Wind of Change
By STEPHEN KING-HALL IN 1957 I visited the Union of South Africa and stayed in many parts of this lovely and fascinating country. My travels took me to the towns and also to farms in the Cape Province and in the Karoo. After hearing the opinions of persons of all races and classes I came to the con- clusion that, within a matter of from ten to twenty years, disaster would overtake the Union in which there appeared to be a deadlock between the immovable body of white domina- tion and the irresistible forces of African nationalism. Only a handful of Liberals admitted the word 'multi-racial' to their vocabulary and, though there was plenty of animosity between the predominantly English-speaking United Party and the Afrikaans Nationalist Party, the real issue between them was not apartheid and all its works.
As I have retraced my steps in the Union in 1960, often the guest of the same people, I have found a remarkable change in the political atmosphere. The various conflicting forces in this complex situation have emerged from trench warfare, and a war of movement has begun; to quote what Field-Marshal Smuts said in another connection : The tents have been struck and the caravan of humanity is once more on the march.'
The first impression is that all the races are now sensitively aware to a much greater extent than they were in 1957 of what is going on in other parts of the African continent. The rapid growth of African nationalism alarms the European South African and encourages the African National Congress leaders. The white South African is disturbed and distressed by the evidence which accumulates that the racial policies of the Union have not a friend in the world except the Portuguese. It was a painful shock to the Nationalists to 'be given a particu- larly direct kick in the pants over apartheid by the Dutch Government in January of this year; and at the beginning of February Mr. Mac- millan's speech to the Union Parliament caused a nation-wide sensation. It enraged the Nationa- lists; embarrassed the United Party; delighted the Progressives and non-Europeans.
The Nationalists, some of whom are moving into that state of exaltation which seized the British when in 1940 they stood alone in a more praiseworthy cause, declare that, come hell and high water, they will'persevere with apartheid and its practical implications in the shape of the Bantustan idea. This—in the year 1960—is so economically absurd that it is impossible to sup- pose that men so intelligent as the Prime Minister (Dr. Verwoerd) and the Finance Minister (Dr. Donges) really suppose it to be possible. The Government's own report estimated that a mini- mum capital investment of £100 million over ten years would be required and even then—if the dream of Bantustan began to take shape—there would be millions of Bantus in `White South Africa.' In 1936 there were 1,141,000 Africans in urban areas; in 1946 the figure was 1,800,000. In 1948 the Nationalists launched their present policy in all its naked absurdity and by 1957 there were 2,600,000 Africans in urban areas. To- day the figure is at least 3,000,000 and to this number of indispensable black workers must be added an-other 3,000,000 who work on farms in the European areas.
These inescapable truths are beginning to be- come apparent to the less fanatical Nationalists, and particularly to businessmen in the Nationa- list camp who see what economic nonsense the whole business is (quite apart from its political dangers) and derive some consolation from the significant fact that up to date the meagre sum of £500,000 has been voted for the Bantu De- velopment Corporation. The consequences of progressively legislating in a hundred and one ways to fossilise the position of 75 per cent. of the inhabitants of the Union as third-class citizens, destined for ever (at any rate in white South Africa) to be hewers of wood and drawers of water--persons debarred from many occupa- tions to make vacancies for European workers who do not exist—is not only a heavy handicap on the economy of the Union, but inevitably results to an increasing extent in restrictions on the liberties of all individuals. To paraphrase M. Litvinov's famous phrase about peace: 'Liberty in a nation is one and indivisible' and totali- tarian ideas and practices enforced by one section of the population on the rest inevitably spread amongst the totalitarians themselves.
Although the Union is not yet a police State and the impartiality of the judiciary, especially at the highest levels, is beyond reproach (one of the accused in the long-drawn-out Treason Trial said to me: 'The only satisfactory feature in this tragic farce is the scrupulous fairness of the bench'), the policies of the present Government will turn South Africa into a police State unless they are reversed. How can they be reversed? Normally one would turn an inquiring gaze towards the official opposition led by the per- sonally charming and extremely agreeable Sir de Villiers G mall". Alas! this tough country of tough men is no place for agreeable leaders. Sir de Vil- liers has liberal tendencies and after four days of earnest wrestling with his conservative supporters at the last United Party convention he managed to get the United Party delegates to agree that the party should pledge itself, if returned to power, to have the ten million Africans in the Union represented by eight Europeans in Parlia- ment. And at this stage the incipient revolt in the United Party came to a head and eleven members, led by Dr. Steytler and including some of the. best brains in the United Party, broke away and formed the Progressive Party of South Africa, which accepts the idea that politically and economically the South African nation must accept multi-racialism as its goal.
