Book excerpt: Sir Charles Bruce (1836-1920) was a civil servant and colonial administrator who served for thirty-six years in various administrative and governing roles in Mauritius, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Guyana. These volumes, first published in 1910, contain Bruce's discussions of the major problems of colonial administration. He provides a detailed survey of the development of national and colonial policy from 1815 to 1868 and imperial policy from 1868 to 1872, illustrating the historical context of late nineteenth-century colonial administration. Bruce then discusses in detail topics of importance to colonial administrators, including Crown law, labour and health, illustrating solutions to problems from his considerable experience. These volumes were intended as a reference work for students of colonial administration, and provide a wealth of information on the organisation and administration of British colonies in the nineteenth century. Volume 2 contains his discussion of education, communications, the fiscal system and commerce.