CHAPTER XVI 



FORESTS 



In her forests, and more especially in her Highland 

 forests, British East Africa possesses an asset of the 

 very utmost value. An authority, and perhaps the 

 authority best calculated to judge, has said that the 

 timber of the Protectorate is worth twice as much as 

 the whole of the rest of the country put together. Of 

 this asset no reasonable man can say that we have as 

 yet made the best use. There are, as I shall show, at 

 the present day at least two million acres of valuable 

 timber in the Highlands. Of that amount, during 

 the whole period of our administration, less than 

 200,000 acres have come into private ownership for 

 purposes of development, or have been leased for the 

 same purpose ; and of this 200,000 acres about 20,000 

 escaped the talons of the Government by pure 

 inadvertence on their part, while no stone has been 

 left unturned and no process of law or bluff omitted to 

 re-obtain possession of another and much larger 

 portion. During this same period the entire destruc- 

 tion of at least 200,000 acres of good forest at the 

 hands of natives has occurred in the Government area. 

 The reason of this ghastly hoarding, not to say waste, 

 of our most valuable possession lies in the fear lest 

 private individuals or companies, or, worse still, a 



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