166 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



knew, as I did, that I should want labour. Now I ask 

 you to help me get it." And thirdly, we have the view 

 of the native himself. What that view is it would 

 take a wise man indeed to discover. 



Now, of course, speaking as a settler, I am pre- 

 judiced. I hold most strongly the second view. I 

 cannot argue with the native and therefore I must do 

 so with the humanitarian, and to him I will put the 

 following points : — 



It is generally conceded that when we take over 

 the government of an erstwhile savage State we confer 

 a benefit. Any missionary will tell you that ! And the 

 man who has the votes will probably agree with him. 

 We give peace where war was. We give justice 

 where injustice ruled. We give law and order where 

 the only law was the law of strength. We give 

 Christianity, or a chance of it, where Paganism ruled. 

 Whether the native looks on it in that light is another 

 matter. I am afraid that possibly he doesn't as yet 

 truly appreciate his benefits. Even in Uganda, where 

 evidences of present prosperity jostle with the patent 

 mutilations of the past ; where the native, minus a 

 hand or an ear severed by the order of his late 

 sovereign, rides on the bicycle obtained through the 

 missionary, I fear that a huge majority would, given a 

 chance, vote for a return to past conditions. But, 

 sir — the personal predilection of the savage is nothing 

 to us, we stand by the deeds and opinions of missionary 

 and Government. We have conferred a benefit on 

 the native, now what is he going to do in return ? 

 The wishes of the People in England, as interpreted 

 by Parliament and instructed by Government, have 

 laid down that the native is not to be forced to work 

 against his will — to do so would, in their opinion, 



