Commonwealth anc! Foreign
SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WAR
By G. H. CALPIN, Editor, " The Natal Witness " [Since this article was written negotiations between General Hertzog and Dr. Malan have reached deadlock because General Hertzog refuses to label himself Republican]
THOSE whose memories go back to the fateful days of 1914, and the rebellion that broke out over the participation of
South Africa in war then, have had cause for uneasiness in the last few weeks in the conflicting aims of Union statesmen. Indeed, to many of us concerned for the racial peace of the country, the two months preceding the declaration of war were full of trepidation and doubt. The Prime Minister, General Hertzog, had made but few statements, and those only under pressure from the Republican Nationalists and the Dominion Party. His declarations did little to calm the fears of either. The policy adopted was sound enough in principle, that Parliament would decide when the time came, and that it would decide on whether the interests of the nation were in such serious jeopardy as to demand a declaration of war.
But this, though it was sufficient to placate supporters of the Coalition Ministry, served but to irritate extremists on both sides to greater importunity; the Republicans under Dr. Malan insisting on neutrality in any of Britain's wars, and the Dominion Party being equally adamant that South Africa's duty lay with Britain whatever the cause and consequence.
As time drew near the uncertainty increased so that by the day Parliament was recalled rumour supplied what truth could not. In the event General Hertzog's motion, declaring that the Union had no obligations and no interests at stake requiring her to enter the war, came as a bombshell to the majority of his English-speaking supporters. To the close observer of the South African scene, however, it was less a surprise as indicating a change of policy than it was a reaffirm- ation of past conviction and adherence to the principle of national sovereignty as developed in the Statute of Westminster and subsequent constitutional legislation.
How far this reaffirmation has developed into a determination to test independent sovereignty is not easy to say. As was explained in a previous article in The Spectator, the crucial test for South Africa at the outbreak of any war lay in the question then propounded, "Does this War touch the interests of the country to such an extent that it will meet with a response from 6o per cent. of the population which has no sentimental, linguistic or racial ties with Britain? " It must be emphasised that General Hertzog was and is a supporter of the Commonwealth connexion, and that, even in the political conflict upon which he is now engaged, he holds to the view that South Africa should remain a member of the Commonwealth. In other words, he is no Republican, though his present associates, Dr. Malan and the Nationalists, seek to free the Union from Empire ties altogether.
It would seem reasonably well proven that General Hertzog, as a supporter of Mr. Chamberlain in his policy of appease- ment, only came to doubt its wisdom when Britain guaranteed Poland and transferred the responsibility for British action from London to Warsaw. Since then, at any rate, he has been far less inclined to welcome the consequences of such an action, which, to him, was evidence of the complete inability of European statesmen to settle their differences. In this matter, as he himself admits, his own experience is such as to lead him to sympathise with the disabilities of Germany since the War. Further, he had become convinced that impending war, the immediate cause of which was Herr Hitler's march into Poland, was no concern of the Union. With him stood Mr. Pirow, Minister of Defence and lately returned from his sojourn in Europe, and Mr. Havenga, the Minister of Finance, usually silent and but seldom outspoken on matters so fraught with anxiety.
It was the crucial test for South African nationhood and that sovereignty which had been on everybody's lips for years. How far beyond nominal independence did it go? That was the question. There had, of course, been minor tests, actions like the omission of "God Save the King " at the opening of Parliament, the change in the name of the defence head- quarters from Roberts Heights (of honoured memory to every Englishman) to Voortrekkerhoogte, but these had been con-
doned in the interests of unity and explained away as of no vital consequence before the wider calls of national oneness.
Looking back, it seems to many that these minor disturbances were the presage of the storm that came with the declaration of war by Britain.
In no other Dominion was, or is, it so fraught with possi- bilities of danger: in none did it constitute such a challenge to sincerely held conviction or was it met with greater courage by some and greater trepidation by others. The few weeks that have elapsed have allowed time for leaders and followers to sort themselves out. General Hertzog has returned to what promises to be the leadership of a party of considerable ability and strength. His speech at Smithfield (the platform he has always chosen for momentous utterances), stripped of its personal references, was addressed to the problem of sovereignty. The argument is worth repeating, for it forms, and will continue to form, the central theme of political debate in this country for many a long year.
In effect he asked and answered these questions. Did the English-speaking section, led by General Smuts, vote for participation in the War as Englishmen or as South Africans? Is the English-speaking South African anything but an Englishman overseas? Does his first allegiance and loyalty go to South Africa or to Britain? If to the latter, if, in fact, the English-speaking South African is urged into war by the mere fact of Britain being at war, whatever the causes and the consequences to South Africa, then, General Hertzog maintains, he is no South African, that is, no true Afrikaner. It is all very well, he has said, though in not so many words, to maintain that neutrality would ruin trade and destroy our economy, but these are not the things upon which a nation decides to go to war, for is it not also true that Belgium and Holland are in this same plight, yet they do not go to war to remedy it. So long as there exist those in this country who choose to follow Britain into war on this reasoning, so long is it impossible for a nation of South Africans to call themselves independent in will and destiny and to feel, as true Afrikaners do feel, that " this is my own, my native land." For this type of Englishman the ex-Prime Minister has many hard words, and they will no doubt seem hard to many in England. Yet they are the words of a man who, for all his mistakes, has given his life to his own people without, in these latter years, forgetting his English-speaking fellows.
It is a remarkable and significant fact that the cause the vast majority of English-speaking people have at heart depended in early September, even as it does now, upon the instinct of a section of Afrikaans-speaking people. Standing out from them first and foremost is General Smuts, who countered General Hertzog's motion in Parliament and car- ried the day by the small majority of seventeen. Without, however, the support and votes of many Afrikaans-speaking Members of Parliament the cause of Britain would have been lost in South Africa. It is a fact which deserves more acknow- ledgment and appreciation than it receives in some quarters of South Africa, and it is an augury for the future which lifts an otherwise deep anxiety into something like hopefulness.
It is no use blinding oneself to the facts of South Africa today. Colonel Reitz is more subtle than accurate when he states there is no pro-German feeling in this country. There is ; but it would be politically and socially inexpedient for pro- Nazis to declare that Colonel Reitz is wrong. There is also an anti-British attitude, in so far as a not insignificant section of the population look upon this war as an expressiod of imperialism. What the future holds none can tell. General Smuts is pursuing a policy of political caution in the racial sense and is boldly constructive in defence preparations. Of one thing we can be tolerably certain : there is no likeli- hood of a repetition of the 1914 rebellion. Both General Hertzog and Mr. Pirow have declared they will use constitu- tional means only to achieve their objects. That is a con- siderable advance upon the past.
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