98BOOK REVIEWSstructure, this little dictionary should prove invaluable; but those with noinkling of Bantu languages at all might be deeply puzzled to find no entrieswhatever for 'I, me, we, us, you, he, him, she, her, it, they or them'. Appendix2 does not in fact offer a cryptic solution, with a bare list of 'personal pro-nouns and concords for all noun classes', but there is no clue at all as tohow these are used (i.e. whether or not they get attached to a verb, and towhich end of it). Tn the circumstances, absolute beginners may be relieved tofind that the Fellings' Lessons in Ndebele provides just the kind of groundingthey need in order to make best use of the Dictionary.Lessons in Ndebele is a beginner's manual that represents the outcomeof many years of practical experience in teaching Ndebele to English speakers.The benefit of such experience is clearly evident throughout. The presentationof material is excellently organized: elements of structure, and essentialvocabulary, are introduced in a series of concise, well-ordered instalments,with an absolute minimum of grammatical jargon, and are put to immediateuse in providing a good stock of useful and practical sentences. No exercisesare included, but this need is admirably supplied in the companion volumeproduced by Mrs Pelling, entitled Ndebele Work Book, which contains prac-tical exercises relating precisely to each of the lessons in the main book.Used either as a basis for class work, or individually, these two volumesshould provide the basis for an excellent and thorough grounding in thelanguage, provided Š and this is important Š that outside guidance is soughtconcerning pronunciation, as the authors do indeed advocate. A very roughguide to pronunciation is offered in Lesson 1 but this is sometimes ratherwide of the mark. For example there is a paragraph of instructions for makingthe implosive 'b' Š 'a very difficult sound to articulate'- In my own experience,this sound, though common in Zulu, does not actually occur in Ndebele atall: instead, they use something like a 'w' (but without lip-rounding), solearners might be well advised not to disregard the initial injunction inLesson 1, namely that 4it is essential for the student to spend time with aNdebele person, practising Jhe speech sounds, and imitating intonations ofwords and sentences'.School of Oriental and African Studies, LondonD. K. RYCROFTRhodesian Company Law By M. Tett and N. Chadwick with Contributionsby W. J. Millar and Members of the Rhodesia Society of CharteredAccountants. Salisbury, Rhodesian Law Journal, 1976, 296pp., Rh$ 14,30.Rhodesian Income Tax By E. E. Skeet. Salisbury, The Chartered Account-ants of Rhodesia Education Trust, 1976, 157pp., Rh$10,00.Basic Guide to Rhodesian Income Tax By A. Katz. Salisbury, Pioneer Head,revised edit., 1976, 62pp., Rh$2,00.It seems that in Rhodesia, Company Law, like much else, stands still. InEngland and South Africa substantive changes have been made in the past25 years, but the Rhodesian Companies Act, modelled on the English Act of1948, has remained materially unchanged. These developments elsewhere andthe lively debate accompanying them have been largely passed over by theBOOK REVIEWS99authors of Rhodesian Company Law, There are so many excellent textbooksand students' guides on both English and South African Company Law thateven a good textbook on the Rhodesian legislation might have seemedsuperfluous. This attempt, the first of its kind, provides patchy cover to awell-worked field. It makes little attempt to reveal in what respects the Rho-desian law might be unique or might even differ from that of the sourcecountries. It foregoes all attempt to deal with the requirements for a Lawof Companies to meet the particular needs of Rhodesia or to furnish anyinformation on the extent and operation in Rhodesia of its Companies Act.There is also a number of omissions. There is no discussion and noauthority cited as to the nature and extent of the ostensible authority of thevarious company officials. The duty of directors to act towards the companywith good faith is treated perfunctorily and there is no mention that suchgood faith is required to be of the highest order and not merely that of theordinary honesty required in commercial transactions. There is no mentionof the requirements of the Rhodesian Stock Exchange for a public company toobtain and maintain a quotation ŠŁ an aspect of the regulation of companiesin the public interest with potentially far-reaching effects. There is no dis-cussion of the now much publicized shortcomings of the rules governing theduties and liabilities of auditors who certify accounts.The relevant sections of the Rhodesian Companies Act are cited, oftenverbatim, and there is a Table listing the comparable sections of the SouthAfrican Act. Many of the Rhodesian cases are cited, including a number otfunreported decisions, but even here no case numbers are given and locatingthe unreported decisions would require reference to yet another index.A book on Rhodesian Income Tax is inevitably more useful as there areparticular rules, rates of income tax, special allowances, abatements, whichare peculiar to Rhodesia. Skeet's book meets the need for a clear expositionof these rales and the necessary calculations. An accountant's skills are nodoubt helpful in this task, but they seem more of a handicap in approachingthe broader principles of income tax. Chapter 4 on Capital Receipts andIncome consists of little more than a long (but not exhaustive) recital andoccasional summary of decided cases, less than expertly done. The result isnot only dull and confused but one which avoids rather than raises thedifficulties in the topic. There is cursory treatment of schemes of tax avoid-ance. Whilst the recent case in the Appellate Division of Commissioner ofTaxes v Ferera is strongly criticized as being 'contrary to customary profes-sional attitudes and beliefs', the extraordinary plea is made for 'a reviewwhich will either confirm or reverse the views expressed'. Again no exposi-tion is given of the facts of the case nor any explanation as to why it is'contrary to professional attitudes and beliefs'. It is a pity that there is no in-formation provided of the importance of income tax as a source of revenue,of how it compares with other forms of tax, especially sales tax, and, notleast of all, of its role in the 1969 Constitution. A bibliography would alsohave been useful,Katz's booklet deals with the more common questions asked by ordinarytaxpayers and answers them simply and briefly and for the most part clearly.It has the fewest pretensions of the books reviewed but, surprisingly, is theonly one with a section on improvements in the law.SalisburyA. N. H. EASTWOOD