South African Natives Happy, Says Visitor

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29850, 16 June 1962, Page 13

South African Natives Happy, Says Visitor

“At least the Nationalists have a native policy and are doing something about it." said a visiting South African, Mr J. Carlton, in an interview last evening.

“None of the parties had a policy before, not even Smuts,” he said. “The Nationalists are putting a plan of some sort into action and the natives are getting some benefit." He said South Africa's problems were essentially domestic. “As for the unrest, there’s unrest everywhere." he said. “I've heard people say it's not safe for a woman to walk out alone at night in the cities. That can apply to any city. Is a woman safe on her own in London? In Wellington? “You may term South

Africa the feudal state, but it ha* been a lot worse.” said Mr Carltcn. “I remember Durban when they all had the breeze u© after the ’O6 rebellion. The natives were not allowed to walk along the pavement or to carry two sticks.

"The natives get a much better deal now.” Mr Carlton said. “Ask them. They are happy. I can still apeak some of the languages, so it’s not as if I'm out of touch with them.” he said. "You can see the difference in the backgrounds in the games that children play. The native children play games with dancing and jumping up and down, while the European children will wrap up some cloth to make a ball and kick it about. “The natives can be educated, but to take them from a primitive age and give them the three R's is plain ridiculous. There has to be hewers of wood and bearers of water. "Educate the native* and they won't do industrial work—they want clerical jobs,” he said. "Properly trained, the natives can do the work. At a place near Durban, natives are turning out stained glass window* of a quality that cannot be di*, tinguished from that of European craftsmen. The difference is that the nataves are paid in shillings instead of pounds,” said Mr Carlton.