The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1911. BOTHA REMOVES THE MASK.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1296, 27 November 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1911. BOTHA REMOVES THE MASK.

General Botha has at last thrown off the mask. Probably his intention was to conceal his personal opinions indefinitely, and to continue playing the double rule of Progressive and of backvelder. But circumstances have compelled him to declare his position anil he has chosen to abide by the' party of reaction. Tho political situation in South Africa at the present time is capable of pare developments in several directions; and now,'since the Prime Minister has formally severed all possible ties with the Progressives, the country may at any time find itself in a position of extreme danger, irom the clay that General Botha left South Africa for London the reactionaries have been at work, preaching and teaching anew the old familiar doctrine of Dutch dominance in South Africa, This doctrine confines itself not to the legitimate securing of numerical superiority in the electorates and in Parliament; it permeates and influences the whole social, political, and religious life of the Dutch. Were it to achieve its purpose the British in South Africa would become but the helots, which, according to Lord Milner, the British in the Transvaal -were during the years immediately preceding the war. General Botha's colleague in the Ministry, General Hertzog, would force every British child in the country to learn the Boer language; Government officials, whose sole fault is their British birth, are being dismissed to make wav for Dutchmen; immigration is to he officially tabooed until all the idle, incompetent Boers, now loafing in dorp arid town, are given money out of •'the taxpayer's pocket and placed on I the land. It is neither more nor less than Krugerism revived. General Botha has been slow to decide on which side of the fence he would descend. He talked platitudes to the Progressives,. most of them vague, others absolutely meaningless; "but Sir Starr Jameson and his followers, with a forbearance that did them i infinite honour, not only made cverv allowance to a Premier in a new and difficult position, but also extended to him consistent and generous support in and out of Parliament, General Botha while in London, like New Zealand's Prime Minister, ■said many wonderful things. He informed members of the Imperial Conference, and dilated upon the themes on every occasion that offered, first, that South Africa had solved the education problem and that harmony reigned throughout the land; second, that the Union Government was considering a great scheme of land settlement which, in a few years, would fill the sub-continent with a happy and prosperous population; third, that immigration w-as to be encouraged in every possible way; that shipping companies would 'be consulted, and that the Government would set aside an amole sum to assist the poorer classes in reaching, and settling in, the country. There were promises and pledges; but these will suffice. General Botha. in short, during his stay in -England appropriated and utilised the policy of the Progressives. Meanwhile General Hertzog was busv in ,r3oulh Africa applying the proper correctives. The recommendations of the. Education Committee he defied; settlement, he declared, must be confined to the landless white inhabitants of South Africa; immigrants from England- were not wanted, indeed they would endanger the position of the dominant people—the Dutch. The truth is now obvious that on his return General Botha was asked some particularly plain Questions by the backveld section of the Boers, by their representatives and spokesmen. It is equally obvious that General Botha in the councils of the Bond, De Unie, and Het Volk was offered two alternatives: he must either take his stand with the Progressives, or, putting equivocation aside, accept and abide by the policy of the backveld. How- effectively General Hertzog and his friends have applied the screw is manifest from the latest speech delivered bv the Premier at Losberg, a typical backveld constituency. For the Progressives, whose vote's have repeatedly prevented his defeat in Parliament, he had nothing to say except what, savoured of ill-will and contempt. The rumours of differences in the Cabinet, admitted though thev be by General Hertzog, he impolitely characterised as "mere Progressive madness."

General Botha'*- Losbcrg speech, as the Cape Times pointedly observes, has administered a cure for the Progressive madness which will prove final. _ "The madness," continues the Cape journal, "which led Progressives tq suppose that when the f rime -Minister spoke in London of a great immigration policv, he meant what he said, is akin to the madness which led them to suppose that, he intended to carry out his pledge of ast session to 'do all in his power' to see the principles embodied in the majority report of the Education Committee put into effect. That hope is fin ay quenched by the Losberg speech. General Botha seems to have capitulated unconditionally to the Heutzob faction. The clamour of that section may have misled him touching its numbers and influence Evidently he has been persuaded that ho has become independent of assistance from the Progressives. His present method of treating the Opposition will probably serve as a warning against future attemnts to form -i non-party, non-racial Ministry. Ifc would almost seem that General Botha meant the Losberg confidences alone for the ears of thcbackvelders Siu Percy Fitzpatrick remarked tlie other day that the Premier had been afforded innumerable opportunities to perform beneficent and lasting i services on behalf of South Africa •' "but," regretfully explained Sir Starr Jameson's first .lieutenant i "Botha is not big enough.'' Sir Perky Fitzpatkick seems to have been right. i