At a banquet given on the following evening important speeches
were made both by Lord Milner and Mr. Chamber- lain. Lord Milner took occasion to state emphatically that there never has been, and never will be, anything like sub- ordination of one Colony to the other. Touching on the common institutions at present shared by the two Colonies, Lord Milner said that education would ultimately under Federation belong to the local Administrations. Railways, however, were a different matter, and for his own part he would never consent to the exclusion of railways from the Federal Government. Mr. Chamberlain began his speech by a significant reference to Lord Milner, "whose destiny he hoped and trusted it would be to stay in the Colonies for a long time to come, and to witness perhaps the full fruition of the great policy he had been carrying out for the last few years." Alluding to the deputation headed by General Be Wet and Judge Hertzog, be assured his audience that if South African storms were never more dangerous than that he encountered on the previous day, they need have no fear for their fruit crops in the future. He had no complaint to make against the deputation, or anything said at it, but he con- demned the address sprung upon him as unjust, inaccurate, and ungrateful. What the land wanted was rest from political agitation. He hoped the divisions illustrated by this deputa- tion would cease ; but if they did not, "the British Govern- ment cannot, and will not, desert those who have been their friends. We do not want to make distinctions, but we recognise our duty to those who stood by us in troublous times." That is the authentic note of the true Imperialism.
Previous page
