Southern Rhodesia
0 NE of the few charges that cannot fairly be laid at Sir Edgar Whitehead's door is infirm- ity of purpose. By banning ZNPU he has taken all pretence of meaning for Africans from the coming elections, inevitably creating violence while claiming to suppress it. His statement; are quite in line with past policy, namely to appear liberal by supporting every kind of advance for the Africans except political, the only one that really matters. To the charges of extremism and racialism on the part of African parties, his sup- porters are increasingly adding that of Commun- ism. The picture is set up of n isolated Federa- tion fighting a last-ditch action against Soviet infiltration for the sake of the West. There should be no doubt at which particular sections of British and American opinion this kind of appeal is aimed, and no credence should be given to it whatsoever. It has not been the principles or intentions of the British Government that Lave been at fault, but simply the way it has so frequently allowed itself to be outmanceuvred by White Rhodesian politicians. Right back at the time of the incep- tion of the Federation the present Lord Malvern learned that the way to deal with the British Government was to say one thing in London and mean quite another in Salisbury. Thus the British idea of partnership has always been very different from that current in Rhodesia. A perfect eNantple of this kind of talk has just occurred In the way Sir Edgar has interpreted the latest , British loan of £3-i million. `I regard this loan as ars expression of complete confidence in my Government and its policies,' he said In Rhodesia. An unconditional loan of this nature should never have been given in the first place, . but it should at least be the last until Sir Edgar is prepared to meet legitimate African demands. It should also be made clear to him that Southern Rhodesia will advance no farther tow ards self- government until this is done.
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