50 Years Ago: Bombers To Extend British Influence

Colonel Amery, as Under Secretary for the Colonies, has received the congratulations of the House for his economic handling of the situation in Somaliland, he having disposed of the ‘enemy’ at the trifling cost of about £100,000. A ‘gratifying’ feature of his report was the confidence expressed that within a number of years, Somaliland will pay the cost of its administration. The economy has been affected by the use of the aeroplane, a method. General Seeley states, which is far more preferable to the old-fashioned way of advancing small bodies of infantry ‘to extend British influence’. He considers the use of aeroplanes cheaper, more effective, and more humane than any other method. Its effectiveness is not in doubt as the people of Amritsar and of Mesopotamia can testify, but as to its being humane, that is open to question.

The use of aeroplanes as a method of settling disputes is coming more and more into favour, and the adoption of this ‘humane’ method as a cure for industrial unrest can be looked forward to as a certainty.

By the way, it is interesting to note that it has been established beyond doubt that the first bombs dropped on any town were dropped by the British on Cologne and Dusseldorf. This represents the initiation of this form of ‘extending British influence’. (See Manchester Guardian 1 November 1920).