Mr. Chamberlain went on to declare that the result of
a very careful consideration of the main issue—i.e., the Hut-tax in the hinterland of Sierra Leone—was to convince him that that imposition was neither unfair nor impolitic. If slave- raiding was to be put down, a native police must be raised and employed. But to pay the police, money must be obtained, and the only way to get the money was by a Hut-tax. Miss Kingsley had declared that a Hut-tax was specially objection. able ; but though he had the greatest respect for Miss Kingsley's opinion, he did not believe that the natives were really as great fools as Miss Kingsley thought them. The French levied a Hut-tax nearly double ours in amount, and a native chief had imposed one of 10s. per hut, while ours was only 5s. The Hut-tax was, no doubt, the spark that fired the mine, but it was not the ultimate cause of the revolt. That was the desire to return to slavery. As a chief put it, the pot of soup already contained meat and vegetables- i.e., the putting down of slavery and the interference of the traders with the natives—but the pepper which gave the seasoning was the Hut-tax. On the whole, we think that Mr. Chamberlain made out a good defence for his policy in regard to the Hut-tax. Undoubtedly, the question is a very difficult one, but he cannot be said to have acted recklessly or without carefully weighing local and expert advice.
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