Letters to the Editor
[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. The most suitable length is that of one of our " News of the Week" paragraphs.—Ed. THE SPECTATOR.]
GOLD IN KENYA
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Much prominence has been given in the Press lately to the action of the Government of Kenya in regard to the pro- posed temporary resumption of certain lands that had been reserved to the natives. It is feared, in some quarters, that the sanctity of our pledges to the aborigines of that territory may be in danger, and that the repercussions of any such breach of faith, on our part, would be disastrous to our good relations with the millions of our native subjects in other regions of Africa.
It is important, however, that a due sense of proportion should be observed in this matter, and that the actual scope of the recent action of the local government should be clearly appreciated. The discovery of gold in the Kavirondo district suddenly faced the administration with a situation which had to be immediately dealt with. The " rush " of prospectors, though on a comparatively small scale, necessitated the promptest measures to protect the rights of discovery and to safeguard the just claims of the occupiers of the soil.
It was therefore necessary, as a measure of urgency, to amend provisionally the Kenya Land Trust Ordinance in such a way as to assure the natives, without delay, that their rights would be properly safeguarded and that full compensation would be given to them for disturbance. The statement that this compensation would largely be in the nature of cash caused much concern. But time pressed, and the question of the exchange of lands was one that could not be rapidly settled. The Chief Native Commissioner, however, when introducing the Bill, laid great emphasis on the temporary nature of the measure, and stated that it would be subject to any subse- quent recommendations of the Kenya Land Inquiry Com- mission that is already in existence. It should now be clear,
• therefore, that the arrangement in regard to the Kavirondo district is of a purely provisional nature, and that the main basis of the Kenya Land Trust Ordinance has not been vitiated.
I have seen nowhere any estimate of the amount of land, in the Kavirondo Native Reserves, which is likely to be affected by the arrangements now in progress. It is possible, of course, that a great goldfield may be proved to exist in that locality, but it is far more probable that the gold-bearing area is of quite moderate extent. The native Reserves in Kenya are reported to cover an area of 31,000,000 acres. As the abo- riginal population is less than 3,000,000, the temporary re- sumption of even a million acres in the Kavirondo district could hardly have any practical effect on the future welfare of the people of Kenya, save on those who happen to occupy, at present, the Kakamega district.
That compensation for disturbance should be given in the shape of cash is open to the gravest objections on every score, and every possible effort should be made to arrange for the exchange of areas in the immediate vicinity of the tribe. The catastrophic fall in the prices of almost all of the products of Kenya, added to the disastrous invasions of locusts must, un- fortunately, have brought many settlers in the neighbourhood of the Kavirondo reserve to a position when they would be only too willing to surrender their holdings to the Government " for public purposes " and for reasonable compensation. The cost of such operations should, of course, be borne by the goldfield.
In any case the definite settlement of this problem must be effected in such a way as to remove completely from the minds of the natives any false impression that may have been created as to the tenure of their lands. The very fact that they are quite helpless to resist any Government decision makes it doubly necessary that their rights should be observed, not only with scrupulous justice, but with generosity.
There is no need for public excitement over this matter, or for any fear that the measures provisionally taken to meet an unforeseen emergency have permanently vitiated the rights of the natives of Kenya. The aborigines of that country have been secured in the enjoyment of vast areas in a degree that has never been paralleled in any other part of Africa, and the local government has always protected their interests to the verge of partiality. The administration, in any ease, is entirely under the control of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the history of recent years shows that the Colonial Office can be relied on to safeguard, to an almost Quixotic degree, the welfare of the natives of Kenya.--I am,
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