Since one of the principal objects of Government must be to reduce the very considerable expenditure incurred on behalf of the African Protectorates it may seem unreasonable to begin by recommending a more liberal budget, but no one who is acquainted with the details of East African finance can fail to be struck by the want of proportion between the expenditure on the Uganda Railway and on the rest of the administration. The former has been lavish in the extreme, the latter equally parsimonious; up to 1901 about 5,000,000l. had been spent on the railway, and about 750,000l. in all on the rest of the Protectorate since its foundation in 1895. If one considers that a railway can only pay if the country through which it passes is productive and prosperous, the difference seems extreme. All the high officials, to whom I have used this argument for years, have admitted its force, but none of them has ever wrung from the Treasury the extra funds desired; so I suppose it must be admitted that they are unobtainable. Nevertheless the need for some extra expenditure sufficient to provide the country with adequate police, land officers, surveyors, roads, and other such necessaries is great, and the return certain. If more money cannot be provided I would suggest economy in military expenditure. Instead of any decrease under this head it is at present proposed to establish an extra reserve battalion in the Protectorate, which is, in my opinion, entirely unnecessary. In saying this I am not afraid of going against the advice of the military authorities at home, for I believe they claim no local knowledge, and judge the situation entirely by general military principles. That is to say, they calculate that there are so many Europeans who may be attacked by so many natives, and that, therefore, so many troops are necessary to protect them. But local experience shows that there is not the smallest reason to apprehend any combination of natives against the white population, tribal enmity being strong and no idea of unity existing. And if such a combination of natives against Europeans were possible would it be safe to rely on a force which is itself composed of African natives? Clearly not. Further expenditure on African troops appears to me, therefore, quite unnecessary. I would form a volunteer corps of Europeans, decrease the troops, and increase the police force, who are cheaper and quite capable of doing most of the military work which has to be done. I have little doubt that in this way an economy of 20,000l. or 30,000l. might be made, which would go a long way towards covering the expenditure indicated above.

Perhaps, however, the really greatest need of the Protectorate is not more money but more local government. At present the government is administered nominally by the Commissioner in his own name, but really under very strict instructions from London. Legislation is by ordinance, but except in cases of emergency no ordinances may be published without reference home, which generally takes many

months. Nor does it follow that if a regulation is of exclusively local importance and recommended by all the local authorities concerned it will be passed. Some time ago regulations were drafted for licensing boatmen at Mombasa, in order to put an end to the disorder and violence which resulted from all sorts of natives being allowed to take passengers to and from the steamers. It was proposed that the licensed boatmen should wear blue jerseys, which would render them recognisable, and which they would gladly have used. But in spite of all arguments the Secretary of State said that he could not sanction this proposal. Why, I have never been able to understand, for no reason was given except that the measure was 'inexpedient.' I, living on the spot as Commissioner, should never have ventured to dispute the suggestions of the port officer and maritime authorities on such a detail of discipline, but neither arguments nor entreaty had any effect on the inflexible omniscience of the Foreign Office. Naturally the same sort of thing happens in matters of greater importance : the opinions of the local authorities are frequently overruled; very frequently also elaborate ordinances, often much too elaborate for the state of the country, are prepared at home without consulting those on the spot, and are merely sent out for publication.

A further evil is that there is absolutely nothing in the nature of a council, and even the local officials are somewhat out of touch with the public. They are apt to think that they know best what the unofficial world really wants, and the unofficial world is apt to ignore the really serious difficulties which often prevent the execution of what seem simple requests. Hence arises much discontent; the public are dissatisfied with the local officials, and the local officials are dissatisfied with the officials in London. The remedy for all this does not seem to me difficult. At present, of course, anything like representative government is premature, but there is no reason why there should not be a council to assist the Commissioner composed of unofficial as well as of official members. Such a council exists next door in German East Africa, where the European element is certainly not stronger than in British territory. It is most desirable that there should be officers on the council of general colonial experience. Local experience is naturally indispensable and invaluable, but it is not sufficient to enable East African officials to deal with the numerous problems created by European immigration, and the staff should be strengthened by men who have some practical knowledge of how such problems are dealt with in such Colonies as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. As long as no general principle and no interest not represented on the council is involved it ought to be possible to settle local affairs locally, and a report home of the action taken should be sufficient. Whenever general questions or wider interests are concerned the point must, of course, be referred home, but except in some special case, such as a matter of Imperial

moment, I think the council should be consulted on all legislation and its opinions not be rejected by the home authorities without good reason. The main difficulty in the matter is no doubt the old one of finance regulations have a way of requiring funds for their execution. East Africa has undergone a rather sudden transition in this respect. Formerly the impossibility of communication necessitated the grant of unusual powers of expenditure and an equally unusual leniency in audit. Now the strict system in force in settled countries, which requires not only accounts but forecasts of expenditure, has been introduced. The Commissioner is obliged to send home in November a detailed estimate of every item of the expenditure which will take place in the twelve months beginning in the following April. When once this estimate is approved he can only reallocate sums under 100. Such a system is really only feasible in a country which has settled down in fixed conditions. It is not workable in an expanding and changing country where a district unheard of twelve months before may suddenly become a busy centre. It is not very easy to propose any plan which will satisfy the needs of the Protectorate as well as the just requirements of the Lords of the Treasury, but there are precedents in East Africa for the appropriation of lump sums to specified purposes, such as military reorganisation,' without any allocation of details, and I think a sum of 20,000l. or 30,000l. should be assigned in this way for expenditure on assisting European colonisation in a wide sense. Such assistance would include in the first instance arrangements for survey and the creation of an adequate land office, with a staff sufficient to cope with the applications for estates. It need hardly be said that it is of the utmost importance to make sure that applicants are able and ready to develop their land, and are not obtaining it for merely speculative purposes with a view to selling it on the first favourable opportunity. With this object it is necessary to have proof that they have sufficient means, and to insert in the lease conditions which shall neither be onerous nor allow land to be locked up uselessly. All this requires the time and attention of a far more considerable staff than is at present in existence.

