898). Africa South to North through Marotseland (London, 1904), Journeys in Marotseland," Geographical Journal, 1897, "Travels in the Upper Zambezi Basin," haut Zambèze (Paris, 1898), Col Colin Harding, In Remotest Baretse Geographical Journal, 1901, A Bertrand, Aux pays des Berotse, land (London, 1905): C. W Mackintosh, Coillard of the Zambesi (London, 1907), with a bibliography; L. Decle, Three Years in Savage Africa (London, 1898). Consult also the annual reports of the British (A. Sr H. G.)' South Africa Company, published in London.

BAROUCHE (Ger. barutsche, Span. barrocho, Ital. baroccio, from Lat. bi-rotus, double-wheeled), the name of a sort of carriage, with four wheels and a hood, arranged for two couples to sit inside facing one another.

BARQUISIMETO, a city of western Venezuela, capital of the state of Lara, on the Barquisimeto river, 101 m. by rail S.W of Tucacas, its port on the Caribbean coast. Pop. (est. 1899) 40,000. It is built in a small, fertile valley of the Merida Cordilleras, 1985 ft. above sea-level, has a temperate, healthy climate with a mean annual temperature of 78° F., and is surrounded by a highly productive country from which are exported coffee, sugar, cacao and rum. It is also an important distributing centre for neighbouring districts. The city is the seat of a bishopric, is regularly laid out and well built, and is well provided with educational and charitable institutions. Barquisimeto was founded in 1522 by Juan de Villegas, who was exploring the neighbourhood for gold, and it was first called Nueva Segovia after his native city. In 1807 its population had risen to 15,000, principally through its commercial importance, but on the 26th of March 1812 it was totally destroyed by an earthquake, and with it 1500 lives, including a part of the revolutionary forces occupying the town. It was soon rebuilt and is one of the few cities of Venezuela which have recovered from the ravages of the war of independence and subsequent disorders.

BARR, a town of Germany, in the imperial province of AlsaceLorraine, on the Kirneck, 13 m. N. from Schlettstadt by rail. It has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church and considerable tanneries. There is an active trade in wine and timber. Pop. (1900) 5243.

BARRA, or BARRAY (Scand. Baraey, isle of the ocean), an island of the outer Hebrides, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 2362. It lies about 5 m. S.W. of South Uist, is 8 m. in length and from 2 to 4 m. in breadth, save at the sandy isthmus 2 m. below Scurrival Point, where it is only a few hundred yards broad. The rock formation is gneiss. The highest hill is Heaval (1260 ft.) and there are several small lochs. The chief village is Castlebay, at which the Glasgow steamer calls once a week. This place derives its name from the castle of Kishmul standing on a rock in the bay, which was once the stronghold of the M'Neills of Barra, one of the oldest of Highland clans. There are remains of ancient chapels, Danish duns and Druidical circles on the island. There is communication by ferry with South Uist. The parish comprises a number of smaller islands and islets-among them Frida, Gighay, Hellisay, Flodda to the N.E., and Vatersay, Pabbay, Mingalay (pop. 135) and Berneray to the S.E.-and contains 4000 acres of arable land and 18,000 acres of meadow and hill pasture. The cod,

with shell-fish, especially cockles, for which it has always been famous. On Barra Head, the highest point of Berneray, and also the most southerly point of the outer Hebrides chain, is a lighthouse 680 ft. above high water.

Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, erected a bungalow and established a small bazaar here in 1689. The cantonment is situated on the left bank of the Hugli; it has also a large bazaar and several large tanks, and also a parade ground. To the south of the cantonment is situated the park, created by the taste and public spirit of Lord Wellesley. Within the park is situated the Government House, a noble building begun by Lord Minto, and enlarged into its present state by the marquess of Hastings. The park is beautifully laid out, and contains a small menagerie. Its most interesting feature is now Lady Canning's tomb. Barrackpur played an important part in the two Sepoy mutinies of 1824 and 1857, but the details of these belong to the general history of British rule in India. North Barrackpur had a population in 1901 of 12,600 and south Barrackpur of 19,307.

