7 OCTOBER 1938, Page 23

SPOILT BY KINDNESS

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] _ Sia,—The Spectator has long been my favourite paper, as it stands for ideals of Liberal freedom and understanding. It was therefore a severe shock to read Mr. Cleland Scott's words in your last• issue—to the effect that Jewish settlers in Kenya might be too " kind ",to the African, that they might " do no good " by sympathy with the " oppressed." Whether or not Jews would be " kind " is by the way—from what one hears of them they do not appear particularly tolerant or co-operative with Africans, Indians or even Arabs—but that it can seriously be suggested that the African or Indian can be spoilt by kindness is really unbearable. One does not need to be an anthropologist, to be a member of the human race is enough to resent this horrible gibe at those peoples for whom we are responsible. Mr. Cleland Scott's spiritual home is surely in charge of a Labour camp, but emphatically not (I still hope) under the British flag.—Yours faithfully,