South Africa The Prime Minister, General Hertzog, announced on Tuesday
to the Nationalist Party - Congress at Pretoria, an intention to abolish the Provincial System. He evidently thinks that he can thereby complete the unity of the Union. It will mean the end of the Provincial Councils. We generally mistrust proposals for centraliza- tion of goverment until it is proved that it is not designed to tighten bureaucratic control. We should expect strong local feeling to be aroused. That is what General Hertzog evidently expects in Natal, as he offers it the option of contracting out of the new scheme. We remember well how loth Natal was to enter the Union at all and with what a self-denying spirit she acquiesced in appeals made to her. We hope that if General Smuts can be distracted from the work of the British Association which has brought him here, he will enlighten us on the probable effects of such a change.
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