Mr. Hugh Price Hughes, the eminent Wesleyan clergy- man, has
had the courage, in spite of his political ties, to speak out strongly on the side of the Outlanders. With strange perversity of taste as well as of reason, as it seems to us, the Daily Chronicle attributes his views on the great issue now before the nation to the fact that Mr. Price Hughes's wife has a relation who is a South African "millionaire." We have often differed from Mr. Price Hughes, and no doubt often shall again, but surely his most consistent opponents, and still more his friends under normal conditions, should give him credit for using an independent judgment on a matter so serious. Is it not much more likely that Mr. Hugh Price Hughes takes the side of the Outlanders because he knows the facts, and at first hand, owing to the large number of Wesleyans to be found in the Transvaal? In South Africa, as the recent Conference figures show, there are some eighty thousand Wesleyans, and over two hundred ministers. But Wesleyans abroad are always in touch with those at home, and thus Mr. Hugh Price Hughes is sure to be well informed on South African matters. The truth is, the Wesleyans, owing to their being scattered all over the Empire, are essentially an Imperial body, and their leaders are not likely to lack information on matters of Imperial concern.
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