THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1910. SOUTH AFRICAN UNITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14326, 23 March 1910, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1910 . SOUTH AFRICAN UNITY.

The history of South Africa teems with 7 examples of eventful movements, and the extreme difficulty of handling its problems has been the nightmare and perplexity of statesmen of all countries almost ever since its • original discovery, in 1486 by the Portuguese navigator Diaz, and its' more complete investigation ten years later by his compatriot, the great Vasco da Gama: The finding of an ocean route to India had been the dream of all the early navigators, and the Cape, once discovered, speedily became the halfway resting-place, and eventually led to the Dutch establishment of a regular fortified spot from whence they could replenish and refit their Eastern trading, vessels. It remained in their possession until 1795, when England captured it, only to have to restore it under the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, after the fall of Pitt, and this treaty was so unpopular that it led to a renewal of war in the following year, which continued until England had once more regained what is now Cape Colony, and retained . it until the treaty of Vienna in 1814 had permanently legalised her claim. But though nominally British, it really still remained Dutch, and eventually the famous trek inland of those who would never acknowledge British rule led to the birth of the Trans- j vaal Republic. The many troubles of modern times aro so recent as to I be familiar to most people— the Transvaal / offered to become a j colony under the British Crown, and j Was refused; how the constant troubles with the raiding Basutos were a thorn in the side of both English and Dutch; how eventually we came to war and made the peace after Majuba Hill (a peace declaimed against at the time, and for which, in the opinion.of many competent observers, we eventually had to pay the price of another war); how the rising feeling in Johannesburg led ; the . attempted > rescuing raid by ! Jameson, and nearly led to war between England and Germany over the Kaiser's ill-judged telegram of congratulation to Kruger on his circumvention of the move. All these are things fresh in the public mind. And now we see the further experiments of granting to nations, with whom we have recently waged a lengthy and disastrous war, practi- 1 cally all that" they had before, and I perhaps some things they had not, I and the creation of an autonomous union of all the South African States on similar lines to the I Federation of the Australian Com- j monwealth. Will it, or can it, sue- j ceed in its" mission of burying the past in the claimed joint outlook for, a future joint greatness;. s Of all the countries in' the world, South Africa has evolved perhaps j the most bitter, racial controversies, and though they were kept well out of sight during all the . transition period, the Dutch had no sooner acheived the acquirement of what is practically independence than we once more started hearing of the revival of their aims and aspirations as a separate people. Not only does the Dutch vote largely preponderate under the new Constitution, but in many constituencies it is practically the only vote, and now that to it is added, with an ever-louder voice, the claim for the perpetuation of the Dutch language in the Courts and in Parliament, the viewß of the more advanced protagonists are becoming more - defined, and we begin to wonder what the limit of demand really is. And whilst our cables announce that the visit of the Prince of Wales . in August to.: inaugurate the Union is to be surrounded by all the eclat arid pomp of an escort of warships, and have as concomitants all the demonstrations of: State which marked his official visit to Australasia at the time of the federation, there are ominous signs in the speeches of some of the recognised leaders of the Dutch community that they in no way contemplate being anything but the predominating partners in controlling the future destini*?) of the great country represented in the new Federation. It is, of course, the future generations which will chiefly count, and it is, too early > to prognosticate with any .certainty as to their views when they arrive, at maturity, but it is possible, if not probable, that the spectacle from their childhood of seeing their nationality, though defeated in war, in a practically dominating position over their conquerors within ten years of the firing of the last shot, will be somewhat of an encouragement to them later not to lose ground by any weakness due to inability of assertiveness. At present, matters, of course, look hopeful, even if the experiment be a doubtful one, and it will assuredly be a triumph of diplomacy if the purely English j .colony, of Natal can sit at the same

table as .the purely Dutch one of the Transvaal, and consider the best interests of the Union as a whole, after having been bitter enemies for years. ' But South Africa has not only been almost ever a country of surprises, but a country which has been the grave of almost every mili-v tary reputation, and: that of not ; a few'• political and statesmanship careers, which have striven to seek, through a solution of its grave 'complexities, a .threshold in ' its hall of Fame. We can only hope that the inaugural ceremonies, now already being planned . out on an extensive scale, will cause a • broadening of views and a rapprochement between the responsible leaders of the different parties holding sway in the latest addition .to the links of Empire, . and the mere fact that the heir to the Throne is undertaking such an important mission will no doubt, at • least temporarily, bring about a sinking of personal and racial issues and enable .the Union. to be successfully launched upon a career which will be fraught ( with the possibilities "of. either! enormous utility or enormous danger to the Empire as a whole.. The ",. experiment will be watched with great interest, at any rate by the > self-governing communities of the oversea >> dominions, and not the less because the latter have, for the most part, been obliged to pass through a longer period of evolution than is the case with the latest;*-addition to the ranks of 'independent States under the wisely exercised and powerful suzerainty of the British Crown. i ■..'.■'• ';• ■_'•;'.,:■.. vt ; ■■*.;•/.'.••''■' ■'%;• ■-■'