A PLEA FOR THE NATIVE 385 
native’s hopelessness, his incapacity er unwillingness to 
undertake and carry through any hard work. On every 
hand this is the common accusation brought against all 
natives alike, brought by those who have had little oppor- 
tunity to study their present condition or have taken any 
thought of their past unfavourable environment. The 
charge in many instances is entirely and in many more par- 
tially untrue. 
Give the East African the work that he is fitted for, be 
patient with him, be just and at the same time be firm, 
and he can do and often has done, extraordinarily good 
work. On the other hand, put him to a work that his 
ancestry has for ages unfitted him for, put the Massai cattle- 
herder (if you can catch him!) to hoeing the veldt, or the 
corn-raising Kikuyu to heavy lumbering or raising rail- 
road embankments, and the result will be unsatisfactory 
in the extreme. Put him under the control of men who 
cannot speak his language, who take no trouble to under- 
stand him, who have little patience, and he will most likely 
cause no end of trouble and annoyance. East Africa is, 
from the white man’s point of view, a land of hurry. He 
rushes out to it, he entertains all sorts of unreasonable 
expectations regarding it. It is a “get rich quick” land 
for him. Laws, regulations, natives, beasts —all, exist 
only for his pleasure and profit. He would gladly, were 
he allowed to do so, exploit them all for his own purpose, 
and go home as soon as he was assured of a competence. 
In this spirit he is prepared to deal with the native and, 
after his own ideas, be fair and just to him. But still, to 
hold him as nothing more than a necessary pawn in the 
winning of his adventurous game, as something to serve his 
needs, to supply him with the labour he must have, the 
unfortunate native must cease to be a nomad and must 
be at his beck and call, to do the work he requires for such 
wages as he can afford to pay. 
