TALLER THAN TREES
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"Southern Rhodesia, Central Africa, 1914. Book One. In March occurred a mutiny at the Curragh Barracks, Dublin, Ireland, where the O/C refused an order from the Government in London to disarm political protesters in the North: ‘It’s wrong!’ he said. ‘And it’s not a soldier’s job,’ he added. Next day, in the lawless, violent settlement of Queenstown in Rhodesia, their new trooper made a rule: No force may be initiated by anyone, including me. It’s wrong,’ he said. “And it’s my job, anyway.’ Which was dismissed as obvious – till someone challenged it, This is the point at which Book Two begins. Effectively, ‘no force’ meant no government, which had to be replaced; so an Arbitrator’s Court was fixed on for disputes. But (unintended), it also meant no licences or taxes, which brought another novelty: business, paid work, a lot of it. It also meant no regulations. A police patrol, unaware of the position, tried re-imposing them and was repulsed. Members of the trooper’s old patrol (Book One), sent to join him, frustrated two attempts on his life. A pair of pressmen, looking for a story, stayed to found a paper. The town was surveyed, sold by auction to its residents and its squatter-status solved. The opposition (there were some) called for a debate, with strange results. Crooks arrived, sure of easy pickings (wrongly). A second market spontaneously started: Uvelani. A police was always needed, so a way to finance it without taxes was devised. To protect customers was also needed, and so another search began… To those who say ‘The story is to try and show,’ or that ‘It isn’t possible,’ the answer is No: forgotten, is that Queenstown had no alternative. ‘No Force’ was absolute, and if those there wanted to remain, what happened was the logical result."
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About the Book
Southern Rhodesia, Central Africa. In March 1914, occurred a mutiny at the Curragh Barracks, Dublin, Ireland, when the O/C refused an order from the Government in London to disarm political protesters in the North: ‘It’s wrong!’ he said. ‘And it’s not a soldier’s job,’ he added. Next day, in the lawless settlement of Queenstown in Rhodesia, their new trooper made a rule: No force may be initiated by anyone, including me. It’s wrong,’ he said. “And it’s my job, anyway.’ Which was shrugged off as being obvious – till someone challenged it, with results so dire that no one ever tried again. Effectively, ‘no force’ meant no government; which had to be replaced, so an Arbitrator’s Court was fixed on for disputes. But it also meant no licences or taxes, which brought something never before seen: employment. It also meant no regulations. A police patrol, unaware of the position, tried re-imposing them and was repulsed. Members of the trooper’s old patrol (Book One), sent to join him, frustrated two attempts on his life. A pair of pressmen, looking for a story, stayed to found a paper. The town was surveyed, sold by auction to its residents, and its squatter-status solved. The opposition (there were some) called for a debate and were demolished. Crooks arrived, sure of easy pickings (wrongly). A second market started: Uvelani. A police was always needed, so a way to finance one without the use of force devised. To protect potential customers was also needed, and a search began… To those who say ‘The book is to try and show,’ or that ‘It isn’t possible,’ the answer is No: forgotten, is that Queenstown had no alternative. 'Force is wrong' was absolute, and if they wanted to survive, what happened was the logical result. But can or does a free society work? Read on.
About the Author
The author served with the Police Force concerned in the 1950's and 1960's. He presently lived in Europe.