Part 3

Shaw Savill Line to Cape Town only, from London-- Third Class, £9, 9s. to £11, 11s. No Second Class.

Also White Star Line to Cape Town occasionally, from Liverpool.

Luggage allowed free; 20 cubic feet second class; 10 cubic feet third class, extra at 1s. 6d. per foot. By Aberdeen Line, 40 feet first class; 30 feet intermediate.

At the present time there are no assisted passages to Cape Colony. When these are granted, they enable an employer to obtain an employee by paying to the Immigration Office at Cape Town a portion of the passage money, the Government of Cape Colony paying the remainder. Women availing themselves of the advantage of a practically free passage are obliged to sign a contract, which is legally binding, to remain one year or longer, according to the agreement made with the employer.

NATAL.--Persons resident in Natal can obtain third class assisted passages from their female relatives and domestic servants through the Immigration Department in the Colony. Adults, £5; children, half-price.

Persons travelling under the auspices of the Association are grouped in reserved cabins under an escort. When larger parties are collected they will have the comfort of travelling with an experienced matron, whose authority they will be expected to uphold.

Hostels and Employment Bureaux are established for receiving travellers and for Registry Work at Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Salisbury. Reception and forwarding arranged at all seaports.

Employment for Elementary and High School Teachers, Trained Nurses, Typists, Dressmakers and Milliners, Useful Helps, Matrons, Business Hands, and Laundresses, can be obtained through the Correspondents of the Association.

In Cape Colony and the larger towns of South Africa, the openings will be chiefly for all-round Domestics, and women in Professions and Business; up the country in the New Territories, for women who as Working Housekeepers can utilise native labour. Teachers will be wanted in all the Provinces.

Employees will be sent out as soon as employers apply for them and Government Authorities consent. Women who intend to settle up-country should meanwhile perfect themselves in cooking and all household matters, adding a knowledge of dairy work, poultry, and bee-keeping.

Travellers going through the Association who have to sleep in London, can be received at 3s. 6d. per day. Three days' notice must be given.

Only women of good character, health, and capability, are accepted by the South African Expansion Committee, in whose hands the selection of women to South Africa has been placed. Protection is secured to them till they enter the situations found for them in the Colonies.

But fully as important as the emigration of adults will be the placing of children in well-selected places in South Africa. The object to be attained is to let children grow up in the country so that they may regard it as their own, and that their early home affection may be largely connected with their adopted land. The difficulty of the selection of children is as nothing compared with the difficulty of the selection of adults. Nor are the objections often raised in a new community against the importation of the last, heard against the first. A wide experience has shown that children are eagerly sought by farmers, and are "placed out" with ease. The remarkable success Dr. Barnardo has had in Canada, to which country he has sent between twelve and thirteen thousand children, has proved this. The number of failures has been only about 1 per cent. Nor is this a haphazard statement. Watch and ward have been kept over the fortunes of the youngsters. They have been carefully placed after due negotiation and correspondence, and each has been reported upon after settlement. The success obtained is best gauged by the ever-increasing number of applications for just such boys and girls as have been previously "located." Every year of late years there have been three great parties sent across the Atlantic, and the cry is ever for more to come. In spring, in midsummer, and in "the fall," the children have been taken out. Entrained on arriving in Canada, the farmers have come down to meet them at the various stations, and they have been at once taken to their new homes, where they have almost uniformly given satisfaction to their employers. They are growing up hearty, happy Canadians, and many hundred letters arrive from them at Stepney where they were trained, telling how they are "getting on." Every penny spent on their teaching in England has had a double return in making room when they go for another boy or girl to be similarly brought up, and in providing Canada and Britain with a small citizen "cut out of whole cloth," as the Americans say, ready to fight for the Empire whether in Canada, in Europe, or in Africa.

