"EQUAL HONOUR." SOUTH AFRICAN UNION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 119, 23 May 1910, Page 7

"EQUAL HONOUR." SOUTH AFRICAN UNION.

"A NOBLE CONSUMMATION." SPEECH BY LORD GLADSTONE. - By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright. (Received May 23, 8.40 a.m.) CAPETOWN, 22nd May. The Governor-General of United South Africa, Lord Gladstone-, speaking at a meeting at Capetown, recommended blending, not obliterating, characteristic racial aptitudes and capacities, thus- giving the nation brilliancy and strength. He added : "For the noble consummation of the Union, equal credit and honour are due to all parties." ' THE FIRST CABINET. GENERAL BOTHA UNDERTAKES ITS FORMATION. PROBABLE PERSONNEL. LONDON, 21st May. General the Right Hon. Louis Botha, Premier of the Transvaal, has formally agreed to form the first Cabinet of the Union of South Africa. The Johannesburg correspondent of the London Daily Chronicle states that General Botha's Cabinet will include :—: — Prime Minister : Rt. Hon. General Louis Botha (Premier of the Transvaal). Treasurer : The Hon. John X. Merriman (Premier of Cape Colony). Minister for Education : The Hon. A. Fischer (Premier of Orange River Colony). Colonial Secretary : General the Hon. J. C. Smuts (Colonial Secretary, Transvaal). Attorney-General : General the Hon. J. B. M. Hertzog (Attorney-General, Orange River Colony). Minister for Railways : Hon. H. C. Hull (Treasurer, Transvaal). Minister for Native Affairs : The Hon J. W. Saver (Commissioner of Public Works, Cape Colony). General Botha was born at Greytown, Natal, in 1863. He was a member of the first Volksraad of the Transvaal, in j which he represented Vryheid, for which | district he acted as veldt-cornet at the j beginning of the Anglo-Boer War. He succeeded General Joubert as Com-mander-in-Chief of the Boer forces, which he commanded at the Battle of I Colcnso and during the rest of the war. The Hon. John Xavier Merriman Has been Premier of Cape Colony since 1908. j By profession a surveyor, he took up j farming. Born in Somerset in 1841, a. son of Bishop Merriman, of Grahamstown, he went to South Africa in 1849, entered politics in 1869, and joined the Molteno Ministry in 1875. He occupied several important positions before becoming Premier. The Hon. Abraham Fischer, born at Green Point, Capetown, in 1850, has been a member of the Orange River Colony Legislature since 1878. He is chairman of the Orangia Unie. The Hon. Johannes Smuts, 1.5.0., was born at Capetown in October, 1865, educated at the South African College, Capetown, and entered the Cape Colonial Civil Service in 1882. After serving as private secretary to Sir Gordon Sprigg, he became clerk of Government House, later private secretary to Sir H. Smyth, secretary to the Special British Agent! at Pretoria, chief clerk to the High Commissioner, and private secretary to Lord Loch, to Sir W. Cameron, and Sir W. Goodenough. For a time he was Commissioner for Swaziland. General Hertzog has been a prominent figure in Orange River politics for a considerable period. In addition to being Attorney-General, he is also Director of Education. In the latter capacity he introduced the School Act, which compels every English child up to Standard IV. to receive- instructions in every subject partly through the medium of Dutch. The Act also affects British teachers, who must be qualified to teach Dutch as well as English. Mr. Hull is a politician with an excellent reputation, and a good grasp of financial subjects. Mr. Saver is a lawyer. Educated at the South African College, he practised as an attorney for some years. Entering Parliament in 1876, from 1881 to 1884 he was Secretary fcr Native Affairs. In 1893 he became Colonial Secretary.