"We, in Australia, pay for the transportation of our own troops, we pay them their wages of $1.50 a day. We pay for all the munitions they fire away." In Canada he addressed the Canadian Clubs at Montreal, Toronto and other places.

At Toronto on Sept. 5 Mr. Hoyle told the press that: "We have for years before the War had a large German propaganda in Australia under the guise of International Socialism. It was German to the core. As soon as war broke out the emissaries disappeared quickly." On Oct. 1 Mr. Connolly told the Toronto Globe that "wages in Australia are now regulated by an Arbitration Court presided over by a Supreme Court Judge and comprising a representative nominated by the employees and another by the employers. The minimum wage for unskilled labour is ten shillings ($2.50) per day."

South Africa The Union of South Africa, with its white popuand the War; lation of about 1,300,000-of which more than half

The Re

publican Movement.

were Dutch in origin and a considerable faction opposed to doing anything in the War or for the Empire yet accomplished much. A reasonably safe sea-service secured by Great Britain, coasts clear of enemy offensives or danger and British contributions of men and money, helped in the process but did not detract from the outstanding achievements of Generals Botha and Smuts as civilian and military leaders of the people and their armies. Between August, 1915, and May, 1917, 66,150 men had enlisted for Overseas service and 44,214 for service in South, East or West Africa. Besides these about 4,000 men went to England at their own expense and hundreds volunteered for the Aviation Corps. South African troops had suppressed the Rebellion, furnished the forces for conquering German South-west Africa, provided the bulk of troops which carried on the long and, finally, successful campaign in German Southeast Africa, contributed an Expeditionary force which won a brilliant record in Flanders and units which figured in the fighting in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Gallipoli and Macedonia.

Civilians had contributed upward of $10,000,000 by the close of 1917 to various War Funds and patriotic purposes; while tens of thousands of black labourers had been recruited for service behind the lines in Europe and in East Africa for road-making, shipping and transportation work generally. This question of native labour overseas was not clearly understood there or abroad. As a matter of fact the natives volunteered their services, they were accepted under strict supervision and were doing splendid work; they came largely from Bechuanaland, Swaziland and Basutoland, which in any case were under direct Imperial control. At the request of the Imperial Government that of the Union had formed a Railway battalion of men drawn from local services for work in France. On Apr. 13, 1917, Hon. F. S. Malan, Minister of Mines, announced that the Union Government had decided to make a grant of $5,000,000 to the Imperial authorities in recognition of, but not in compensation for the protection afforded to South African trade by the British Navy; and the estimates providing for this sum were duly

voted on June 28. During the year this and other matters of war-concern were widely and often bitterly discussed and crudely misrepresented by the Nationalists, under J. B. M. Hertzog. Lord Buxton, the Governor-General-who lost his son at the Front on Oct. 9-in opening Parliament (Feb. 16) announced proposals for a more adequate pension for the Overseas troops; declared that the devoted and gallant services rendered to the Empire by the South African forces overseas reflected great credit on officers and men who were upholding the honour of South Africa and deserved the gratitude of their fellow-citizens; hoped that it would be possible not only to maintain the Overseas contingent at full strength, but to augment it; stated that Ministers had continued to organize as many volunteers as possible for service abroad and in Africa and desired to render His Majesty's Government all possible assistance in the vigorous prosecution of the War.

Meantime military operations under control of, or in which South Africa was vitally interested, were important. A despatch from General Northey as to the Nyassaland-Rhodesia force in German East Africa dated Mar. 10, 1917, dealt with the conquest of 20,000 square miles of territory; about the same time a despatch was made public from Major-Gen. J. C. Smuts, describing the operations in that country following the occupation of the Kilimanjaro-Aruscha area in 1916. The larger problem of the conquest of the whole of this great German colony necessitated the re-organization of the East African forces and this had been done by forming three divisions under General Smuts as Commander-in-Chief; other military agencies in the conquest were the troops under General Northey and Sir Charles Crewe, the Belgians who advanced on Tabora and the Portuguese who had come through on the extreme north. Of the troops generally General Smuts said: "The plain tale of their achievements bears the most convincing testimony to the spirit, determination, and prodigious efforts of all ranks."

Lieut.-Gen. A. E. Hoskins eventually replaced General Smuts on his call to England late in 1916; in April, 1917, Maj.-Gen. J. L. van Deventer succeeded to the command; and a Boer officer thus closed a great British campaign which a Boer General had commenced. It must be added that the British or Boer military leaders had a German opponent in Col. Von Luttow-Vorbeck who, in military skill, was worthy of their steel and who organized black contingents of great fighting capacity and value. General Smuts in fact described these Askiri troops under German leadership as “the most formidable force of black troops I have ever seen,' and the German pre-war scheme of organizing African negroes into one of the most powerful armies in the world as eminently practicable. In this campaign-of which only the straggling ends had to be brought together after his departure-General Smuts had to contend with an army of about 50,000 of these troops, stiffened by a thousand Germans and strengthened with powerful artillery, observation balloons and many machine guns. To meet them he had some British soldiers and some British South Africans, thousands of Boer volunteers, the Belgian troops and about 12,000 negro soldiers from various parts of South Africa.

On Dec. 1, 1917, General van Deventer was able to telegraph the Union Government that: "German East Africa is completely cleared of the enemy. Thus the whole of German overseas possessions have passed into our hands and those of our Belgian allies. Only a small German force now remains in being. This has taken refuge in adjoining Portuguese territory and measures are being taken to deal with it." Thus a country, nearly double the size of Germany itself, was conquered and with that of South-west Africa, already conquered, a veritable empire was acquired. Through these efforts and the sacrifices involved the South African Union had secured a real voice in the disposal of a sub-continent and the dreams and statecraft of Cecil Rhodes were verging on accomplishment. The situation in this great portion of the African continent at the close of 1917 showed the British flag waving over the following regions:

Cape Province.
Natal...

