2 PARIS, 1937: COLONIAL QUESTIONS AND PEACE 193Throughout 1936 and 1937 there were numerous letters published
in the Times arguing that it would be dangerous on security grounds to
award Germany colonies in Africa. One such letter, written under the
pseudonym of ‘Africanus,’ asked whether anyone who advocated such
a policy had thought of the effect on Africa of the creation of a ‘huge
black army.’ Another letter, in discussing the prospect of transferring
Tanganyika to Germany, noted that the Union of South Africa, the gov-
ernment of Rhodesia and the residents of the colonies and protector-
ates of Kenya, Uganda and Nyasaland, had all insisted that there must
be no ‘jeopardizing of Imperial communications’; yet another, warned
of the ‘immense havoc’ which Germany could cause in case of war if it
were given ‘air and sea bases in Africa.’ Against this background, it is
perhaps not surprising that resolutions were passed at the Conservative
Party conferences of 1936 and 1937 opposing the transfer of any man-
dated territories to Germany. Lugard too considered the question of the
transfer of African territories to Germany from the perspective of secu-
rity, observing that the ‘training of children in Tripoli to drill as soldiers
and the pre-war declarations by German publicists that they would raise
black armies are considered by Gt. [sic] Britain to be a danger to the
peace of the world.’ Yet Lugard laid far more emphasis on the point
that the military exploitation of peoples living under colonial rule was
contrary to the policy of ‘progressive evolution towards autonomy.’ In
this regard, it should be noted that for Lugard and other like-minded
British imperialists, what was at stake when it came to the question of
colonial retrocession was above all British honour.^375 As noted above,
(^375) ‘I wonder whether those who advocate the restoration of Tanganykia to Germay have
ever considered what the effect on Africa would be of the creation of a huge black army.’
Africanus, letter to the editor, Times, October 16, 1936. On the importance of protect-
ing imperial communications in Africa, see Charles Posonby, Chairman, Joint East African
Board, letter to the editor, Times, January 7, 1937. In addition to warning of the dan-
ger that would be unleashed by giving a ‘militaristic Germany’ air and sea bases in Africa,
F. S. Joelson, the editor of East Africa and Rhodesia stated the following: ‘It is curious
that humanitarians like Lord Noel-Buxton and Lord David Cecil should appear completely
unconcerned at the idea of the wholesale transfer of Africans, without their knowledge or
consent, to Nazi rule which has scarcely shown itself to be distinguished by that human
understanding which is now recognized to be the essential prerequisite to the best type
of African administration.’ F. S. Joelson, letter to the editor, Times, December 19, 1936.
See also, A. A. Somerville, letter to the editor, Times, April 27, 1936; Evelyn Wrench,