Innes Meek is to be commended for publishing his father's memoir; it is an
informative account of life and work (mostly work) in Tanganyika's
Administration during the two decades leading to independence in 1961. There
is much to engage the general reader, but the book's greatest appeal will be to
the confirmed Afrophile. Much of it is typical of the genre, and is none the
worse for that; anything which adds to the body of knowledge about the realities
of colonial administration, as distinct from ill-informed assumptions, is to be
welcomed.
There are two respects In which Brief Authority differs from most of its kind.
First the author's initial four years were served In wartime, and we are given a
clear account of the difficulties, hardships and shortages which beset officials
and public alike. Second, in three appendices, the reproduction of two district
annual reports and handing over notes, we have contemporary accounts as
distinct from recollections; and whilst 'CIM' Meek tells us that he had his eye on
posterity whilst penning his annual reports, they were essentially "internal"
documents. (I confess that my own were less carefully composed than his).
The greater part of the narrative deals with work in six rural districts over a
consecutive period of 16 years, an unusually long time to avoid a spell in the
Secretariat. On this matter the author is a little ambivalent; early on he
expresses hopes of advancement, fulfilment judged to be contingent on being
"noticed" in the Secretariat, yet there is no suggestion in the text that he ever
sought such a posting - he was evidently "noticed" in the field! He clearly
enjoyed life up-country, as most of us did and this Is reflected in the enthusiasm
with which he describes the more constructive aspects of district administration,
reforming Native Authorities, dealing with problems such as an outbreak of
pneumonic plague, sleeping sickness, marauding cattle thieves, the threat of
famine and so on. In Mbulu District he carried forward the major development
plan initiated, with C. D. and W funds, by his predecessor Peter Bell.
'CIM' mentions his tendency to authoritarianism, describing himself as a
benevolent dictator; if he was, this is not revealed, and by contrast he describes
numerous occasions when long and exhaustive consultation with the local
people was undertaken - as when dealing with clan and dynastic issues in
Arusha district. Here he pays tribute to the invaluable work of the Government
anthropologist Hans Cory, who several years later was involved In setting up
representative District Councils in East Lake Province (all to be swept away
when the ruling party assumed control of local government a few years after
independence). There were of course occasions on which the exercise of
authority was necessary and desirable, but consultation and discussion was
increasingly the way forward - perhaps to an extent which is unimaginable in
modern Britain.
Throughout, 'CIM' Meek tells us something about his seniors, usually in terms
of approbation; I would like to have known more about the succession of DO
colleagues who supported him during his several years as DC Mbulu. More
seriously, the brevity of the chapter - 9 pages - covering his final four years in
Dar es Salaam as Permanent Secretary to the Chief Minister, Julius Nyerere,
and then Head of the Civil Service, is disappointing; this is not necessarily a
criticism, and there are perhaps good reasons why the account is so short.
Fortunately the events culminating in independence are described in detail by
Colin Baker in his biography of Sir Richard Turnbull, reviewed here
A noteworthy and valuable component of this book is the lengthy introduction
by the author's son, Innes. In it he levels criticism at post-colonial bien pensant
historians who, whilst emphasising the acknowledged deficiencies of colonial
rule, are reluctant to recognise any merits - not even the over-arching policy,
however imperfectly executed, of preparing colonies for independence. Can one
imagine the former German East Africa being cast adrift and left to its own
devices after the Great War? Innes Meek goes on to give a useful potted history
of colonial Tanganyika, embracing local government, constitutional advances,
and the economy.
If there are faults they are of a kind inherent in any generalisation. Thus in his
description of Indirect Rule he Is perhaps unaware that in no two districts was it
the same in practice; or that in many areas the advent of District Councils
provided for popular representation at local level, with power shifting from
Chlefdom to District Councils. Again, it is surely an exaggeration to say that one
purpose of Indirect Rule was to reinforce the office of Chief; the Chief was a
means to an end - effective and economical local administration. However,
several of his criticisms of Indirect Rule are valid and were shared by numbers of
younger DO's.
Innes Meek's analysis of the characteristics of a colonial administrator - his
authority, confidence, class and so on - comprises the stereotype depicted
rather dismissively by Jeremy Paxman in his recent book on Empire, overlooking
the fact that post-war entrants were as likely to have been products of state
schools as of public schools. One 1950's recruit went on to become the Labour
leader of Southampton City Council, about as far removed from the stereotype
as one can imagine. And was not the "officer class" a relic of pre-war days? As
for authority, this derived from one's office rather than any innate sense of
superiority; and confidence from a growing familiarity with the work, and
awareness that one was making a fair fist of it - supplemented by an occasional
pat on the back from one's DC.
Finally, may I endorse Innes's opinion of E K Lumley's Forgotten Mandate,
and urge readers to get hold of a copy; County Library Services can oblige.
|