nominated by the Company.
Meanwhile thousands of men had invested their fortunes in the land and
the inevitable time came when they believed that they should have a
voice in the conduct of its affairs.

This sentiment became so widespread that in 1899 the country was given a
Legislative Council which for the first time enabled the Rhodesians to
elect some of their own people to office. At first they were only
allowed three members, while the Company nominated six others. This
always gave the Chartered interests a majority. Subsequently, as the
clamour for popular representation grew, the number of elected
representatives was increased to thirteen, while those nominated by
Charter remained the same. To get a majority under the new deal it was
only necessary for the Company to get the support of four elected
members and on account of its relatively vast commercial interest it was
usually easy to do this.

It would be difficult to find an exact parallel to this situation. In
America we have had many conflicts with what our campaign orators call
"Special Privilege," an institution which thrived before the searchlight
of publicity was turned on corporate control and prior to the time when
fangs were put into the stewardship of railways. These contestants were
sometimes decided at the polls with varying degrees of success. Perhaps
the nearest approach to the Rhodesian line-up was the struggle of the
California wheat growers against the Southern Pacific Railway, which
Frank Norris dramatized in his book, "The Octopus."

All the while the feeling for Responsible Government in Rhodesia grew. A
strong group which opposed the Chartered regime sprang up. At the
beginning of the struggle the line was sharply drawn between the Charter
adherents on one side and unorganized opponents on the other. By 1914
the issue was sharply defined. The first twenty-five years of the
Charter were about to end and the insurgents realized that it was an
opportune moment for a show of strength. The opposition had three plans.
Some advocated the conversion of Rhodesia into a Crown Colony, others
strongly urged admission to the Union of South Africa, while still
another wing stood for Responsible Government. It was decided to unite
on a common platform of Responsible Government.

For the first time the Company realized that it had a fight on its hands
and Dr. Jameson, who had become president of the corporation, went out
to Rhodesia and made speeche