SOUTH AFRICAN UNITY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 275, 13 August 1908, Page 4

SOUTH AFRICAN UNITY.

i AN AMAZINQ CHANGE. "No, one who, ha 3 followed the course of South' African,'politics during tlm, last, few jfriontha, can fail to have been impressed by tranSformation has ;of 'South AiFrica.n ■ cussedi a,t-intervals ''fpr-'.half :a ,century,' sifico Sir G , eo^fe;6rir^ ; %.li'ii}eurred disjiJenßura of ti^vßßm.4.'^v^rnment' by. rising the que^^in.'lß^j;-.SSji^h.'.Aft , jcan; unity, seemod, bare^'a, : 'year i ;^fl6< ; JJ!''.'.ho. ptill ,_a .purely; acaj demic subject iii|ndiich ; iiho majority of prac'ticaJ: politicians arid'''l3ifsiness men in South Africa took little interest. 'I'o-day union is. not merely, a. question of;practical politics, 'bu,t. the-question,lwhich is 'lxiund.tp "dominate- ; all-others tni'its : s6lution lias been attained:-

f "lu no, small ; nioasure this result has been [directly due to the efforts of a handful of i ; untiring:.missionaries pf the gospel pf national union, wliose., ii.rs.t distinct success was |; achievecl'nearly. a'!ye.ay ago when Lord Selfborpe issiled "ii Wmaftable' memorandum largely based'upori'their researches and 'conclusions;') Met those- efforts would scarcely I. Have. bpnie fruit .jf r; thQ . forces making for ; South Af?ioaii *]pity.liad not been far stronger ' tjnj far .ino'ro favourablo than ■qver befqi??, ; ' f 'T{ie''f-act ;: is that tho question i at' union' faoi-iJoflger<'jo6oupiea tho minds of i political,.stiidents .piily,,, but has-forced it•splfi upj§.„^|i, v «,ttenJ|.qh,of, tlio far larger b'ody of men _ whoso {political views are dc;termin.c3" by I 'tlieir*-immediate business' interests. is -precisely-'in a timo of acuto : ejeonomief;;'depression, s.ueh as- that ; which prevails in South Africa at present, that the ordinary business marTbegins te rcaliso how seriously arbitrary political barriers can , hatoper thp developraeut and • impair tho ' economic stability- of what is essentially a single country. .- •_ i "The. present political divisions of South Africa correspond to no natural divisions of xlinjat%' '9r';i?tfres% v ;'|hey pros purely his-torical-'an'd,-' m a -'sense,"*-accidcntal;" Tho most serious- division ,of all fortunately exists no longer'. " There could be no 1 thought of unity-till- thoro was a definito answer to the- quostion ' under wliich. flag and under which political system, unity _ was. tp be ac- : hieved-. That issue was decided at Vereoniging just six years' ago. But though a , single-flag-now flies -over South Africa, it flies over separate administrations, each bound to fight for. its own interests and to subordinate tho needs of South African de- ■ yelopmcnt to the immediate{exigencies of its ; Customs or railway-rovonuo. . Ever since the ; peace a Ciistoms 'and railway war -between ;,tho South African colonies has been immiwith'these questions of Customs and railways'that tho'lntcr-iColonial ; Conference which sat at Pretoria a fow weeks ago was ostensibly convened. . But from the i first it was felt that tho problems confronting the delegates' were ••'really insoluble except on the basis of South African unity. On May 9 tho delegates at Pretoria unam- : mously passed a . resolution adopting the j principle of closer -union, -and undertook to recommend to their,respective Governments the appointment ; 0f a National Convention to framo a draft Constitution for a united South Africa.' , ' ' . „ "Subsequent attempts to-improve tho Ousi toias and railway situatipn on the existing ; l, as i s proved futile, and on May' 30 the Conference, which had meanwhile adjourned to (3,p» Town, decided to prolom; .t,lie status quo for another -year. Accordingly it may bo taken for granted that in Octobcr next, after tiw sessions of tho local Legislatures, i the" National Convention will meot, probably at Durban. . '.