Negro violence
Sir: May I endorse the last paragraph of Mr Wainwright's letter (28 February). I have spent nearly forty years in tropical Africa, and my wife over fifteen. As we were engaged in agricultural development and education respectively, our day-to-day contacts with African and other non-white oommunities were close and, indeed, essen- tial to our work. We look back, with pleasure and happiness, on our relationships with those whom we endeavoured to assist, and that these were something more than formal can perhaps be indicated by the fact that, shortly before we left, a local African offered to give us some of his land, so that we could build a house and retire there.
Now, the posturing and outbursts of the 'do-gooders', sentimentalists and fanatics whose only apparent philosophy is 'black is right' and 'white is wrong' have, we regret, produced much the same reaction as that suffered by your correspondent. The fact that, of those who open their mouths the widest, not one in fifty knows anything of Africa or its inhabitants, does not help.
Nor, in this country, has the ineptitude of the Race Relations Act. I doubt if the concept of a legal—other than, of course, a Christian—obligation to love one's neigh- bour has ever before been seen in the his- tory of the world. Nor it is in the least likely to achieve the effect desired. Predictably, the Act is already being brought into contempt by the most potent weapon of all— ridicule.
0. S. Swainson Thie-Ny-Chibbyr, Colby, Isle of Man Sir: I have just received my copy of the SPECTATOR for 28 February, and thus seen Michael Omolewa's comment on Dr Mishan's letter on Negro violence. It is important to expose this for the rubbish that it is.
I have just given up a professionally fascinating job in Zambia because of the mounting level of violence there. In that country 'Negro quarters' are by no means all slums, since the State House and many other fine residences are occupied by Negroes, Zambianisation has indeed brought in its wake much fast promotion for Negroes, and the over-promoted ignoramus who is not holding down his senior post is a common- place. The trouble seems to me that the Negro wants his PhD, Cadillac, etc, not merely now, but also without the tiresome necessity of having earned them.
The notion that the current generation of Negroes are responsible men rising to chal- lenge a system that enslaves them is laugh- able. My experience is that most of the violence is due to the activities of indolent layabouts who, not having the energy to work for the articles that they crave, take up arms to steal them from those who have (of whatever colour). My latest news from Zambia is that one of my professional col- leagues has been stabbed to death in just such a brave action.
lames Adams' P.O. Box 542, Tsumeb, SM. Africa
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