350 THE LAND OF THE LION 
cannot be left to the careless savage, who does not know and 
will not learn how to use them. ‘“‘From him that hath 
not shall be taken away that he hath”’ is not the cruel decree 
of an irresponsible tyrant, but the far-seeing declaration 
of one who loved men and knew what was in them. 
So much for the need of making the native work for 
his own salvation’s sake. But there is another side to 
the question of native labour which must not be forgotten. 
Unless one is acquainted with the country one cannot 
at all realize the imperative importance of native labour 
to the African colonist. His fortune, his home, his all 
depends on a sufficient and staple supply of that labour, 
at the time that he wants it, and at such a fixed price that 
he can estimate his profit and loss. 
Africa is as yet the land of dreadful uncertainties. 
Some new danger, some unexpected sickness, some worm 
or grub in the field, some murrain breaking out in the 
herd — these the settler must be prepraed to contend with. 
No other country compares with Africa in producing 
unheralded calamities. 
In addition to these the agriculturalist has to prepare 
for an uncertain rainfall, in a country where even one 
season’s shortage in the rains may mean dire famine. 
To those who do not know Africa such language seems 
exaggeration but unfortunately it is the sober truth. Until 
lately it cost $1,000 per ton to bring goods from Uganda 
to the sea, a distance of only five hundred miles. Only a 
few months ago I had to pay $4 for sixty pounds of food for 
my men, and poor grain too. That was a prohibitory price 
for natives. Many therefore died of actual hunger in a 
region that within a few weeks was so well supplied with 
native-grown grain that it could afford to export a good 
deal. In May you might see men dead by the roadside, 
where in August plenty reigned. 
Try, then, to understand how great are the difficulties 
