CHAPTER XXII 



LOCAL POLITICS 



Every Colony in the making, and until such time as 

 it is in a position to manage its internal affairs, passes 

 through periods of political unrest ; and such periods 

 do not tend to get less frequent and intense as the 

 country more nearly approaches the time when it may 

 fitly be trusted with such management. To this rule 

 British East Africa is no exception. When the first 

 driblets of pioneer colonists appeared and took root, I 

 think that it may be fairly admitted, without any 

 disparagement to a fine body of men, that the officials 

 as a class resented their presence. This fact rendered 

 the formation of a political situation easy. It was 

 simply a case of a struggle for existence by the 

 colonists and of antagonism to the official element. 

 Elsewhere I have shown how this animosity arose, 

 flourished, and finally died away, its end being almost 

 synchronous with the advent of the present Governor, 

 Sir Percy Girouard. 1 Since the ending of this first 

 phase politics have taken a much more complex turn 

 and, on the whole, an altogether more satisfactory one. 

 Although on various different points there has and 

 always will be very strong feeling shown, for which, I 



1 Sir Percy Girouard resigned his office, to the great regret of the majority of 

 Colonists, July 16th, 191 2. 



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