XVII 
LABOUR 
167 
amount to slavery, or would, at all events, inflict 
unparalleled hardship. In this connection it strikes 
one as somewhat curious that when work is mentioned 
as touching our fellow citizens in England, it brings 
up such phrases as “ the dignity of honest toil,” “ the 
joy of achievement,” or, in contempt, “ the idle rich,” 
“ the Do-nothing Duke ” ; indicating, one would 
presume, that work is praiseworthy, idleness con¬ 
temptible. On the other hand, in connection with our 
black brother, the former becomes slavery, the latter 
ideal. Surely we are getting fairly close to humbug ! 
Does anyone suppose that the mass of our own people 
work for love ? Of course not. They work because 
they are forced to work—not, certainly, by direct fear 
of whip or prison, but through keener incentives. 
The spur of actual hunger urges on the main body, 
while the comparative few whom good fortune—or 
their own efforts—have made independent work to 
keep the position they have acquired or to retain the 
respect of their fellows. This state of things is the 
result of the highest civilisation we know ; that civilisa¬ 
tion must and will see to it that the native does his fair 
share of work with the rest of humanity. 
Probably at the present time our Protectorate stands 
in as good a position for native labour as any part of 
Africa. In the Highlands alone, as we have seen, 
there are 2J millions of natives, and considered as a 
whole they are strong and intelligent. It may be taken 
as quite certain that if the adult population worked for 
three months in every year, it would be many years 
before the labour supply could be insufficient. Never¬ 
theless, in the past we have had our labour difficulties, 
and one may be quite certain that they are not yet 
over. Many causes naturally contribute to this, but 
