THE COUNTRY 333 
ing from out the bounds of its control, Englishmen and things, 
English. One can understand a policy that poured forth 
blood and treasure like water, to save South Africa for the 
Empire, but in the days coming who will be able to explain 
or defend to intelligent Englishmen that policy of shilly- 
shally that first let the Boers have their own way till war was 
inevitable, then called all her sons around her, and with their 
aid, beat her enemy to the dust; and then, before the hurts of 
battle were healed, handed back the land for which she and 
they had paid so new and heavy a price, to those very uncon- 
verted forces of ignorance, prejudice and race hatred, from 
which, all blood drenched, she had delivered it. Great 
surely is the policy of “‘muddling through”! and that is the 
one persistent policy pursued in the poor little Protectorate. 
The Governor sits in council at regular seasons. The 
council’s supposed value lies in its supposed capacity to 
represent the needs and wishes of the Protectorate. It 
suggests local laws and regulations, which are, {after dis- 
cussion, for warded to Downing Street. If approved 
there, they are printed in the Protectorate Gazette and 
become operative. 
There are six provincial commissioners ruling the six dis- 
tricts into which British East Africa is divided. “These men 
know the country or are at least supposed to know it better 
than all others, for they are sent to govern it by aid of dis- 
trict commissioners who are under their orders. Not one of 
these six has a seat on the council. Nor on the council can 
any official retain office who votes contrary to the executive. 
So the council is neither legislative nor conciliar. It does not 
fairly represent anything, even officialdom. It is a sort of 
restricted debating society, denied even the privilege of 
recording by vote its convictions. It satisfies no one in 
the country and does not seemingly exercise much influence 
outside it. 
It has no settled policy of administration. It is not so 
