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RHINO AND GIRAFFES [ch. iv 
to jump at the chance of criticizing a missionary for 
every alleged sin of either omission or commission. 
Finally, zealous missionaries, fervent in the faith, do 
not always find it easy to remember that savages can 
only be raised by slow steps, that an empty adherence 
to forms and ceremonies amounts to nothing, that 
industrial training is an essential in any permanent 
upward movement, and that the gradual elevation of 
mind and character is a prerequisite to the achievement 
of any kind of Christianity which is worth calling such. 
Nevertheless, after all this has been said, it remains true 
that the good done by missionary effort in Africa has 
been incalculable. There are parts of the great continent, 
and among them I include many sections of East Africa, 
which can be made a white man’s country ; and in these 
parts every effort should be made to favour the growth 
of a large and prosperous white population. But over 
most of Africa the problem for the white man is to 
govern, with wisdom and firmness, and when necessary 
with severity, but always with a single eye to their own 
interests and development, the black and brown races. 
To do this needs sympathy and devotion no less than 
strength and wisdom, and in the task the part to be 
played by the missionary and the part to be played by 
the official are alike great, and the two should work 
hand in hand. 
After returning from Machakos, I spent the night at 
Sir Alfred’s, and next morning said good-bye with most 
genuine regret to my host and his family. Then, 
followed by my gun-bearers and sais, I rode off across 
the Athi Plains. Through the bright white air the sun 
beat down mercilessly, and the heat haze wavered above 
the endless flats of scorched grass. Hour after hour we 
