the influence of the home
government. The occupation of Uganda certainly, and of the Nigerian
territory and Rhodesia probably, will prove to have been rather for the
benefit of posterity than of the companies which effected it. In the two
cases where the companies have been bought out by the state, they have
had no compensation for much that they have expended. In fact, it would
have been impossible to take into account actual expenditure day by day,
and the cost of wars. To use the expression of Sir William Mackinnon,
the shareholders have been compelled in some cases to "take out their
dividends in philanthropy."

The existence of such companies to-day is justified in certain political
and economic conditions only. It may be highly desirable for the
government to occupy certain territories, but political exigencies at
home will not permit it to incur the expenditure, or international
relations may make such an undertaking inexpedient at the time. In such
a case the formation of a chartered company may be the best way out of
the difficulty. But it has been demonstrated again and again that,
directly, the company's interests begin to clash with those of foreign
powers, the home government must assume a protectorate over its
territories in order to simplify the situation and save perhaps
disastrous collisions. So long as the political relations of such a
company are with savages or semi-savages, it may be left free to act,
but directly it becomes involved with a civilized power the state has
(if it wishes to retain the territory) to acquire by purchase the
political rights of the company, and it is obviously much easier to
induce a popular assembly to grant money for the purpose of maintaining
rights already existing than to acquire new ones. With the strict system
of government supervision enforced by modern charters it is not easy for
the state to be involved against its will in foreign complications.
Economically such companies are also justifiable up to a certain point.
When there is no other means of entering into commercial relations with
remote and savage races save by enterprise of such magnitude that
private individuals could not incur the risk involved, then a company
may be well entrusted with special privileges for the purpose, as an
inventor is accorded a certain protection by law by means of a patent
which enables him to bring out his invention at a profit if there is
anything in it. But such privileges sho