HAUNTING PERIL IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1979, 9 February 1914, Page 7

HAUNTING PERIL IN SOUTH AFRICA.

—:— TERRIBLE MENAGE OP THE ASSEGAI. THE STRIKE, AND AFTER SINISTER FLASHLIGHT. j DYNAMITE COMMANDOS. ! By Telegraph—Press Associati'tin.—Oopjrtlehi . Caps Town, February 6. j General Smuts, Union Defence Minis* ] tor, continuing his speech, in tli-ts Union Parliament in connection'with the recent industrial crisis, said that tho incident at Jagersfoiitcin was ft providential flashlight, showing what a general conflagration would mean. The strike loaders contemplated civil War, and when no longer able to hold ir.ass mceti&gs : and inilamo the workers, they employed small bodies of men with dynamite in their pockets. The Trade's Halt had aim* ultaneously instructed them to form commandos., Dynamite had been found freely, along the railways and in other { places. In the background.! ho said, was al- j ways tho terrible menace of tho black population on the Hand, The Government, ho urged, was tho-best judge of the situation. It saw that the time was ripa for drastic action,' and took its courage in both _ hands, being determined to face criticisms over the deportations, j a subject to which mature considers-< tion had beo-i given- No responsibility rested with Lord Gladstone (the Gov-ernor-General), and lie (the speaker) regretted the attempts which had been made to censure him. Tho Transvaal Peace Preservation. Ordinance of 1903 gave the Government power to summarily expel persons dangerous to tho country's peacc; the criminal law* did not cope with such cases. Ht> instanced the ■ acquittal of Crawford and 31ns. Fitzgerald in July last. _ The Government was not prepared to risk a repetition cf such acquittals. ' Tho General also cited tile {Jalbrttitb, Cole deportation case iii September: 1911 —the Hon Galbraith Colo, son oi tho Earl of Enniskillen, was, at the instance of the Cojonial Oflice, deported from British East Africa, on a war-, ranf; charging him with exciting racial' enmity in the colony. This was an act ■ (said General Smuts) which Mr. Ramsay MacDcmald [British Labour had endorsed. If this had Seen justifiable'tho deportation ®f the Labour leaders was assuredly sfr. General Smuts Scathingly condemned General Hcrtzog's "patriotism" _ in harassing tho Government at a critical timer Ho (General Smuts) preferred to reserve tho torm "patriot" for Mr. Mcrriman and Sir Thomas Smartt (.Leader of tho Opposition), who had proffered their sorviccs as special constables. When tho Trades Hall was siirrc.hde.red to the' authorities it Was found that everything incriminating had been. burnt, and tho Government's only al* ternativo to safeguard tho public was to'proclaim martialkw. The publicdid not know that after tho July strikes tons ' of assegais and other lethal weapons had been collected in the nntivo compounds. Tho Genoral paid .a tribute to we magnificent response to the mobilisation order. It was fino to see how rich And-poorhad-;flocked to the-colours . ~•• AT THE BAR Of THE HOUSE! COUNSEL FOR THE DEPORTED' j jJEN, (Rec. February 8, 5.5 p.m.) Cape Town,. February 7. Mr. Percival Smith, the barrister (son of Mr. justice Smith), who appeared before tho bar of the House on behalf of tho deported strikers, delivered a speech 'wliio'h was considered to bo effective, as exposing the anomalies and technicalities 'of legal procedure and constitutional law. Ho recalled tho trial of Dinizulu and Cetoivayo (the Zulu rebel chiefs) " before a special Court, and denied that there was any analogy between the Cole case and that of tho deported strikers. Tho latter were exemplary characters, 'Ihe-ro was no evidence of conspiracy, but a mass of ovidonce to the contrary, and they were entitled to a proper trial, to enable them to bring (rebutting evidence,. and conspiracy was not'alleged in the preamble of the Bill, nor Was sedition, Debate Resumes. Mr. Quiiin, the Unionist, member for Johannesburg, who, as a leading Rand baker, 'kept his establishment open to supply, the defence force and tlie Socalled "scabs," despite the Federation's orders audi threats, thrilled the House with his description af the Syndicalists' methods, their insolence, and their vio*. lence. He had thought a lot of Tommy Atkins after the last war, • biit he thought mora of hirfi fto'.v.- Ho saw one astride a hoiiso, with a gaping wound in his cheek, yet there lie sat, and'never threatened to retaliate. Pointing to his fellow members, Messrs.. Andrews and Madoley, whom ho (Mr. Quinn) described as notorious disturbers of the. t peaco, preaching license instead of liberty, Sir. Qr.iim asked: "Why are they free?" He added that had ho been General Smuts he doubted if ho would havo taken the trouble,to deport the strike leaders. The country was with tho Government regarding martial law, but some-people disagreed utterly as fo the deportations. Nevertheless, ho would rather walk, out than vote against tho Government for doing tho only tiling which had saved society. • Ho hoped that the power of tho Government would ljmv .suffico to remedy fill legitimate grievances. Mr. Duncan declared that there .was not a shadow of evidence that the situation was'of such gravity as to warrant the deportations. None of the deported men, from their speeches, deserved banishment for life. Colonel Crewo said that, it was not the citizen forces, not the Government, which had made the 'strike unsuccessful, but the force of public opinion throughlout South Africa. Mr. Crosswell opened his speech, and then tho House adjourned. THE COVERNOR-GEMERAUSHIP. HUMOURED DESIGNATION OF LORD GLADSTONE. (Roc. February 8, 5.5 p.m.) London, February 7, Tho newspapers state that Mr. C. F. Mastcrman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, will shortly succeed Mr. Sydney Buxton (President of tho Board of Trade), who'will be raised to tho Peerago and relieve Lord Gladstone aii Gov-ernor-General of South Africa. Lord Gladstone, it is stated, has long desired to resign his position.