RAND REVOLT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18510, 22 March 1922, Page 5

RAND REVOLT

RETURN TO NORMAL CONDITIONS. RELAXATION OF MARTIAL LAW. DAMAGE TO RAND PROPERTY. ESTIMATED AT ONE MILLION. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. CAPETOWN, March 20. An indication of a return to normal conditions on the Rand is afforded by General Smuts’s return to Capetown. Efforts are being niade to replace the native labour in the mines as speedily as possible.—A. and N.Z. Cable. The only union concerned which has not yet called off the strike is the Amalgamated Engineers’ Union. This is due to difficulties in balloting in the East Rand; but it is anticipated that the difficulties will be immediately removed. The first relaxation of martial law in the central area is that the curfew hour is now 9 instead of 7. A week ago Johannesburg resounded with the noise of battle. Toiday a memorial service in honour of the fallen heroes was held in front of the Town Hall. All the units which had helped to quell the rebellion were represented.—Reuter. It is estimated that the damage to property on the Rand during the revolution was £1,000.000. A considerable proportion was due to looting. It is estimated that Lloyd's will lose £750,000, while they will probably receive £250,000 in premiums on the last insurance. As illustrating the unsettling effects of the revolutionary upheaval on country opinion, it now transpires that at a meeting held at near Bloemfontein, a proposal was made to raise a commando to l proceed to Johannesburg to stop further bloodshed, which a speaker alleged was flowing in the interests of the Chamber of Mines. This proposal was abandoned only when news was received that hostilities had ceased.—‘A. and N.Z. Cable. SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY. STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER. THE POSITION REVIEWED. GRAVE DANGER AVERTED. ATTEMPT TO CREATE SOVIET REPUBLIC. CAPETOWN, March 20. Genera] Smuts was loudly cheered om entering the Assembly. In making a statement, he said that when he last spoke in the House practically the whole Rand, from one end to the other, except Boysbyrg and a small portion of the centre of Johannesburg, was in the hands of the revolutionaries. He paid a tribute to the prompt action of the Minister of Defence in regard to the mobilisation of the burghers and to the latter’s magnificent organisation. There had been grave danger thajb the whole Rand might become a scene of bloodshed and murder such as would take one back to the days of the French Revolution. Not till the early hours of Sunday was it possible to change the situation. After that rapid progress was made. When he left Johannesburg on Friday the situation was almost as if nothing had happened. The countrv had escaped a tremendous danger. The strike had been submerged by the revolution. The Mineworkers’ Union dissociated itself from the revolutionary movement. It was clear that the Trades Unions’ Federation executive was not a free agent. Dark influences were in the background. The executive made a fatal mistake in not repudiating the movement as soon as the Council of Action appeared, but it waited till after all this trouble and bloodshed. The Government had been blamed for not arresting the revolutionary • leaders. There was a time when most of those who were in gaol ought to have remained there, but the magistrates let them out on the flimsiest possible bail. It might be asked -what were the prospects and aims,-of the revolutionaries. It was clear from the statements made by the leaders (who were reallv out for a Red revolution of the French Republic type). There was no doubt about that. The fact that impressed him most was that if these people, even for a few days before the commandos came up, obtained the mastery of the. whole of Johannesburg and the Rand, they might have set up revolutionary tribunals. People might have been executed bv hundreds and Johannesburg changed into an ocean of blood. That was their way to create a Soviet republic. It might be said that they were mad, but they had a great measure of success. They, no doubt, expected assisttance from the country, and also other commandos to come to their assistance. Luckily, they were disappointed. One of the most consolatory facts was the response to the Government’s appeal. He hoped that what had happened had cleared the air. It would now_ be realised all over the world that in South Africa, whatever its politics, there was a vast body of quiet, solid, public opinion which would support law and order and public authority.—A. and N.Z. Cable. TRIBUTE TO POLICE AND SOLDIERS. TRIAL OF REBELS. THE GOVERNMENT’S DECISION. CAPETOWN, March "21. General Smuts paid a very warm tribute to the police. He said that the Government force was a young one, embodying many people who were not in agreement with the Government. Of all the bodies engaged, the police most deserved thanks. The Government had decided that those who were wounded and the relatives of the fallen will be dealt with on the most generous terms. He also highly praised the Durban Light Infantry. They were all young men. practically schoolboys, at the beginning of their training. On the Sunday evening the centre of Johannesburg would have fallen into the hands of the revolutionaries but for this body of brave men. He expressed his deep gratitude to the natives. He had greatly feared they might be stampeded, but they kept their heads and nroved one of the most stable elements on the Rand. The whites owed a deep debt of gratitude to the natives in this grave crisis. Martial law would remain in force till a formal Act of Indemnity had been passed by Parliament. Dealing with the question of the trials of rebels, after revising the different methods, General Smuts said that the Government had come to the conclusion that the best course was not to trv the rebels by court-martial or a special tribunal, but b'v the ordinary courts. Many would he trier] for murder and serious offences under the Roman and Dutch law. Referring to the appointment of an Industrial Commission to inquire into the matters in dispute, the Government had abandoned the idea of nominees of the Federation and the Chamber of Mines, but intended to appoint an imnartial body. Mr and Mr Bov doll asked for a Select Committee, but the Prime Minister replied that it would lead to grave confusion and prejudice if such a body were taking evidence at the same time as the courts of justice. It might be practicable at a later stage.