172 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
attention to the fact that there are some employers 
who can always obtain and keep labour, while others 
can never do so. What is the secret of this ? I must 
always confess that it is an absolute mystery to me, 
and that I know of no golden rule. One man will tell 
you that the great secret is to keep one’s temper. It 
is not so. We all know cases of men of ungovernable 
temper who are yet most popular with the natives ; of 
others, again, possessing most equable tempers, who 
are equally disliked. One employer, a successful one, 
will tell you that the great thing is to talk and joke 
with his men, get interested in their wives and children, 
and learn their personal feelings. His equally success¬ 
ful neighbour swears by the policy of holding religi¬ 
ously aloof from all personal intercourse. This man 
says it is a fatal thing ever to strike or beat a native. 
That man, that a wholesome use of the “ Kiboko ” 
is essential, and, in fact, adds his black brother to the 
category of the spaniel, the wife and the walnut-tree. 
There is, I believe, only one point on which all are 
agreed, and that is that what the native really appre¬ 
ciates is a sense of justice, and that if he once 
thoroughly grasps the fact that you are really trying to 
deal with him fairly and impartially, he will stand a 
good deal. On this point, I think, all successful 
masters are agreed, and I think that a majority 
would agree on the following points: That it is 
essential to pay up wages on the very day they become 
due. You may be sure that the native knows the 
exact day on which they are due, and appreciates 
being paid on that day. That where possible piece 
work is desirable, failing that, task work. That labour 
living on a farm is preferable to that imported. That 
where possible it pays to see that your labour is 
