352 THE LAND OF THE LION 



to indicate how complex is the question. How is it being 

 dealt with ? 



The civil officers of each district are, among their 

 other multifarious duties, expected to provide native 

 labour for colonists settled within that district, as well as 

 to furnish the necessary gangs to carry on department 

 contracts. Natives in gangs of several hundreds may 

 be seen marching off to build roads, cut wood, mend 

 railway embankments, carry supplies, etc. And as there 

 is only a very small staff of Europeans in the country, 

 all such works have to be let out on contract to Hindu 

 or Swahili contractors. Here at once arises a need of 

 protecting the native. No one in his senses would advocate 

 handing over natives to the tender mercies of a Hindu 

 contractor. He would be overworked, underfed and driven 

 to desert before the time he had engaged for had expired. 



By way of illustration, I will tell a story. Three years 



ago I was staying with X , the civil officer in temporary 



charge of an important post. One afternoon three hundred 

 miserable wretches crawled into the boma and seated 

 themselves before the office. The officer came out and 

 asked what was the matter. A little starved looking lad 

 of certainly not more than twelve years separated himself 

 from the dumb throng, came up alone, and said: "Bwana 

 beat me and let me go home." The child then lay down 

 on the ground, as the natives are made to do before being 



whipped; X took in the situation at a glance. " Here," 



said he, "is an instance of how these rascally Hindis go 

 to work. I saw these people off to their Government 

 job three months ago. They were in good enough shape 

 then. Look at them now. Some down with fever, some 

 with dysentery, and all of them starved. That devil has 

 worked them harder and harder as their contract time drew 

 to a close. He has harried them and beaten them and, 

 having got almost three months work out of them, makes 



