The French Government, therefore, appoints Arab chiefs, who, to all intents and purposes, rule over the nomads, and who are responsible for law and order among the people and for the levying of taxes. The head of the Arab chiefs, who is ruler over the whole tribe or confederation of tribes, is known as the _bash agha_. He is appointed by the Governor-General, and he is chosen for his authority, for his capacity as an administrator and for the name he bears. It must be remembered, however, that though the Government tries as far as possible to appoint men of noble lineage, this is not necessarily done, and the Government does not recognize any sort of official succession from father to son. If the eldest son is considered worthy of the post he is probably appointed to take his father’s place, but cases occur where a distant relation, and sometimes an Arab chief of another family is brought in, if the actual ruling house is considered unworthy. The _bash agha_ has under him one or two _aghas_ whom he recommends to the Bureau Arabe for appointment. One of the _aghas_ is often his eldest son, but here again there is no rule. The confederation of tribes is divided into subtribes, which, though they each have their own name, all belong to the main clan. These differ in numbers, but the confederation is usually composed of from ten to twenty tribes. These tribes are estimated by the numbers of tents or heads of families they contain. They each represent about two thousand people and have at their head a _caïd_. It is, moreover, interesting to note that the _bash agha_ and the _aghas_ belong to one of these tribes of which they are honorary chiefs. The _caïd_ is, as in the case of the _agha_, recommended by the _bash agha_ to the Bureau Arabe, who, if agreeable to the recommendation, passes it on to the Governor-General for confirmation. Here, again, they try as far as possible to select the _caïds_ from the same family as the _bash agha_. The appointment of the _caïd_ is most important, as it is he who is in direct touch with the tribe wherever it happens to be. He is assisted in his duties by the _khaliphat_, who does all the clerical work and who acts in the place of the _caïd_ when he is absent.