The Boer party in the Transvaal has at last declared
its policy. Last Saturday, at a meeting held in Pretoria under the presidency of General Botha, it was resolved to demand full responsible government and to refuse to co-operate under any compromise. The same measure was demanded for the Orange River Colony. Meanwhile the party has been organised for electoral purposes in a People's Union. It must not be forgotten that the Boer demand for responsible government is not the same as that made by Mr. Solomon and his friends in Johannesburg, for it is combined with strenuous opposition to the three cardinal principles of a sound Constitu- tion,—equal electoral districts, automatic redistribution, and representation based upon number of voters and not upon population. In effect, General Botha asks for responsible government plus a discrimination in favour of the country districts, where the power of his party lies. It is an impossible demand, and seems to us to do no credit to the astuteness of the Boer leaders. At the same time, it is probably only a ballon d' essai, for it is of the essence of Boer methods to begin by asking more than they ever dream of getting. They must certainly never be allowed anything so grossly unfair as the depriving of people who live in towns of their just share of political power.
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