SOUTH AFRICA'S PROBLEMS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20096, 27 November 1930, Page 8

SOUTH AFRICA'S PROBLEMS.

BRITISH INFLUENCE WANING. RACIAL DIFFICULTIES. Although South Africa's gold resources are a great natural advantage, maintaining economic stability, the Union has many grave problems of its own, such as New Zealand will' never have to face. To a reporter of Thk Press yesterday, Mr John Bevnon, manager of Burclay's Bank in Pretoria, who is touring New Zealand on holiday with his wife, indicated the nature of these problems, and compared his country with the Dominion. "As far as I can see," he said, "your chief troubles are. the weather and earthquakes.' You have, after all, only to sit tight until the price of wool improves. But in. South Africa, although.we have our gold, we have difficult and peculiar problems of race as well." • It was .his opinion, he said, that British influence ill iSouth Africa was waning. Tlie early settlers of "the years following the, Boer War were gradually disappearing, and their places were being taken by the Dutch. Unfortunately, until r.ecent legislation, the immigrants, were chiefly from the Jewish European nations, Poland," for instance, and Lithuania. Comparatively few British people were entering the.country. Mr Beynon had.been astounded to find in New Zealand how reverently the. people respected the National Anthem, and he was convinced, as well, that theirs was not a flag-waving loyalty. In South Africa there was no such respect for the National Anthem. Indeed, many did not like even to regard their country as part of the British Empire. The Native Problem. ''Our most serious trouble is this: for every white child born, there, are about 12 natives," he continued. "It is only a matter of calculation to see that some day, in the not very distant futu/e, there must be an economic balance in favour of the native. While the white races fight, the black races multiply.?' ■ - Apart from, this most serious problem, the racial question in South Africa was a deep and difficult one. No artificial means, he was sure, would ever cement the British and the Dutch. Mutual toleration and appreciation alone would achieve that end. Mr Beynon is hopeful of success in the future, for time has already worked wonders. At present racial strife -flared up only from time to time, according to the proximitv of an election. There was in the Union a definite Republican feeling, but he thought the Dutch would always realise the economic f<>lly of breaking away from the British Empire. No X»ack of Leaders. A third problem was that of ''the poor white" so-called, the problem ot : tho settlers of the backbloeks who. had gradually degenerated to a state below that of the native. It was almost impossible to deal with them 'except by -educating their children and seeking to build xip-the standard again. , ".Perhaps, because the general stahazard of" education . is not so high in .the Other Colonies, ' we have no lack, of leaders,*' said Mr Beynon. "That is "Australia's prime need at • leaders for the Common wealth". South Africa we have had sorrtp v.u'v

strong men. A particularly brilliant statesman lias risen lately in J. H. Hofmeyr, for many years administrator of the Transvaal province, whose work now seems to be_ devoted to the cementing of the British and Dutch friendship."