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by wholesale slaughter (the old-fashioned Somali raid 

 having always been a comparatively bloodless affair), 

 they hate him so thoroughly that it was believed that 

 most of them would put aside their differences, and, 

 once armed, they would be well able to hold their own. 

 The progress of events so far has given little evidence 

 of the combination hoped for, but the Mullah's forces 

 certainly suffered a severe defeat in an incursion into 

 the Warsangali country in 1910, and since then have 

 done little. He may be lying low in the hope of making 

 a big haul of arms and ammunition by some sudden 

 stroke one of these days. But he is no longer young 

 and active, besides being a chronic sufferer from 

 serious disease, and the probabilities are that before 

 long he will be a " back number." The accounts of 

 raids which Renter publishes from time to time 

 emanate from the bazaars of Berbera and Aden, and 

 are as a rule much exaggerated when not entirely untrue. 

 A very eminent member of the House of Lords 

 stated at the time that we had broken our pledges to 

 the friendly tribes. But what pledges ? In our 

 original agreements made with them in the eighties 

 we certainly made them some more or less indefinite 

 promises of protection. There was, however, fair 

 ground for holding that we have fulfilled these by 

 arming the tribes to protect themselves. This is 

 evidently the view of Government in their present 

 policy. That policy cannot yet be said to have 

 proved a failure ; if it should do so, as is undoubtedly 

 possible, the friendly tribes would certainly have a 

 right to expect us to adopt more adequate measures. 

 The same gentleman further dilated on the loss of 



