A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
EXTRACTS from the journal of The Devonshire Regiment, which show that in its 1st Battalion there has been a certain amount of inter-company rivalry about the number of ,Mau Mau killed, will provide critics of our forces in Kenya with useful ammunition. When troops are employed in aid of the civil power over a longish period, there is always some brutality, especially when they confront an alien popula- tion with a reputation for cruelty and treachery. The dangers of this are increased if many of the soldiers are young and inexperienced; they are further increased if any of their junior commanders (to whom the nature of the campaign in Kenya must often give a wide measure of independence) have a touch of what may be called the Black-and-Tan mentality—and it will be surprising if all of the 100 odd officers and NCOs in a battalion who may find themselves leading troops in action are equally steady under the strain of doing so, let alone equally decent by nature. These things are in the nature of war; they are facts of life, which must be regretted but should not be ignored.
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