Barrackpur subdivision was formed in 1904. It contains an area of 190 sq. m., which, at the census of 1901, had a population of 206,311, a large proportion being workers in the mills on the left bank of the Hugli.

BARRACKS (derived through the French from the Late Lat. barra, a bar), the buildings used for the accommodation of military or naval forces, including the quarters for officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men, with their messes and recreation establishments, regimental offices, shops, stores, stables, vehicle sheds and other accessory buildings for military or domestic purposes. The term is usually applied to permanent structures of brick or stone used for the peace occupation of troops; but many hut barracks of corrugated iron lined with wood have been built, generally in connexion with a training ground for troops, and in these the accommodation given is somewhat less than in permanent barracks, and conditions more nearly approach those of a military encampment.

British System.-The accommodation to be given in British military barracks is scheduled in the Barrack Synopsis, which contains" statements of particulars, based upon decisions which have, from time to time, been laid down by authority, as regards the military buildings authorized for various units, and the accommodation and fittings to be provided in connexion therewith" Each item of ordinary accommodation is described in the synopsis, and the areas and cubic contents of rooms therein laid down form the basis of the designs for any new barrack buildings. Supplementary to the synopsis is a series of Standard Plans," which illustrate how the accommodation may be conveniently arranged, the object of the issue of these plans is to put in convenient form the best points of previous designs, and to avoid the necessity of making an entirely fresh design for each building that is to be erected, by using the standard type modified to suit local conditions. External appearance is considered with regard to the materials to be used, and the position the buildings are to occupy, convenience of plan and sound sanitary construction being the principal objects rather than external effect, designs are usually simple and depend for architectural effect more on the grouping and balance of the parts than on ornamentation such as would add to expense The synopsis and standard plans are from time to time revised, and brought up to date as improvements suggest themselves, and increases in scale of accommodation are authorized, after due consideration of the financial effect, so that systematic evolution of barrack design is carried on.

Modern British Barracks -A description of a modern barrack for a battalion of infantry will give an idea of the standard of accommodation which is now authorized, and to which older barracks are gradually remodelled as funds permit The unmarried soldiers are quartered in barrack rooms usually planned to contain twelve men in each, this number forms a convenient division to suit the organization of the company, and is more popular with the men than the larger numbers which were formerly the rule in each barrack room, there is a greater privacy, whilst the number is not too small to keep up the feeling of barrack room comradeship which plays an important part in the soldier's training. The rooms give 600 cub. ft of air per man, and have windows on each side: the beds are spaced between the windows so that only one bed comes in a corner, and

not more than two between any two windows: inlet ventilators are fixed high up in the side walls, and an extract shaft warmed by the chimney flue keeps up a circulation of air through the room: the door is usually at one end of the room and the fireplace at the opposite end: over each man's bed is a locker and shelf where he keeps his kit, and his rifle stands near the head of his bed. Convenient of access from the door to the barrack-room is the ablution-room with basins and foot-bath, also disconnected by a lobby is a water-closet and urinal for night use, others for day use being provided in separate external blocks. Baths are usually grouped in a central bath-house adjacent to the cook-house, and have hot water laid on. For every two or four barrack-rooms, a small single room is provided for the occupation of the sergeant in charge, who is responsible for the safety of a small store, where men may leave their rifle and kit when going on furlough. Adjacent to the barrack blocks and next to the cook-house are arranged the dining-rooms where the men assemble for their meals; no food is now served in the barrack-rooms, and the air in them is thus kept much purer and fresher than under the old

system The dining-rooms are lofty and well ventilated, and are warmed by hot water, tables and forms are arranged so as to make the most of the space, and room is provided for all the men to dine simultaneously