Now though the East End philanthropist has the greatest number from which to draw his recruits, he does not stand alone. There is Mr. Quarrier, near Alloa in Scotland, who is doing similar work. In London no child who knocks at the door of the many institutions is refused. Each is admitted, and the change in a year is marvellous. The child has already become a good little mechanic or workman of some kind or other. He is cleanly, disciplined, and has many an example ahead of him and around him, to make him follow in the good road on which he has been set. In London £5000 is now asked for by Dr. Barnardo for the African scheme. The greatest care is to be taken to watch over the children sent out. They are to be carefully placed where climate and water is good, and there, after a course of instruction in all that is most useful in South Africa, they will be placed out as in Canada with farmers, with miners, with mechanics, and with any who want them, if the employers can only show that a good home is provided. But until a good home is provided by the Colonists, they are to have a good home out there of their own. There are opportunities of education in the local farming pursuits that "make the mouth water," to have children thus placed. The pastoral work of dairying, as well as the healthy occupations of gardening and produce-raising will all be studied and taught on the spot. What a happy change from the crowded thoroughfares of the east of London! And if these children succeed, as they assuredly will, why should not the Government do a little useful work of the same kind as that undertaken by Dr. Barnardo and by Mr. Quarrier on its own account? Why not utilise for Africa some of the industrial school children? They, if settled together, and sent to English-speaking farmers, will not forget that they are English. They will not make their farms when they get them, after their useful school career, resound only with the expressive but illiterate "Taal" tongue. Good Saxon (even if shorn of a few h's) will be heard in their homesteads in the future. They will add a good reinforcement to those who know that freedom is not to be got by racial separation, and the condemnation of everything British. They will permeate the districts where they grow up to manhood and womanhood with the British idea and practice of common obedience to law and justice as the best security for freedom.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The generosity of Mr. Rhodes and of the De Beers Company has made it possible to the influential South African Immigration Committee which has been formed at Cape Town to open a Hostel there already.

SOUTH AFRICAN FEDERATION

VIEWS OF COLONIAL PREMIERS

BY E. B. OSBORN

_Author of "Greater Canada"_

I

Unification has always been an ideal of South African statesmen, and twice, at least, it has been within measurable distance of realisation. In 1858 Sir George Grey, who had federated the New Zealand settlements despite the intensity of their local jealousies, promulgated the first practical scheme of South African Federation. So well had he ruled the Kaffir tribes on the eastern border of Cape Colony, that the Free State, weary of warfare with the Basutos, made overtures for a federal alliance, and the proposition of the Volksraad was actually laid before the Cape Parliament by Sir George Grey, before the opinion of the British Ministry in regard to his scheme of federation on New Zealand lines and their sanction for the course actually pursued had been received. Sir George Grey was recalled; though on his arrival off the British coast he found that he had been reinstated by a new Secretary of State, the delay led to the loss of an excellent opportunity for carrying through a measure comparable in importance with the Act which brought about the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada.

For many years after the failure of Sir George Grey's attempt, unification was a little-regarded counsel of perfection. It is true that the Duke of Buckingham, Secretary of State for the Colonies in the Disraeli Ministry of 1868, admitted that it would be politic to consider seriously any further overtures for a federal alliance from the Boers, but the Free State was no longer in the mood to make them, our annexation of Basutoland being resented, and the discovery of diamonds on its western border in 1867 having created fresh causes of irritation. When the second Disraeli Ministry came into power, and Lord Carnarvon, who had collaborated with the Canadian Fathers of Federation (he himself may be described as the Godfather of the Dominion), undertook the charge of colonial affairs, the plan proposed by Sir Henry Barkly for a confederation of South Africa, which should be the logical consequence of the grant of autonomy to Cape Colony, was cordially received. Unfortunately the Free State held aloof, the Cape Ministry remembered only too well the object lessons in anti-Imperialism received from Lord Carnarvon's predecessors, and a _grain de sable_--the tactlessness of Mr. Froude--caused a vast amount of friction. Even then, but for the revival at home of the belief that political quietism and a policy of non-interference with Colonial affairs would enable Great Britain to retain the commercial hegemony of the world, Lord Carnarvon's hopes might have been realised; for he had grasped the all-important fact that South Africa was, and must always remain, a single-minded community, whenever the native question was discussed, and that this unity of opinion was a stronger motive for unification than any or all of those political or commercial considerations which had already led to the making of the Dominion, and seemed certain, sooner or later, to bring about the federation of the Australian Colonies.

