Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1907. SOUTH AFRICAN PROBLEMS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 June 1907, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1907. SOUTH AFRICAN PROBLEMS.

LABOUR AND THE WHITE EXODUS. | THE granting of a Constitution to the Orange River Colony permitting an instalment of self-government marks the culmination of the British policy with regard to the annexed States. Whether the Boers are in earnest or not it is difficult to say. But their leaders have given assurances of loyalty, and the recent declaration before the Hetvolk that in future education instead of the rifle must be the people's hope is very significant. In view of developments in the Transvaal the opinion of Lord Milner on the outlook is of interest and importance. Any statement made by him must be respected as authentic, because of his long official connection with the country, not only as Governor of the Transvaal, but also as High Commissioner for South Africa before and after tho Boer war. On the other hand his bitter hostility to She Government of Sir H. C. Bannerman and its policy must be borne in mind, and his interpretation of the situation created in the Transvaal by the agency and policy of the Government must be received with a measure of caution. The policy of granting a Constitution to the Transvaal so soon after the war was diametrically opposed to the views of the ex-High Commissioner, who has never concealed his conviction that in the interests of tho maintenance of British supremacy in the Transvaal the Crown should continue for an indefinite period to retain the control of the political institutions of the country. Lord i Milner vehemently distrusted the Camp-bell-Bannerman policy of magnanimity, and consequently his Bthtement that by . that- policy the foundations have been laid for Dutch supremacy from Capetown to the Limpopo embodies the only view that could logically be expected from him. But it is not a view that will command assent from British Liberals, who realise the impossibility of keeping a country like the Transvaal in leading-strings for an indefinite period, and who recognise the right of the people of a great British dependency to govern themselves under the forms pre- : scribed iii the case of otlier great dependencies of the Empire. ■'; Apart from Lord Milner, even the most optimistic of the Liberals must admit that the commercial and industrial condition of the Transvaal at the present time is deplorable. There is a steady outflow of the British element through inability to make a livelihood in the country, and this is leaving the Boers in an unquestioned numerical superiority. Lord Milner places the responisbility for this* Btate of affairs on the shoulders of ths jlmperial Government, and attributes it to the policy that favours the Boer at the expense of the Briton. On the other hand, it is contended by the supporters of the Government that the depression and dislocation of industrial and financial affairs are directly due to Lord Milner's own policy of introducing Chinese labour. The tu quoque retort against Lord Milner is that it was he who reiterated the statement that the introduction of the Chinese would cause employment to be found for thousands of white men, and would build up a healthy and flourishing industry which would securely establish prosperity in the Transvaal. That prediction, it is pointed out, has been absolutely falsified by events. The labour market for white men in the Transvaal has steadily declined. Huge crowds of unemployed have reoently been parading Johannesburg, openly declaring that all their trust is in General Botha, the Premier. There ars 55,000 Chinese in the Band mines, and Britons from the Transvaal are scurrying from South Africa by every steamer. It is as easy for the opponents of Lord Milner to attribute this exodus to his Chinese labour policy as it is for Lord Milner and his supporters to declare that it is due to Liberal faddism. But the concrete fact is that whether Chinese or Africans be employed in the mines, coloured labour of somo sort must be ongaged. In the room of the Chinese who go out on repatriation Hottentots must come in. Mr Botha, the Trajjjfraejl Premier, eriunci-

ates this aa his latest policy, and he has expresed the conviction that native I labour will be available as required — a view not endorsed by the mine owners. But in any case it is difficult t*> conceive that the prtsence bf OhineSo lafeoOr cftn cftUsß lack of employment for Wmtes.whil s the presence of African labour can have the opposite effect. As a matter of fact, it is tlio uncertainty that has led to dislocation and depression It Chinese labour or Afrieaa labour Were a stable industrial factor Unaffected by ImpttVial or local politics, Work as white men could do might be available, whereas it is not now .available,, and as a consequence there Is an exodus. As regards local political conditions it is clear that, .vhether the Baftouf policy or the Bamlerniart Administration be blameable, it Is obvious that the Boera are being left to a numerical superiority in the Transvaal. The_ .Het Volkites were returned to the first Parliament with a deaT majority over all the British parties— Progressive, Nationalist, Labourite) and Independent. The irony of it is that' Great Britain went to war to secure for Britons a fair share of political power in the Transvaal, and now by deliberate legislative machinery the fruits of victory are being snatched from the Britons. This cannot be helped. The Constitution has been granted, for good or ill, and logically self-government must! dree its own weird. It witu a manhood suffrage basis, the Boer voters exceed the British voters, then on an equitable distribution of constituencies it is only to be expected that the Boers will speak with a rtia-jonty voice in Parliament * j # „ , Hpw is this result to be altered or modified? Recriminations against Lord Milner on the one hand, and against Liberal faddism on the other will not help matters. The policy of magnanimity is in force. We have offered our cheek to the Boer for the kiss of peace, and if our confidence be misplaced and we get a smack i»*«drt is our own fault. We cannot now hold the hand we ourselves have freed and et in motion. Adjustment may be achieved automatically, and l'i. clue time The factors that gave Britons* numerical superiority over the Boers before the war are likely to operat* again with the return of . normal prosperity and industrial activity in the mines. The Boor is a facmer, , one who can move and prosper only in wide spaces. (He is misplaced in crowds, ill cities, on stock exchanges. If the future of the Transvaal still depend on its mining , wealth, then it will be the Anglo-Saxon and not the Boer who will develop it. and thereby possess an automatic numerical superiority. The issue of possession passing away from Anglo Saxons to foreigners is not overlooked, but, whoever may be the future beneficiares, it will not be the Boers who will do the developmental work We aie thus brought Wk to conditions which ruled prior to the war, which, in fact. led to the war. Will it be necessary to have a second adjustment by the arbitrament of war? Time alone will tell and the Balfour and the Bannerman policies will then be judged more justly than it is possible to do at present. __