Next to the dining-room is the cook-house where the meals for a half battalion are cooked, and served direct to the dining-rooms on each side. Wash-up rooms are arranged off the serving-lobby with plate-racks and shelves for the storage of the crockery after it has been washed. The cooking apparatus is designed for economical use of coal fuel, and, if carefully used, consumes little more than lb of coal per man per day The cook-house is well lighted and ventilated by a top lantern, tables, dressers, and pastry slab are provided for preparing and serving the meals, and a sink for washing kitchen utensils. Under the kitchen block is a basement containing the boiler for heating the dining-rooms and another for the supply of hot water to baths and sinks, with in some cases also a hot-air furnace for heating drying-rooms, for drying the men's clothing when, they come in wet from a routemarch or field day Not far from the barrack blocks is placed the recreation establishment or soldiers' club, where the rank and file may go for relaxation and amusement when off duty, this establishment has, on the ground floor, a large and lofty room with a stage at one end for lectures or entertainments, and at the other

end is a supper bar, extending across the room, where mineral waters and other light refreshments are sold, tables are also arranged for suppers. A grocery shop is provided where the men and their families may purchase goods bought under regimental arrangements at wholesale prices, and sold without more profit than is necessary to keep the institution self-supporting On the first floor are billiard and games room, reading-room and library, and writing-room. The manager's quarter and kitchen premises complete the establishment. Near the recreation establishment is the canteen, devoted solely to the sale of beer, and not permitted to vie in attractiveness with the recreation establishment. A bar is provided for the soldiers, a separate room for corporals, and a jug department for the supply of the families, this building also has a manager's quarter attached to it, and an office for the checking of accounts.

For the senior non-commissioned officers a sergeants' mess is provided, containing dining-room, reading-room and billiard-| room, with kitchen premises and liquor store, which also has a jug department for the sergeants' families. The single noncommissioned officers have all their meals in this mess, and the married members also use it as a club. The warrant officers, and the proportion of non-commissioned officers and men who are on the married establishment, are provided with accommodation at some little distance from the men's barracks. In all recent schemes, on open sites, self-contained cottages have been built, and these are more popular than the older pattern of tenement buildings approached by common staircases or verandahs. The warrant officers are allowed a living-room, kitchen, and scullery, with three bedrooms and a bathroom. The married soldiers have a living-room, scullery, and one, two, or three bedrooms according to the size of their families. A laundry is provided adjacent to the married quarters, equipped with washing-troughs, wringer, drying-closet, and ironing-room, and the women are encouraged to use this in preference to doing washing in their cottages.

Officers' Quarters.-At a little distance from the men's barracks, and usually looking over the parade or cricket ground, is the officers' mess. This building has an entrance-hall with band alcove, where the band plays on guest nights, on one side of the hall is the mess-room (or dining-rooni), and on the other the anteroom (or reading-room), whilst the billiard-room and kitchen are kept to the back so that lantern lights can be arranged for A mess office is provided, and all the accessories required for the mess waiters' department, including pantry, plate-closet and cellarage, and for the kitchen or mess-man's department, with also a quarter for the mess-man The officers' quarters are usually arranged in wings extending the frontage of the mess building, and in a storey over the mess itself Each officer has a large room, part of which is partitioned off for a bedroom, and the field officers are allowed two rooms The soldier servant, told off to each officer, has a small room allotted for cleaning purposes, and bathrooms, supplied with hot water from the mess kitchen, are centrally situated A detached house, containing three sitting rooms, seven bed, and dressing-rooms, bathroom, kitchen, servants' hall, and the usual accessories, is provided for the commanding officer. also a smaller house, having two sitting-rooms, four bedrooms, bath, kitchen, &c., for the quartermaster Other regimental married officers are not provided for, and have to arrange to house themselves, a lodging allowance being usually granted Regimental Accessories -Apart from the buildings providing accommodation, others are required for administrative and military purposes. These are the guard house and regimental offices, the small-arm ammunition store, the fire-engine house, the drill and gymnastic hall, and the medical inspection block with dispensary, where the sick are seen by a medical officer and either prescribed for or sent into hospital, as may l be necessary Stables are provided for the officers' and transport horses, and a vehicle shed and storehouse for the mobilization equipment Stores are required for bread, meat, coal, clothing, and for musketry, signalling, and general small stores under the quartermaster's charge also workshops for armourers, carpenters, plumbers, painters and glaziers, shoemakers, and tailors. Mention of the

