Small-scale Farming Recommended: Conditions Described: Word of Warning Given There has recently been a revival of interest among British residents in China in the prospects of Kenya Colony for a comfortable retirement. 'The Kenya Association, an unofficial body closely connected with the colonial government, reports inquiries by mail' and in person from this country. It has been told that _information about the colony is practically impossible to obtain in Shanghai, and to remedy this state of affairs it has forwarded a number of pam: phets which describe with restraint Coloured by optimism the advantages waiting the foreign settler with a late Capital. Tt also issues a word of warn ing against too great expectations. The unfortunate impression created]
the hardships undergone by. the earlier batch of settlers, shortly" after the Great War and following the Government of India's wielding of the economy axe among the affeers of the army there, is ascribed in part to ambition which overleapt itself. letter from the secretary of the as. sociation gives an example.
"One case." the letter says, "was that of a retired colonel who took up land on the plateau portance. Amenities vary in differ. ent places, but in localities considered suitable, such as Nanyuki, Nyon, Kiambu, Machkos, Mbayathi, Limuru, Naivasha, Thomson's Falls, Njoro, Mole, Losses, and Elgon, ie'inite set-Uement committees exist which assist newcomer. The settlers already on the spot are noted for their hospitality, as tourists can vouch, 'There appear to be suitable proviso lens enough for the education of set Hers' families, judging from the accounts to hand, The prospects in this direction appear to depend largely upon whether it is possible send children to school as day scholars. There is the Prince of Wales School, Kabete, some five miles out-of Nairobi, which 1s @ government institution. The boarding fees are £17 5s, a term as against £2 4s, for day boys. At a private board. ing school for boys the fees mount to £140 per annum. There ig. 2 school for girls at Limurw where the fees are £11 9 term for day scholars as against £40 term for, boarders, At the Roman Catholic "Convent In Nairobi the fees are £23 a term, Education is less expensive at government mixed schools at various other places in the colony, sriest trying time, but the mal Why he and others like him are not better off is that they attempted to] farm hundreds of acres instead settling on a small area of, say, twenty to 80 acres, which would have sufficed "for their household] needs and given them a pleasant Small Acreage Better Without expert knowledge and adequate capital, such attempts apear to be foredoomed to failure, and the field is narrowed down 10 the opportunities which present them. selves for men who wish to settle down to a residential life ona com. paratively small acreage with some Employment and with a chance of educating their children. Kenya Colony is looking for such setters and there is even talk of a scheme whereby the government will grant favourable conditions of settlement and holding In order to encourage] them.
For a start it is considered advis: able for a settler with, say, the tastes:
14 habits of an officer of the Indian rmy and accustomed to the standard]
living in the East, to have an in. come of £400 2 year, if a bachelor, and £500 a year if a married man with children. "He should also be able to invest enough capital to build himself a house, though facilities for borrowing for' this" purpose are obtainable.
Shanghai Man's Experiences Thirty years ago, Kenya was litre more than a name; now it is a flourishing colony; now it hus.a railway that makes communication easy, and serves nearly all the settled azoos the Wenya highlands, Its "capital, Nairobi, is high "and. healthy, Its climate' is made the subject of peons of praise from its admirers, In. all, the publicity about it can be be-leved, it should be a kind of paradise for the man who has worked all his life and wishes to spend his declining years In peace and comfort, mak= ing enough to meet current expenses, On the other hand the dimculties which face the settler should not be underestimated, "A Shanghai resident who spent eighteen months In. the colony, reinforced the advice given readers of the "North.china Daily News" by "Mr. R. H. Scott some months ago, and counselled careful investigation before any commitment mad It was on a coffee and maize farm," he "The "farm. lost money. Our ize was wiped out during the time I was there plagues of locusts. The coffee. pald, but it was not enough. We were not situated high enough for the bean 20 do as well as it should. 'The climate is good on the whole. Above 6,000 feet, you are free from malarial me quilaes. "Below it you are not, and malarial mosquitoes can make' lite very unpleasant An example of what can be done quoted. "A. man on retirement from government service here bought a threeaere plot with a well-buill furnished stone house cantala.
a sitting room, three bedrooms, kitchen and the usual stores and offices, for £850. 'The addition of ming room, verandah, boys' quar: ters, and extra bedroom and a garage costa further £300, Extra land in that locality could be bought for £10 fan acre, so that for £1,000 he could established himself comfortably in. place where social amenities "are available.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.