Then it is undoubtedly necessary to construct more roads and bridges. The whole of the Southern Mau, some twelve or fifteen hundred square miles of grazing land and timber, is at present practically inaccessible. Immigrants are ready to go there when the way is open, but one cannot expect to direct the stream to an uninhabited, unmapped country, unless the Government makes some attempt to establish communications and organisation. A certain number of white police are also necessary. At present the force is composed entirely of Africans and Indians, but it is evident that these cannot deal with disorderly Europeans. Further, in allotting land it is desirable to state clearly the principles on which it is allotted, and on this subject there has been much uncertainty. A distinction may

fairly be drawn between the earliest concessions given to attract and encourage experiments in an unknown country and the normal grants offered afterwards. In the former case I see no objection to holdings of twenty, fifty, or a hundred thousand acres or to using the assistance of syndicates to start ventures too arduous for private enterprise. But when once the value of the land is known it is most desirable to prevent it from being absorbed by a few capitalists. I believe it is recognised as an evil in South Africa that so much property is owned by a few syndicates, and I cannot agree with the policy which in East Africa gives large tracts to one of these bodies on far more favourable terms than private individuals can obtain. But in any case the most important point is that the holders of large properties should be obliged to develop and utilise them and not be able to lock them up, as is unfortunately possible under some leases drafted in London. As for the size of normal holdings to be granted now, it appears that in the more accessible parts of the Protectorate 5,000 acres for grazing and 640 for agriculture is a fair average for good land. In many places the distribution of water or the inferior quality of the soil may necessitate much larger holdings—say, of 12,000 acres -and those who are willing to go to the less accessible districts and act as real pioneers may still be justly allowed estates of 25,000 acres or more. But in dealing with all these questions the first necessity appears to me to be the advice of those who have had experience of land settlement elsewhere, and this has hitherto not been forthcoming.

One point of detail which requires special attention is the game regulations. The rules in force have attained their object of preventing the destruction of the large game which nature has so plentifully bestowed on these regions, but they are not compatible with the holding of private property by Europeans, and for preserving game in the future it is clear we must depend on game reserves, in which shooting is forbidden, rather than on elaborate regulations as to how many animals may be killed. Fortunately the establishment of these reserves is an easy matter, for the country where game is most abundant is also that which is least in request for other purposes, such as the Serengeti plains and the districts near the German frontier and Lake Baringo. The present fee for a settler's licence (107.) is too high. It has been vainly pointed out to the Foreign Office that settlers will not pay it, and that the result of insisting on it is that nobody takes out a licence and everybody poaches. The Government are powerless to deal with the abuse, and both the game and the revenue suffer. If the licence were reduced to about 31. it would probably be taken out by most persons.

But apart from this the whole question requires consideration by a committee who will weigh the interests of landowners as well as of sportsmen, for the most innocent of large wild animals, such as

zebras, may do considerable damage on an estate. Yet a proprietor, though provided with a licence, may kill only two.

I think that only immigrants of European race should be allowed to settle in the Highlands, or, in other words, that Indians should not be permitted to do so. It may be doubted whether any Indians genuinely desire to settle in these districts, for the conditions of climate and agriculture are not such as appeal to them. On the other hand, they are undoubtedly most anxious to acquire land for speculative purposes, and experience in Zanzibar, where much property has been sold by impecunious Arabs, shows that it is not to the advantage of a country that estates should pass into the hands of non-resident Indian landlords. Also, the mixture of Europeans and Africans is quite sufficient, and it is not advisable to introduce a third element which may quarrel with both. There seems, however, to be no objection to encouraging Indian settlement on the coast and near Lake Victoria. The climate of these districts is not good for Europeans, but it resembles many parts of India, particularly Madras, and there are facilities for cultivation with irrigation, such as Indians are accustomed to.

The mention of mixture of races reminds me of the project of establishing a Jewish colony on the Gwas Ngisha plateau. This proposal was made rather suddenly last year at a moment when the prospects of the East Africa Protectorate seemed far from brilliant. The completion of the Uganda Railway produced an exodus of workmen and contractors which seriously affected trade, and there was as yet no indication that Europeans were likely to immigrate to the Protectorate in any numbers on their own account, and neither the funds nor the organisation were forthcoming to arrange a scheme of colonisation. It was understood, however, that very large sums would be available for the establishment of a Jewish colony, and in these circumstances I gave a very qualified assent to the project. My hesitation did not arise from any anti-Semitic feeling, but from doubt as to whether any beneficial result would be obtained. I do not understand how the aspirations of the Zionists will be furthered by a settlement in East Africa, which is neither in Palestine nor on the road to it the proposed colony would not be sufficiently large to appreciably relieve the congested and suffering Jewish population of some parts of Eastern Europe, and it is to my mind exceedingly doubtful if the climate and agricultural life would be in any way suitable to Israelites. However, as long as it was merely a question of making an experiment in an isolated and unused part of Africa the objections were not serious, but when the country began to attract British immigrants who showed an inclination to settle all round the proposed Jewish colony I considered that the scheme became dangerous and deprecated its execution. It was tantamount to reproducing in East Africa the very conditions which have caused so much distress

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