LOUIS BOTHA.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 222, 16 September 1909, Page 2

LOUIS BOTHA.

FARMER AND STATESMAN

An interesting appreciation of Mr Louis Botha, Premier of the Transvaal, appears in the African Monthly.

i ''Born at Greytown, Natal, in 1862, jjie was of a very tender age when his [father moved to Harrismith, in the Free State, towards the end of 1867, taking his fairly numerous - family ;with him. Botha's parents had passed through the terrible ordeals |of Zulu treachery and slaughter. j "His father was a sheep farmer, and, then, much more than it ought to be now, trekking in winter with his cattle and sheep to the 'winterveldt' was a necessity to the highveldt farmer. So it was that the [Botha family followed the general custom of the country and the young Louis with them. .From an-early age he was put in charge of some of the sheep, and from 1881 to 1884 he had iannually to trek with sheep into iZululand for the winter.

"It was during these treks that he became acquainted with some prominent farmers living on the then Transvaal border, who had great influence with the natives of Zululand. He had not taken part in the Zulu war of 1879, or the Boer war of 1880-81, and it was not until 1884 that he became personally involved in the troubles that arose in Zululand as a consequence of the condition in which that country was left after Cetewayo had been conquered and led into captivity. ■ i "After the union, Botha, who had in 1886 married Annie, the eldest daughter of the late John Cheere Emmet, a direct descendant of tha Irish patriot Robert Emmet, betook himself to his farm in the Vryheid district. Here, beginning on bare veldt, he soon had a commodious and substantial house of stone built for himself, with the various necessary outhouses, kraals, etc., and in a ver_y short time was known as one of the foremost farmers in the district, his farm being rapidly converted, under his personal supervision and by his personal efforts, into one of the best cultivated and brightest spots of Vryheid. An ardent'lover of trees, the owner soon had trees growing in every part of the farm, and one avenue of evergreens, leading from his house to the road, extended for over three miles in length. , "But his occupation as a farmer did not preclude him from taking an active part in all movements for the improvement of his district and its population. Thus he was actively, though quietly, busy in all school and church matters; and when, in 1893, ;the struggle between Kruger and Joubert for. the Presidential chair of the Transvaal took place, he was again found fighting side by side with his fermer chief, Lucas Meyer, in the ranks of those who opposed Kruger, and supported Joubert. ' "Early in 1895 he was induced by his friends, much against his «wn will, to accept the post of Resident Justice of the Peace and Native Commissioner for Swaziland, with residence at M'Babane. When the Jameson raid took place ho was called to arms. He organised his commando immediately, but was ordered to remain in Vryteid and wat«h the border of the Republic."