168 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



the main one is the old law of supply and demand. 

 Firstly, the demand is not regular. Certain crops, 

 such as coffee, require for harvest large gangs of 

 labourers, but during the rest of the year comparatively 

 few. Then again the Public Works Department or 

 some large private enterprise may make an extra- 

 ordinary demand on the resources to hand. Such 

 cases would be the construction of the Fort Hall 

 tramway by the Government or of the Magadi 

 Railway by a public company. The supply also is 

 not constant. The various labour-supplying tribes 

 have large Reserves allotted to them — perhaps too 

 large. In these the natives cultivate crops. When 

 these crops are good, they produce a considerable 

 surplus of food, which is sold and goes towards paying 

 the taxes imposed ; consequently, the labour supply is 

 less when the crop is heavy than when it is light. 

 Every year a greater area of these Reserves is put 

 under cultivation and that under a more valuable crop, 

 and though the native population is also increasing, 

 probably the labour supply tends at present to get 

 smaller. It will not be until these Reserves are either 

 completely filled up, or else reduced in area, that 

 anything like a constant labour supply can be cal- 

 culated on. 



Some five years ago, owing to various causes — the 

 principal one being a very heavy native crop — there 

 was a considerable shortage of labour. The settlers 

 held various meetings and expressed their views in the 

 loud and indignant manner that is common to 

 all Colonials, and indeed not unknown at home. 

 Naturally the Government came in for abuse and 

 the very generally expressed sentiment was this : 

 " The native won't work ; he must be made to work, 



