Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-10
New British Empire Loss
Seen in NyosoIond Clash
BY LYNN HEINZERLING
Associated Press stan Writer

AItOtLlcT piece OF Tic 6IlLlsI
Empire, the green. lush pro.
tectorate Of Nyasaland, hal
made a violent and bloody lurct
toward eventual freedom.
The wave Of nationalistiC
fervor which has swept dowr
the African continent from the
north now has engulfed thi,
banana shaped colonial out
post, about the size Of Louisi-
ana. The only outstanding
African political leader ha,
been arrested and deported
and his followers have poured
out of the woods. some with
spears, to harass the British
administration.
Riots and bloodshed followed
the declaration Of emergency
which permitted the arrests Of
DR.. Hastings Banda and l5C
other leaders of the African
National Congress. Nearly two
score Africans we're killed In
the early days Of the emer-
sency.
Major Clashes Averted
Backed UP by troops and air.
craft from neighboring South
ern Rhodesia. security forces 50
far have been able to avert
major clashes. But the end is
not in sight.
Less than a century ago,
Nyasaland was known only
to David Livingstone and slave
traders, who found rich pick
ings along the shores of Lake
Nyasa. Not until 1883 did a
British consul finally arrive
to set up an office in Zomba,
now the seat Of the Colonial
government. He was accred-
tied to kings and chiefs OF
Central Africa"
Since 1858 Nyasaland has
been one of three territories
in the Central African Fedora
ton, ruled with a firm hand
by Prime Minister Sir Roy
Welensky, former locomotive
engineer and heavyweight
boxer. Nyasaland brought 3
million Africans, 1000 whites
and very few natural resources
into the federation. Northern
and Southern Rhodesia are
the other members of the fed
Grafton. which lies in the same
latitude below the Equator as
Southern Brazil.
From the beginning. Africans
regarded the federation with
suspicion. Their leaders re-
fused to take part in London
discussions which brought 1t
about.
Economic Benefits
No thinking African has dis
puted the economic benefits
which flowed from this fed
Grafton. Roads, hospitals and
public buildings were built
Last year Nyasaland received
a cut of more than e. million
from federal income tax. In
a country where there is prac-
tically no industry and wealth
comes mainly from tea and to-
bacco. this is a contribution
of stable proportions.
But Nyasaland Africans do
not count among their blessings
tar roads, public buildings and
hospitals. They are admittedly
backward. There is not an AZ
rican engineer or an African
accountant in the country
There is only one African law
yer. Few Africans drive their
own automobiles, although
many have bicycles. Many pre-
fer witch doctors to hospitals.
The minimum wage for a
workers in BIantyre and Limbo
municipality, the largest in the
protectorate population 3D.
000) is % cents per day, in
Guiding food. In other areas
1t is as low as 10 cents a day.
Can't Feed Families
Africans do heavy work, but
they complain they cannot feed
their families properly or edu-
cate their children.
On the other side of the
ledger is the fact that this is an
agricultural economy where
wages are necessarily low.
There Is no industry to employ
masses Of people at higher
wages. There are few educated
Africans who can hold down the
few Jobs available at better
salaries.
Many whites here are con-
cerned about the poor living
standards for Africans. They
would like to see more of them
farming their own land more
efficiently and improving their
lot. In fact. 81 per cent of the
land is held in a native trust for
Africans. Only 3 per cent is
owned by whites, mostly tea
planters. and the remainder is
held by the crown in game
forest reserves. But much as
they would like to help, the
whites say the economy will
not bear 1t.
Aided by DR.. Banda
Into this difficult situation
came last July nattily dressed
DR.. Banda, American and Eng.
lish educated. He was greeted
as a savior and did everything
possible to further that esti-
mate.
DR.. Banda had left Nyasa-
land at Is with the help OF