I
have just spent nearly a year in Africa. While there I saw four
British protectorates. I grew heartily to respect the men whom I there
met, settlers and military and civil officials; and it seems to me
that the best service I can render them and you is very briefly to
tell you how I was impressed by some of the things that I saw. Your
men in Africa are doing a great work for your Empire, and they are
also doing a great work for civilization. This fact and my sympathy
for and belief in them are my reasons for speaking. The people at
home, whether in Europe or in America, who live softly, often fail
fully to realize what is being done for them by the men who are
actually engaged in the pioneer work of civilization abroad. Of
course, in any mass of men there are sure to be some who are weak or
unworthy, and even those who are good are sure to make occasional
mistakes--that is as true of pioneers as of other men. Nevertheless,
the great fact in world history during the last century has been the
spread of civilization over the world's waste spaces. The work is
still going on; and the soldiers, the settlers, and the civic
officials who are actually doing it are, as a whole, entitled to the
heartiest respect and the fullest support from their brothers who
remain at home.
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