3 JANUARY 1931, Page 30

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(Continued from page 20.) Captain Fergusson was a brave and gallant gentleman, who was murdered in 1927 by the Nuer, over whom for years he had had the sole-administrative charge. It is doubtful, however, whether The Story of Fergie Bey (Macmillan, 18s.) is a service to his reputation, and certainly he himself was too modest to have desired publication of a volume which consists largely of extracts' from his own diaries- and corre- spondence. It contains much of interest to those who know the country and the facts, but there are too many gaps for the general reader to be able to grasp the context at all satisfactorily. Captain Fergusson saw quite clearly that, although his official duty was to develop the Nuer and the resources of their country, trade, missions and other innova- tions were bound to have some undesirable effects. He also had the vision to understand that the day must come when the Southern Sudan will be entirely cut off from the Northern Sudan and form part of a Central African State, " something on the lines of Liberia."

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