Mr. Routledge contends that the punishment is utterly insufficient, and,
assuming the accuracy of his account, which is based on the Judge's report and communications from the Colonial Secretary and the Governor's office at Nairobi, we entirely agree. As Mr. Routledge puts it, this is not a matter of mere personal immorality in the private life of an individual. "The question at issue is whether the representatives of the Crown are to be allowed to withdraw ignorant girls committed to their charge from the well-defined lines of tribal life, and to lead them into courses of which the inevitable tendency is to end on the streets of Nairobi. Coupled with this question is the further question—one of Imperial importance—whether conduct of such a kind on the part of responsible officials of the Crown is not calculated adversely to affect the power and influence of the Crown in its colonial administration." We believe such cases to be very rare in the Empire, but when they do occur they should be dealt with sternly and swiftly.
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