INTRODUCTION.
If, before the war, sneers at German colonization were occasionally encountered in certain English circles, it was to be expected that during the war, these sneers would transform themselves into a chorus of slander under the systematic fomentation of hatred practised by the British press and politicians. If this spur of hatred incited to a campaign of vilification unprecedented in extent and infamy against a people who had never done England the slightest harm, then, so far as the German colonies are concerned, there came into play that still greater spur to British calumniation of an enemy — greed for the possession of his property.
If, — again before the war, — the voices of many English colonial experts were raised in just praise and many a fair or even grudging tribute to German colonial methods and enterprise — what more natural or in accordance with the British interpretation of patriotism than to repudiate one's own words and heap indiscriminate execration upon what one had formerly lauded ?
To this evil eminence and denial of their better selves, men like Sir Harry Johnston, John H. Harris, Evans I^ewin and others have attained during the war. These detractors have now been joined by Sir Hugh Clifford in a booklet called "German Colonies. A Plea for the Native Races." Its very title reflects that material expediency veiled under a moral pretext by means of which England has always carried
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