In more recent years three men of commanding influence have, each in his own way, attempted to realise the ideal of unity. Mr. Kruger's attempt to lay the foundation of a Dutch confederacy, the future greatness of which would have been based (can we doubt it?) on some form of slavery, may be dismissed as an instance of the adage, _corruptio optimi pessima_. Mr. Cecil Rhodes worked for a federation on the model of the United States; since the Cape was half Dutch, the Transvaal was to be made half British, and the settlement of Rhodesia was to insure the preponderance of Imperial ideas in the Union of the future. He saw that the Boers must be persuaded to co-operate, and for that reason he allied himself to Mr. Hofmeyr, the unofficial leader of the Boer party in Cape Colony, who also had his federal scheme. Had the two Boer leaders agreed to work loyally together in their disloyalty, it is conceivable that they might have brought about an act of federation in the Boer interest, and have constitutionally demanded from Great Britain the removal of her garrisons from South Africa, a naval station at Simon's Bay being conceded in order to retain the essential measure of Imperial protection. Such, at any rate, seems to have been Mr. Hofmeyr's dream. But, instead of being content to widen and deepen the influence of the Afrikander Bond until such time as the term "suzerainty" should have been interpreted by the heirs to Mr. Gladstone's South African policy, Mr. Kruger decided to make use of his hoarded armaments, and the future of his great raid involved the failure of Mr. Hofmeyr's long-meditated plan of--shall we call it?--constitutional disloyalty. Nevertheless the twofold ideal of unity, which inspired the acts both of those who deserved and those who did not deserve to succeed, has survived all these vicissitudes, and was never more strong than at the present moment. Indeed it is obvious that not only the British and Dutch inhabitants of South Africa, but also all responsible politicians and competent publicists in Canada and Australia, are now of opinion that complete solutions of the three South African problems of primary importance--the settlement of the native question, agricultural development, and railway administration--can only be obtained through a Federal Parliament, a body which would combine a detailed knowledge of local conditions with the power of seeing each problem as a whole, and devising a general solution.

II

The foregoing contains the gist of many conversations with those who have a special knowledge of South Africa and South African affairs. The opinions of Sir Albert Hime, the Prime Minister of Natal, who may certainly claim to speak in this matter on behalf of the South African loyalists, were expressed as follows in an interview with the writer:--

"I am convinced that the majority of South Africans are anxious to see a 'United South Africa,' and I believe they will see it before long. I cannot, of course, speak for the Dutch; but I am sure that every 'Britisher' in Natal and in Rhodesia, and nine out of every ten 'Britishers' in the rest of South Africa, are in favour of federation. The great problems of South African development can only be completely solved by a central authority. The native problem, for example, which is the most serious of all, is a case in point. The difficulty of obtaining a sufficient supply of native labour--a difficulty only to be overcome by increasing the wants of the natives--is only one phase of this problem, but it will supply an illustration of the necessity of considering the interests of the whole country in dealing with such matters. As things are arranged at present, the planters and farmers of Natal have a reasonable cause of complaint in the fact that all their available supply of native labour is drawn away to the Rand mines. I may add that the solidarity of South African opinion in regard to the treatment of the natives--all white men in South Africa are agreed, for example, that they must never have the franchise, and that no attempt should be made to create a navvy class in South Africa to compete with the natives in the unskilled labour market--is a great unifying influence. The matter of agricultural settlement is another problem which should be considered with reference to the general interests of the whole country. There is an impression current in certain quarters that immigration should be diverted into the new Colonies. But once the conception of a United South Africa is grasped, it is obvious that a new British settler in Natal will do as much for the maintenance of British supremacy as a new British settler in the Transvaal. If South Africa is not to become a country of two or three large cities in a huge, sparsely settled territory, the problem of agricultural development should be dealt with on the broadest lines, and in the interest of the whole country. Natal has no intention whatever of pursuing a selfish policy in regard to the work of procuring settlers or of obtaining a share of the Transvaal traffic."

Asked to express his opinion as to when the "United South Africa" of his hopes would come into being, Sir Albert Hime naturally enough refused to suggest a date. "But I am strongly of opinion that federation should take place before the new Colonies receive self-government, or, at any rate, concurrently with that event. That would be the safest course; for it is quite possible that the new Colonies, after they had received autonomy, would refuse to join. Once they have attained the privileges of self-government as part and parcel of a 'United South Africa,' I do not think there would be any special friction; if there was, it would gradually disappear as local jealousies grew less."

