ROYAL FAMILY AT PRETORIA

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25147, 31 March 1947, Page 7

ROYAL FAMILY AT PRETORIA

KING MEETS BOER WAR VETERANS

SPEECH IN CITY HAI.L (Rec. 10 p.m.) CAPE TOWN, March 29. Disregarding rain, large crowds greeted the Royal Family when they arrived at Pretoria. The crowds at the railway station cheered wildly. As the Royal visitors, in open cars, passed slowly along the streets, hundreds of people broke the police’ cordon and ran after the cars, yelling and waving.

Their Majesties met 1200 Boer War veterans near the statue of Louis Botha, commander-in-chief of the Boer Army, whose nephew. General Manie Botha, chatted with their Majesties. “Why don’t you come and live here.” he asked the Queen, who replied: “That would be very nice. We are hoping to come here again.” The King inspected, with General Smuts, the statue of Paul Kruger. The Mayor of Pretoria (Mr E. van Heerden), who was interned for 13 months as a pro-Nazi during the war, met Their Majesties at the railway, where General Smuts presented him. The King, speaking at a banquet at the City Hall, thanked South Africa for “six very happy weeks.” He saia the only unhappy memory was his constant anxiety about “the cruel ordeal the people of Britain have undergone since I left them in January.” The South Africans’ sympathy had made their anxiety easier to bear. Prayer His Majesty repeated a prayer which was offered in Bloemfontein Cathedral on March 9. The prayer concluded:

“Grant to us, who have lived so gently, that we may have true sympathy with our brethren in Britain and follow the example of vheir courage.” The King said: “It stirred me so deeply that I have kept a copy of it. It seems to me that that prayer symbolises the spirit which must inspire the whole Commonwealth and Empire—an understanding of each other’s troubles, a wish to help, and a determination to solve our problems together. Are we not one brotherhood—the greatest brotherhood in the Whole history of man? Our brotherhood had been strengthened, not weakened, by past differences of which, like wise men. we have forgotten the causes and remembered only the lessons.”

The King expressed special pleasure at reaching the Transvaal, where the soil was hallowed by memories of many famous South Africans and where feats of courage had been accomplished that would be remembered alike by Boer and Briton. The King said: “I hope Kruger’s immortal words—‘l take from the past all that is good and beautiful, shape your ideal with it. and build your future in this ideal’—will ever remain the watchword of young South Africans.” The King concluded: “I sincerely hope our visit will knit even closer the ibonds of goodwill and friendship uniting our two countries.”

Objection |to Sunday Welcome The Joint Social Evils Commission of the Dutch Reformed Church has strongly protested against a proposal that thousands of school children should take part in a welcome to Their Majesties when they return to Cape Town on April 20. The commission said that “desecration of the Lord’s Day by our children would be fostered and the work of the Sunday schools retarded.”

The warden of Kruger Park (Transvaal) took special precautions for the Royal visit. He posted look-outs on high rocks round the picnic party. The Royal party saw no lions but passed herds of wil<ebeeste, impala and giraffes. The poor show of big game disappointed the officials. After their visit to the Kruger Park game reserve the Royal Family left on the all-night train journey to Pretoria. Before leaving they saw what was described as one of the finest demonstrations of native dancing and singing yet given, and visited one of the small towns which have grown up on the edge of the reserve.