Dr. Verwoerd has called the Progressives `the suicide squad.' Mr. Lawrence, MP, a Progressive who has been thirty years in the House and is a very able parliamentarian, said in my hearing that political suicide will be a small price to pay to save South Africa from irretrievable disaster. There is considerable bitterness in the United Party about the Progressives; one leading United Party member made it clear to me that he looked upon them as a bunch of .Judas lscariots. `They have split the party; they have made it impos- sible to throw out the Nats; they should all have resigned their seats; they will be thrown out— every one of them--at the next election,' and so forth. But I met most of the Progressives, and found them far from depressed. They are not under any delusions about the magnitude of the task in front of them; but from such inquiries as I have been able to make I reach the conclusion that the Progressives have got and may gain much more support than their ex-colleagues believe to be possible. To an outsider the vital 'importance of the Progressives seems to be that there is now at least one body of responsible Europeans who are in genuine opposition to the racial policies of the Nationalists and holding views on the racial issue which are in harmony with world opinion about this great question. Already in this ses- sion, when for the first time the Progressives have sat as a separate party, they have divided the House on a racial issue in which the United Party and the Nationalists voted together.
Lastly, but most important of all, is the change in African opinion. The great majority of South Africans, whatever their politics or the colour of their skins, agree upon one point: that racial tension has increased significantly during the past three years. It is not uncommon to be told that if a European is motoring in various parts of the country and has the misfortune to become involved in an accident such as knock- ing down an African the only wise course— however innocent the European may be—is to proceed without delay to the nearest police station and not run the risk of being surrounded by a crowd of dangerously hostile Africans. The notorious Cato Manor incident was symptomatic of trouble between the police and the African population; and not long ago the whole of South Africa's defence arrangements were re- organised to conform to what is now the official doctrine that the primary role of the defence forces is to deal with internal disturbances.
In conversation with responsible African leaders, members of the African National Con- gress who have not yet been banished to remote, parts of the Union. 1 learnt that they are becom- ing increasingly anxious about this rise in racial tension. They say that the younger men amongst politically conscious Africans" are saying to their leaders: 'What is the use of preaching non- violence? Where has that got you?' I do not believe that there is much likelihood of anything in the nature of a large-scale African rising for at any rate ten years. But an increase of boycotts, of sporadic riots and possibly large-scale de- fiance of the Government arc possibilities.
I asked Africans whether they would do busi- 'I've decided to boycott the boycott.'
ness with the Progressives and received two UP°, of reply. The older and more 'responsible Africans are willing to see what they do: but younger African politicians assert that though the Progressives mean well they have little chance of securing power. They write the United PartY off as useless fence-sitters, and one of them sur- prised me by saying that the Nationalists are the only people who can deliver the goods. 'But do you really expect the Nationalists to reverse the policies'?' I asked. My companion hesitated and then replied : 'Lots of things might happen 11 they became sufficiently frightened As I mentioned earlier, one of the most noticeable of the changes between 1957 and 1960 is the increase of apprehension spilling over into fear amongst all sections of the European population. Some hope is offered by the fact that most of the European population are people whose homes, hopes and roots are in this lovely country. They are intelligent people, living very comfortable lives, but for the past twenty years they have deliberately shut their eyes to all the world-wide changes of attitude to racial questions. Now it seems at least possible that, faced with the choice between taking appropriate action in the direction of a multi-racial society (political and economic) and risking a blood-bath around 1970, the majority of the Europeans will choose the former course. The emergence of the Progres- sives provides the escape route for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
Nevertheless time is in short supply and the Progressives, even if they gratify their friends and surprise their enemies by obtaining sub. stantial support, will have to move very fast to catch up with events. For twenty years the chief political issue in the Union has been whether the 'Nats' or the 'UP' -the Afrikaans or the British element in the nation--shall exercise power, but the issue was unreal. The Nationalists woke tIP earlier to the fact that the basic problem was the racial problem; and they devised the dream of 'apartheid and Bantustan' in a desperate last- minute attempt to create two South African nations. But the Nationalists have been in power for a decade and the dream of apartheid is be- coming a nightmare. It has made the white man in the South Africa of 1960 less safe than he was in 1950 and it has brought a flood of criticism and disapproval from all over the world.
Yet there is a hope which, visible today, was not to be seen in 1957. At least South Africa's basic problem is now realised. The first need in tackling a problem is to recognise that it exists and what the consequences will be if it is ignored. This educational process is moving fast amongst Europeans. To be fair to them the 'Nats' recognised the problem a long time ago and tried the apartheid solution. It has failed politically, economically and morally. There are two other possibilities: a political and economic multi-racial society, or an African Nationalist society determined to assert its racial domination over the white man. The insurance policy against that disaster seems to one who, although an Englishman, has good reasons for being a true friend of South Africa, to be the adoption by the European of a multi-racial policy . . and not to hesitate any longer in building multi-racial dams before the black flood comes down the river of Time.
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