untry still
sizzled with excitement. Curiously enough, the head, brains and front of
the fight for union with South Africa was a former American, now a
British subject and who has been a ranchman in Rhodesia for some years.
He prefers to be nameless.

In the light of the landslide at the polls it naturally followed that
the new Legislative Council at its first meeting passed a resolution
declaring for Responsible Government. The vote was twelve to five. Since
this was not an absolute majority, as required by the Supplementary
Charter, it is expected that the Imperial Government will decide against
granting this form of government just now. The next procedure will
probably be a request for representative government under the Crown or
some modification of the Charter, and for an Imperial loan. Rhodesia has
no borrowing power and the country needs money just as much as its needs
men. The adherents of Union claim that on a straight show-down between
Crown Colony or Union at the next election, Union will win. From what I
gathered in conversation with the leaders of both factions, there would
have been a bigger vote, possibly victory for Union, but for the
Nationalist movement in South Africa, which I described in a previous
chapter. The Rhodesians want no racial entanglements.

Northern Rhodesia has no part in the fight against the Charter. It is
only a question of time, however, when she will be merged into Southern
Rhodesia for, with the passing of the Company, her destiny becomes
identical with that of her sister territory. Northern Rhodesia's chief
complaint against the Company was that it did not spend any money within
her borders. After reading the story of the crusade for Responsible
Government you can understand the reason why.

Whatever happens, Charter rule in Rhodesia is doomed and the great
Company, born of the vision and imperialism of Cecil Rhodes, and which
battled with the wild man in the wilderness, will eventually vanish from
the category of corporations. But Rhodesia remains a thriving part of
the British Empire and the dream of the founder is realized.

III

Rhodesia produces much more than trouble for the Chartered Company. She
is pre-eminently a land of ranches and farms. Here you get still another
parallel with the United States because it is no uncommon thing to find
a farm of 50,000 acres or more.

I doubt if any other new region in the world contains a finer or
sturdier manhood than Rhodesi