BRITAIN'S TRUST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1937, Page 11

BRITAIN'S TRUST.

WORK IN EAST AFRICA.

MANDATED TERRITORY.

ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE.

The plea by Germany for a return of; her colonies was mentioned by the Right Rev. G. A. Chambers, Bishop of Central Tanganyika, in the course of an interesting address last evening to a large audience in the parish hall at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The territory in which Bishop Chambers conducts his work was formerly part of German East Africa, and the visitor declared that there was no provision for the termination or transfer of Britain's mandate over the territory, and, furthermore, there was no desire on the part of the natives to revert to the old order. Archbishop Averill presided, and extended to Bishop Chambers and Mrs. Chambers a welcome on behalf of the province and the Auckland diocese. They were grateful to the visitors, he said, for coming to New Zealand to renew their missionary zeal. Tanganyika was associated with the great and solemn idea of trurteeship, said Bishop Chambers, and. the whole idea of the mandate was that tha British nation should act as trustees for the 0,000,000 natives living in the territory. Credit to Germany. "I give every credit to Germany for all she did for Tanganyika- before the war," he added. "True, it was that during her period of governing the country there were aeveral native rJeinga-— people protesting against German methods; To-day Tanganyika la a land of a British mandate, and the responsibility denned in the treaty which Britain holds is that she will do her utmost for the material, social and moral welfare of the people.

"There are many to-day who suggest that we should hand Tanganyika back to its former rulers," continued the bishop. "In reply may I say that there is no provision in the mandate for its termination or its transfer. Furthermore, there is no desire on the part of the Africans, as I came in contact with them, for any change in the regime.. The German method was to govern the country direct from the German official to the people.

"The British way is to govern the country through the native chiefs, who have been sought' out at great trouble and placed in positions of authority and executive power, and they govern, with their elders, their people. The Government is seeking in that way to train the people to govern themselves. There are many failures, but the system is working well, and the people are happy and contented. The British Government defines its attitude with regard to. the agitation -for the return of Tanganyika to Germany as a proposition that is not discussable. . . . One requirement of the mandate .is that the races shall be treated impartially, and the German attitude towards the Jews rules her out absolutely as being trustees for nonAryans, such as the people of Tanganyika are."

Church «t Work. Bishop Chambers proceeded to review interestingly the work of the Church in Tanganyika, where 26 Australians and one New Zealander are at work. So long as Great Britain was faithful to her trust to do her utmost for the people, then the whole world could leave Tanganyika to her and feel quite happy in that position, he said. The Church and the Government were co-operating so that the needs of the people could be met, and the elevation of the natives was proceeding through the evangelisation, healing and ministry of the Church and education. The Church in Tanganyika was learning to be self-supporting, and the contributions of the natives in the last three years had increased by 300 per cent.

In conclusion the bishop appealed for sympathy and support for the Tanganyika mission, but not at the expense of any other mission in which New Zealand had a more direct interest.

Mrs. Chambers also spoke, and expressed the pleasure of both the bishop and herself at being able to visit New Zealand. The diocese of Tanganyika was a ;rreat part of German East Africa, she said, and was an exceedingly interesting country. She described some of the interesting features of the territory, and her experiences among people who only in recent years had been introduced to Christianity. She told of native women who had seen the vision of God, and said that the difficulty was to know how to cope with those who wanted to learn. Both speakers were accorded votes of thanks.