68 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION D. 



tlie rising' sun — shall we say of modern science ? — bespeaks the 

 beginning of a ncAv era for 



The Dark Contixext. 



In ihe expansion of civilisation under tlie influence of 

 Christian ideals, the outstanding- fact is that the trend was 

 north-westward into Europe, where it gradually gained force 

 and in time spread like a tidal wave to the American 

 continents. In Eussia it subsided, as in a morass, in the great 

 ag'gregation of widely divergent elements that comprise the 

 nation, and in Asia it was impeded by the inertia of a people 

 imbued with the ideals of an older civilisation that had 

 apparentlj^ reached a state of equilibrium. To the south-west 

 stretched the great continent of Africa, in which profuse 

 natural resources were apparently available for the asking, 

 but for some reason they were left almost in abeyance, save 

 for the slave trade, which attracted world-wide attention. "Why 

 did the tide of Western civilisation cross three thousand mil?s 

 of water and develop the ximerican continents rather than 

 follow the coast-line of Africa and extend its scope to inland 

 resources that even now are the admiration of the world? The 

 query might be answered by saying that it followed the line 

 of least resistance. But that suggests the further query : "Why 

 was IN^orth America more easily mastered than Africa? 



XoRTii America axd Africa Comrared. 



In North America the virile races of Europe found a native 

 race which, though virile in many ways, was not capable of 

 adapting itself to new conditions, and hence it disappeared 

 and left the new arrivals free to develop to the fullest extent. 

 Besides a great expanse of fertile soil and an invigorating 

 climate, regular seasons and adequate rainfall, natural 

 resources in the form of water-power, forests, coal, iron and 

 oil, not to mention gold and silver, were easily available. 

 It was inevitable that, under the combined attack of the best 

 races of Europe, inspired by high ideals, such a continent 

 should confe under control rapidly. 



In Africa the same European races attempted the conquest 

 of the continent, but in i)lace of it becoming an asset, it proved 

 to be almost a barrier thrust into the ocean to hamper com- 

 munioation between east and west. "Why did they not boldly 

 invade and hold the continent in place of going around it for 

 generations, or, at best, holding on precariously at certain 

 points ? 



In comparison with Xorth America, the natural resources 

 of Africa were not easily available on account of natural 

 obstacles — great desert b'^lts in certain parts contrasted wit!i 

 great swamps and jungles in others: irregular rainfall, 

 resulting in floods, followed by droughts and scarcity of food 

 for the millions of natives that were ever present and capable 

 of adapting themselves to new conditions ; in geneial, a 

 "climate " that had ('and still hns) a great reputation for 

 beinff '"deadlv." Fnder such conditions it seems inevitable 



