THE BOER CAUSE "WEAKENING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 10 August 1908, Page 6

THE BOER CAUSE "WEAKENING.

General Botha can lead the Boers like children. He is a man who in- j spires trust. Britishers often express i ' a confidence in General- Botha which < they cjo not put in their own leaders. It riiay^ bo taken for granted that the , Progressives will, never get into power ! in the Transvaal upon the shoulders ' of the back- veld voters as long as i General Botha is an active-politician, j They seem to realise this- themselves, ' I and tho spasmodic attempts.- to push' /{/ { their causo in the country districts do tj not go V'.'ry far. ' i In one or two of tho larger country j towns, espocmMy hi seirn-mininp; areas, , i great deal might be done. In Pre- ' I

toria, too, there is scope for a sustained campaign, *nd although Government influence in the capital is naturally strong, Progressive championship of the Civil Service may effect much. But ijhe Botha Ministry is weakening. No Government is so popular as on the day it is put into power, and the Transvaal Government is no exception to the rule. Perhaps the Transvaal made its old' mistake of expecting , too much. After the war it was unduly optimistic in economic and financial . matters. After the elections it was unduly optimistic in expecting that L political change would get rid of de- : pression. Naturally, there is now re- , action. Then, again, particular sec- , tions have been irritated. The Temperance Party fear a revival of the Beer for Natives Bill. The police dis- ( like the new conditions of service, and . a large body of the public sympathise ( with them. The Civil Servants are uneasy and entertain vague fears of further retrenchments.