ARE WE TO LOSE SOUTH AFRICA?
In view of the issues at stake in South Africa at the present time, the Editor of this Review has done me the honour of asking me to write an article on the Transvaal crisis. In doing so I have to break for once the rule of silence which is generally binding on ex-officials in respect of political questions of a controversial nature—at least, in cases in which their utterances might possibly tend to embarrass the Government they formerly served. I have hitherto refused all requests of the kind with reference to South African politics, even when sorely tempted to contradict erroneous statements or to expose the fallacies underlying the sentimental tirades which apparently find such ready acceptance among well-meaning but credulous people unacquainted with the conditions of life in South Africa. The present is, however, an exceptional occasion, and I feel at liberty to speak out plainly. The result of the Bloemfontein Conference has created a new situation, and my views, based upon long personal experience, are in accordance with the present policy of Her Majesty's Government, so far as I can judge from the recently published despatches between Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Alfred Milner.
I ought, perhaps, to begin by explaining why my opinion has been asked, and how I am qualified to form an impartial judgment with regard to the present crisis in South Africa. I have been connected with South Africa by the closest personal ties from an early age, and long before I visited the country I was familiar with its history, its politics, its races, and even the characters of its leading men. I first went out to practise at the bar of the Supreme Court in Capetown in 1870. Shortly after the territory of
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