FUTURE OF THE TRANSVAAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11598, 5 December 1899, Page 5

FUTURE OF THE TRANSVAAL.

SOUTH AFRICAN FEDERATION,

The following from the Spectator may be taken as representative of enlightened Liberal views in England:— ""We do not want,to shout before we are out of the wood, but it is impossible, even though the first shot has not yet been fired to shut out wholly from one's mind the consideration of what is to be done when the war is over. It would of course, be most unwise to go into detail at the present moment, but one or two general propositions may, we think, be laid down which should be kept in view by the nation. To begin with, we must remember' that the cry raised by Mr Morley and others as to the terrible'difficulties with which we shall be faced, even after we have conquered the Transvaal, is based upon a delusion. Mr Morley apparently forgets that after the war, and when the unhappy people who have been driven from their homes in Johannesburg have returned, the Transvaal will be one of the most British parts of South Africa. Mr Morley talks as if the difficulty would be to maintain the Outlandera in the position of equality we have won for tham. In reality the difficulty will be to arrange that the Boer minority shall have a reasonable amount of influence on the government of the country. Granted that we win, we shall, of course, as soon as the lafit spark of war has been trodden, out begin to reorganise. the State. We shall, no doubt, do that by ultimately establishing the frscst possible form of self-government known to the Empire— taking care, of course, that the Boers rights as to representation and the concurrent use of their language are fully guarded and protected, for wo are not o- o ine to turn the Boers into Outlanders. Our object is to establish racial equality: not racial predominance. Perhaps the best way of ensuring that the Boers shall suffer no disparity of treatment from the recently emancipated Outlanders would be to merge the Orange Free State with the Transvaal, and thus make the disparity of numbers in the case of the Dutch less conspicuous. But that is obviously a matter not to be decided offhand. All that we want to insist on is that, as far as tho Transvaal is concerned, the talk about holding down an xinwilling province by unitary rule, and forebodings as to our tailure, are nonsense. Once give the Outlandors—remember, it will be all the Outlanders, and not only those who came before 1893—votes and allow them arms, and there will be no more question of holding down a

hostile.province.than tfiere is in Natal. The Transvaal, in fact, will be 'another Natal. After the war is over there will, no doubt, be at once a flood of talk as to the unification of the various provinces of South Africa into one great Dominion. Unquestionably that is the ideal goal, the ultimate aspiration. Whether, however, it would be wise to force it on in a moment of crisis "and reconstruction is a different matter.- ■ Personally, we' should say that so greatly to be desired-a consummation ought not to be put in jeopardy by any action that might seem rash or hurried. To succeed, federation must be really desired by all the constituent parts. We would, therefore, wait till the period oE 'reconstruction ' had been got over in the State now governed by the Boers, in order that we might be sure that we had its authentic voice; not something- spoken in heat or enthusiasm, and possibly to please the Imperial Government. The Imperial Government wants federation, no .doubt, but only, if all South Africa wants it also—for we want it not for our own sakes, but solely for the. good of South Africa."

Major Horace Robert Stopford, who was killed at the Modder River battle, was born on the 29th October, 1855. He was appointed sub-lieutenant 46th Foot 13th June, 1874; Grenadier Guards, 28th August, 1875; captain G. Guards, 19th October, 1885; major, 10th November, 1893; A.D.O. (extra) to G.0.C., the. Forces, headquarters, Ireland, March, 1881, to July> 1882; Comirii. School of Inst'.~foT'Aiix. Forces,—Wellington Barracks, Ist July, 1887, to August, 1889; no war service ; on 10th November, 1893, exchanged into Coldstream Guards.

Sydney Earl, P.S.C., born 4th June; 1865 ; lieutenant Liverpool Regiment 9th May, 1855; Grenadier Guards, 20th May, 1885; captain, 27th July, 1896; no war service.