|

fives court, recreation ground and parade ground completes the description of a battalion barrack.

Cavalry Barracks.-The accommodation provided for cavalry is very similar to that already described for infantry The barrack blocks are arranged to suit the organization of the regiment, and are placed so that the men can turn out readily and get to their horses. Detached buildings are provided for cavalry troop stables, one block for the horses of each troop. Formerly stables were often built for convenience with the barrack-rooms over them, but this system has been abandoned on sanitary grounds, to the benefit of both men and horses. Each horse is given 1500 cub. ft. of air space, the horses' heads are turned to the outer walls, and provision is made, by traversed air-ducts below the mangers, for fresh air to be supplied to the horses while lying down. Above the horses' heads are windows which are arranged to open inwards, being hinged at the bottom and fitted with hopper cheeks to avoid direct draught. Ridge ventilation and skylights are given, so that all parts of the stable are well lighted and airy

Cast-iron mangers and hay-racks are provided, and the horses are separated by bails, with chains to manger brackets and heel posts, saddle brackets are fixed to the heel posts. Each stable has a troop store, where spare saddles and gear are kept; also an expense forage store, in which the day's ration, after issue in bulk from the forage barn, is kept until it is given out in feeds. The stables are paved with blue Staffordshire paving bricks, graded to a collecting channel carrying the drainage well clear of the building, before it is taken into a gully

The space between the blocks of stables is paved with cement concrete to form a yard, and horse-troughs, litter-sheds and dung-pits are provided. Officers' stables are built in separate blocks, and usually have only one row of stalls; the stalls are divided by partitions, and separate saddle-rooms are provided. Stalls and loose boxes in infirmary stables give 2000 cub. ft. of air space per horse and are placed at some distance from the troop stables in a separate enclosure. A forge and shocing shed is provided in a detached block near the troop stables. A forage barn and granary is usually built to hold a fortnight's supply, and a chaff-cutter driven by horse power is fixed close by. Cavalry regiments each have a large covered riding school, and a number of open manèges, for exercise and riding instruction.

Artillery, &c.-The accommodation provided for horse and field artillery is arranged to suit their organization in batteries and brigades, and is generally similar to that already described, with the addition of vehicle sheds for guns and ammunition wagons, and special shops for wheelers and saddlers. Accommodation for other units follows the general lines already laid down, but has to be arranged to suit the particular organization and requirements of each unit.

Garrison Accessories -In every large military station in addition to the regimental buildings which have been described, a number of buildings and works are required for the service of the garrison generally Military hospitals are established at home and abroad for the treatment of sick officers and soldiers as well as their wives and families Military hospitals are classified as follows-First-grade hospitals are large central hospitals serving important districts. These hospitals are complete in themselves and fully equipped for the carrying out of operations of all kinds, they generally contain wards for officers, and may have attached to them separate isolation hospitals for the treatment of infectious cases, and military families' hospitals for women and children Second grade hospitals are smaller in size and less fully equipped, but are capable of acting independently and have operation rooms. Third grade hospitals or reception stations are required for small stations principally, to act as feeders to the large hospitals, and to deal with accident and nontransportable cases The principles of construction of military hospitals do not differ materially from the best modern civil practice, all are now built on the pavilion system with connecting corridors arranged so as to interfere as little as possible with the free circulation of air between the blocks. The site is carefully selected and enclosed with railings. The administration block