SOOTH AFRICA

Evening Star, Issue 18257, 23 April 1923, Page 7

SOOTH AFRICA

NATIONALISTS AND LABOR PARTIES. IMPERIAL TIE TO BE MAINTAINED. Press Association—By Telegraph— Copyright. CAPE TOWN, April 20. Willi a view to meeting hostile propaganda Mr Crcsswell has drawn up and Mr Hortzog has approved of a statement id'fining their mutual relations as leaders of the Nationalist ancl_ Laborite Parties constituting the Opposition. Summing up the of their discussions on the political situation, the statement says; The common opposition of the two parties to the present Government and its supporters is largely duo to the necessity of combating the Government s trend o’f policy, which is growing continuously more pronounced in recent years—namely, that the Government acta as though dominated by the conviction that the country’s interests will be best served by taking big finance view's of the internal and economic problem. The most obvious difficulty in the way of co-operation in opposing the Government candidates at the clections is the belief with which numbers of the English-speaking sections is inoculated—that if the Nationalists were returned to power they would immediately try' to cut the painter and establish a republic. A lesser difficulty arises from the country dwellers fears regarding tho Labor platform. Mr Cresswell says that ho is unalterably opposed to cutting the painter. He pointed nut to Mr Hertzog that a majority of the English-speaking South Africans are most sensitive on this sub-

ject, ■whereupon Mr Hertzog gave an explicit undertaking to the electors at the next General Election that in the Parliament then to be elected, should a Nationalist Government come into power, no Nationalist member of Parliament would use his vote to upset the existing constitutional relations of South Africa to the British Crown. “We are agreed that in these circumstances we could quite properly recommend to our respective parties an election co-operation with a view to avoiding three-cornered contests.” _ Recognising that the difference bptween the two parties is not only in regard to the political outlook, probably to racial and other prejudices, Mr Hertzog and Mr Cresswell are agreed that in the event of any election co-operation the elected candidate will owe allegiance entirely to his own _ party, although votes will be givim him by the other party’s supporters. This will clear up any misunderstanding. —Reuter.