SMUTS'S APPEAL

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 28, 2 August 1927, Page 4

SMUTS'S APPEAL

TO SOUTH AFRICA

BITTERNESS OF THE PAST

HOPE OF THE FUTTJEE

General Smuts, in, a message to the South African people for .Un,ion Day (31st May), which, was published iu-th. "Band j Daily Mail" on the-ctav in question, made a powerful appeal to tho nation to forget neither the -Wies nor the bitterness of tho past, /Inch " revives and becomes immortal in the ■iif# of-the nation." His message, which' is remarkable i-r its eloquence,' was . published throughout South Africa and received' with loud a'-rovaL

The. various nations of the world lave their National Day—that" day ,of tho year which is devoted to their great national memories; a day on whiohthe people, once more remember and renew their .lives, intimately associating themselves with the great deeds, especially the triumphs of the past," said Mr.. Smuts.- -, .

The .Americans .have, their ludepen<Sen.ce Day, and other nations have similar days of remembrance. We, too, have a great day, but to iis.it is not only in memory of the triumph of the past. As with almost everything in our wonderful history, this clay blends memories of the bitter as well as the sweet in our past. On Union Day we rememl>er both the greatest tragedy of our history and the greatest accomplishment of the South African nation. Union Day to us is a day of hereniging (union). A merciful providence in our cheequered history has, in the course of a few years, converted that hereniging of 1902 and recreated it into ;the greater union of South Africa.

To us, therefore, Union Day is a day not only of heartrending loss, but also of greater profit, a day not only of deep regret, but of abounding joy. It is, above all, a day of gratitude on which we may* clearly recognise tho tender, loving kindness of the guidance that las been our past.

The scene of 30th May, 1902, will forever be unforgettable to me. The Boer leaders and officers had mot at Vereeniging. The deputation that had gone to Pretoria for the final terms to be feed by Lord Milner and Lord Kitchener had returned. It was plain that the bitter end of ■-. all our ■ strife and troubles had come. That memory stands out as unique, and unforgettable among all the smashing blows of my chequered career. The bitter end! How much bitterer than we could ever have dreamed! Everything appeared lost. Our past seemed hopelessly gone, the future dark as the deepest night. And yet even in that dark moment in many a heart the constructive presentiment of a better future stirred. -"Well do I remember the brave words of consolation spoken by our great leader, Louis Botha. I, too, was able to speak the word that has become prophetic in the light of our later history. A PKOPHECY. I may perhaps be permitted to quote from the work of Kestell and Van Velden the final words of my speech on that fateful day:— "We bow to God's will. The future is dark, but we shall not relinquish courage and our hope and our faith in God. No one will ever convince mo that the Tinparalleled sacrifices laid on the altar of fr^dom by the Afrikander people will be vain and futile. The ■war of freedom -of South Africa has been fought, not only for the Boers, but for the entire people of South Africa. The result of that struggle we leave in God's hands. Perhaps it is His will to lead the people of South Africa through defeat and humiliation, yea even through the valley of the shadow of death, to a better future and a brighter day." There.was the vision of a South African people to arise from the crucible— a vision of freedom for the whole of South Africa', as would be recognised subsequently. For what happened? Eight years after ;the.day when all seemed lost at Vereeniging, the real Union of Soutli Africa came into being. And once : more, nine years after that, in -June, 1919, the TJnion of South Africa was adopted into the comity of nations. "We were recognised as an equal member of the League of Nations. That reeog- : nition, doubted and disputed at the time owing to local and party considerations, as now formally recorded and 1 placed.beyond all doubt. It is a mat-, ter of universal acceptance. ■ The bare recital of these - .ts reads • like an historical novel. It is, in fact more romantic than almost any devel- : opment in the history of the world. Yet it is not a novel, but the wonderful truth- staring us in the face. And how has all this come to pass? And how las the miracle arisen? But one anewer is possible. la the first place, we recognise that in our history there is something more, something, deeper and higher than hu-'l man, intellect or human guidance We may fail to understand it, but humbly yery humbly, we bow our heads to the inscrutable decrees of Providence in the history of nations. In the second place, there is something intensely i-y that has been responsible for untying the knot. In the words of Goethe who uses words of the most beautiful truth and poetic nobility, "It is our common humanity that expiates all -human ,failings.' ' KESPEOT AND AFFECTION. . The heart of the English nation was softened by the noble stand made by the Boers and their heroic struggle. Bespect, and even a measure of affection, was born in that period Vereonigmg heralded the new chapt-r in I our relationship. The promise of Vereemging has been kept in the law and in the spirit. The heavy hand of authority has become the helping hand held out to us in the bitter years after peace. Our political rights were restored one after the other. In 1907 autonomy was granted, and Boers regained their own Go%">rnment. The Boer leaders and the Boer nation on their part displayed the same til 3f° f 'lUmanity- A milder spirit, the softer breeze began to blow Be™J?, etWeeS th° racos e»£emlered sympathy and co-operation. It is in that spirit—the springtime of new South Africa—that Union was really born. J And to-day we arc standing on the Heights. We possess our free, Imperial and world status. We have a deepseated national pride. Wo feel that our ■heritage is indeeed a great and free country. But there is more. We feel the deepest gratitude for the guidance that has been our part, serving to preserve us from the greatest dangers. Gratefully we recognise that the pain and travail of past years, the pioneering work of our ancestors, and the exploits of long ago are cornerstones of the fou id. turn for a united and free South Africa. That great past is the capital out of whlali we draw the interest to-day— thf far-off interest of tears. 1" now ask myself, arc iv-e entitled to get up and stand on t], oso heights -while leaving the old Vierldeur in the grave below? Now that wo want a flag to fly to lead us in the future, shall -n-e forget tho j[ag l!|](1cl . wJj . fli - nil our sacrifices woo made. Or arc we to exclaim as. the old Hebrew pro-

phet, "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning", .

Union Day makes us reflect and probe into the future as well as into the past. That which seemed dead and buried, hopelessly past and gone, revives and becomes immortal in the life of tho nation. THE COMPACT. Dealing with Mr. Smuts's message, the "Band Daily Mail" had the following to say the. same day, under.the heading "Tho Shadow Over Union Day":— •• "Seventeen years ago to day (31st May) the Union of South Africa was born. Briton and Boer agreed to let the dead past bury its dead, and made a compact to march forward in the future as a united nation, under • one Crown and one flag. For seventeen years they have sot their course by the s^ars, pursuing tho path of progress and prosperity, surviving even the steely test of a World War in which both races sealed tho bargain of 1910 in their blood. The historical facts have, to some extent, become obscured in the contented co-operation with which, year after year, both races have celebrated the national holiday in work and in play. But they are recalled by the stirring messago from General Smuts.

It is one of life's little ironies that the seventeenth anniversary of that peace of God should see the nation once more divided against itself. ■ Today, through the blunder of a Government and the weakness of its leader, the people seem almost as* much af enmity as they were in tho bitter days of old. Once more the land is threatened with racial strife, and. the day which should mark the unity and joy of a new nation sees the opening of a struggle of which no one dares to predict the end. No trick of fate could have dealt South Africa a more cruel blow than that of the politicians with whom her destiny :to-day is cast. They mock the shimmering brightness of the sunshine, and cast a shadow over the day set apart for national rejoicing,' >