"Though I do not regard the question of South African Federation as a matter of merely academic interest," continued Sir Albert Hime, "yet I think it would serve no useful purpose to discuss the details of a federal scheme at the present moment. But, for my own part, I do not regard the arguments of Mr. Cecil Rhodes in favour of making Cape Town the federal capital as conclusive. In a speech at Bulawayo, Mr. Cecil Rhodes summed up those arguments in a forcible manner, and his bequest of Groote Schuur as a residence for the Premier of the United South Africa that is to be, is an additional argument of considerable weight. But I am inclined to think that the fact that the Cape Peninsula is, as Mr. Rhodes said, the seaside sanatorium of South Africa, would not compensate for the remoteness of Cape Town from the centre of the new federation. And, again, if Cape Town were chosen there would be a tendency to make too much of Cape politics, and the spirit of Cape politicians might tend to dominate the Federal Parliament. Johannesburg would be a bad choice. Living will always be costly there, and the influence of cosmopolitan capitalists might be exerted with bad results. Of course we should be glad to have the capital in Natal, but I do not expect we shall have that honour. All things considered, Bloemfontein would perhaps be the best choice. Or we might follow the example of the United States, Canada, and Australia, and settle the claims of the existing capitals by creating a new city for our federal capital."

III

Sir Edward Barton was at first unwilling to express an opinion on a subject "in which many with better knowledge have a deep interest." "But I am confident," he continued, "that before many years have passed away we shall see a Federated South Africa, and that no South African will wish to return to the old order of things once that federation has come into being. I still believe that the form chosen for the constitution of the Australian Commonwealth was the best available, and I think that it would be better suited to South Africa than the Canadian form. But whichever form is chosen, the whole community will benefit by federation.

"We in Australia have had great difficulties to overcome, and a certain amount of friction has necessarily arisen between the States and the federal authority, but the history of the United States and of the Dominion shows that such difficulties and friction cannot be avoided, but can always be surmounted. With the exception of a few discontented persons, I think nobody in Australia would be in favour of a return to the old order of things, and it is already clear that the local jealousies which hampered Australian progress are vanishing. When I was in British Columbia nine years ago, I tried hard to find a man who believed that the act of confederation should be undone; but I could not discover such a person. There may be a few 'Blue Noses' in Nova Scotia who would like to see confederation abolished, but I never met one. In either case, the fact that Annexationists are few--too few to be counted--in Canada, explains my failure. And once South African Federation is an accomplished fact--and though the racial antithesis, as was the case in Canada, renders the accomplishment more difficult than in Australia, where a difference in opinion as to fiscal policy was the chief obstacle--I am very sure that the vast majority of South Africans, whether British or Dutch, will refuse to contemplate a change to the old state of local jealousies. The sooner South African Federation comes, the better for South Africa."

Asked to answer the question: Should federation come before the new Colonies receive self-government, or concurrently with that event? Sir Edward Barton replied that in his opinion either course would create difficulties for the future.

"Australian Federation," he continued, "came out of the will of the people. The result of a referendum proved that a majority of the people was in favour of federation, and all the States consented to the terms thereof. Now if the Transvaal and the Orange River Colonies, communities that have enjoyed a form of self-government in the past, had not free choice of assent or refusal, and joined the South African Federation under compulsion (no matter how slight a measure of compulsion), constitutional difficulties might spring up in the hereafter. Disputes might arise between the federal authority and these two States, and they would say, 'We were not asked for our consent, we had not complete freedom of choice.' In any case, representation must be given to them, and it would be awkward if two out of the five Federal States or Provinces were trying to overthrow the federation. I do not say this would happen, but the possibility of such an emergency should be seriously considered. It would be safe, I think, to work and wait for a majority in favour of federation; more especially as there has existed and still exists, as I am informed, a strong feeling that the interests of both peoples in South Africa would be furthered by such a measure."

IV

Neither Mr. Seddon nor Sir Wilfrid Laurier granted the writer's request for an expression of opinion in regard to the possibility or probability of South African Federation. Mr. Seddon, though he is always ready to advise the various Provinces of the Empire in commercial matters, is averse to interfering in other people's politics. Moreover the word "federation" has a discomfortable sound in the ears of his New Zealand constituents; to a few it suggests Rossetti's "might-have-been," to most its echo is a more or less decided "certainly not."

Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who has suffered much from the too imaginative interviewer, both in the United States and in France, makes it a principle not to be interviewed. But a day or two after he had courteously declined to grant the writer's request, he was good enough to allude to the subject of South African Federation in a speech at Edinburgh, from which the following excerpt is taken: "In my humble opinion," said the Canadian Premier, with reference to the attempt of Mr. Rhodes to secure the unification of South Africa, "Mr. Rhodes made one mistake. He made the mistake of being too impatient. Had he allowed time for development, had he allowed the Dutch population to get reconciled to the idea of British citizenship, they would have had much sooner than will be the case the federation of South Africa, _which is the only future of that great country_."