Abstract
II. IT is 134 years since William Pitt, speaking of Africa, said: “We may live to behold the natives of Africa engaged in the calm occupation of industry, in the pursuit of a just and legitimate commerce. We may behold the beams of science and philosophy breaking in upon the land.” The material vision is fulfilled, but the beams of science and philosophy have not yet penetrated the veil of mists and obscurity in which our administration is enveloped. We have been in trading relationship with West Africa for more than three hundred years; the British Crown has been directly responsible for the administration of a great part of its territories since 1886; the native races in the British zones are among the most intelligent races of Africa: but we have been content to leave the education of its peoples to missionaries, with the result that an inordinate number of native lawyers, preachers, and clerks have been created, but practically no men trained in science or its application.
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West African Development1. Nature 118, 649–651 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118649a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118649a0