Transvaal.

Orange Free State.

Basutoland..

Bechuanaland

Rhodesia..

British East Africa.

Uganda..

Nyassaland.

Total...

German South-east Africa..
German South-west Africa

Total.

Proportion of Whites

582,377 98,114 420,562

1,396

Area
(Sq. Miles)

Total
Population

175, 189

1,692

On the Western front, in Europe, South Africans maintained the reputation of their 1916 exploits at Delville Wood. During the Battle of Arras, for instance, and not far from the Canadians in their capture of Vimy, the South African troops stormed a position with what the London Times correspondent of Apr. 13 described as "great gallantry." Sir Douglas Haig in his Report noted this as a complete success north of the Scarpe where "troops from Scotland and South Africa who had already stormed St. Laurent Blagny captured Attries." In the 3rd Battle of Ypres on Sept. 20 Reuter's correspondent stated that the South Africans did splendid work. They swept forward toward their mark with irresistible élan, and the Commander-in-Chief afterwards referred to this fighting as follows: "Scottish and South African troops, advancing on both sides of the Ypres-Roulers railway, stormed the line of fortified farms immediately in front of their position and, pressing on, captured Zonnebeke and Bremen Redoubts and the hamlet of Zevenkote."

As to the political position the Premier and his South African party were sure of the Unionist party support under Sir Thomas Smartt upon all matters of pro-British war policy and this gave General Botha 93 seats out of 130. The Nationalist minority of 27, however, under General J. B. M. Hertzog, was bitterly antagonistic, anti-British, anti-War and anti-Empire. It concentrated in its support all Boer prejudices and hatreds of the older-time,

the racial bitternesses and crude ignorances of the Veldt, all the elements which once looked for a South African Republic, from the Cape to the Zambesi, under Boer control. The Government, however, while accepting and needing Unionist support did not cater to it or even receive it with public gratitude-influenced, no doubt, by the difficulty of holding Boer support in a country where there were over 700,000 Dutch people to 600,000 Englishspeaking, besides 70,000 Jews, a number of Germans and others, surrounded by nearly 16,000,000 blacks. Hence it was that General Botha opposed Coalition; with the Nationalists it was impossible, with the Unionists unwise. As to the principles of the South African party of which General Botha was leader, an outline was given late in 1917 by Sir Meiring Beck, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, as involving: (1) the creation of a self-dependent South Africa by means of the development of its resources, agricultural and industrial, and through the medium of racial co-operation; (2) the maintenance of law, order, and constitutional rule; (3) a determination to protect and defend the constitution; (4) wholehearted acceptance of the principle that the voice of the majority must be accepted as the ruling voice; (5) the recognition of obligations and responsibilities, as well as privileges, under the British Crown.

During 1917 the seeds of Nationalist propaganda had taken root and grown into bold advocacy of republican ideas with other Separatist activities of a varied nature. In the background, everywhere, were Gen. Hertzog and his followers; all the assistance that could be given by German emissaries and old-time Boer irreconcilables was given. The Nationalist press and speeches teemed with assertions hostile to British connection, to the GovernorGeneral and his alleged encroachments upon constitutional rights, to the burdensome responsiblities of the War. So pronounced did the campaign become that General Botha (June 15) issued a warning to the Transvaal members of his Party to be on their guard against "a false and misleading propaganda for Independence." After describing the proposal as impracticable and dangerous and as leading to "bitterness, division, race hatred and even to civil war," he concluded with these words: "My warning is intended very earnestly, because I foresee in this movement nothing but ruin for South Africa and disastrous consequences for the South African people. I appeal above all to our pioneers and the fathers of the people to follow the safe way of honour, along which a great future awaits us."

The Nationalist reply to the Premier was a Manifesto issued by its Federal Council. It stated in terms of sinister moderation that it was an undeniable fact that in the hearts of a very considerable section of the population of South Africa there was a strong desire for complete Independence; that the right of self-government would naturally develop in the direction of greater self-dependence; that the movement for a closer union of the Empire was in complete conflict with this tendency; that the republican sentiment already existing had been greatly accentuated by the

policy of the War, and that, in short "the existence of a republican sentiment in the country is wholly explicable and legitimate.” Violence was, of course, deprecated, whether it was intended "to bring about or to prevent a change of status." On June 20 Parliament recognized the evils of the situation by passing (72 to 21 votes) a Resolution presented by the Rt. Hon. J. X. Merriman, a veteran statesman, seconded by Č. Louw, a Dutch member, as follows:

That this House, viewing with alarm several manifestations of a republican propaganda now being carried on in this country, desires to record its opinion that such manifestations, whether by speech, writing or other methods, are directly at variance with the constitution as laid down and agreed to in the South African Act; that they are opposed to the best interests of the people, and if persisted in must inevitably lead to fatal dissensions and to the ultimate ruin of the European race in South Africa. This House, therefore, calls upon all those who are loyal to the constitution to express the strongest disapproval of the dangerous efforts of those who seek to subvert the principles upon which that constitution is based.

Speaking at Robertson, Cape Colony (June 24) General Botha -who had a son at the Front-again denounced this propaganda: "I believe in maintaining the link between South Africa and Great Britain. You cannot destroy this link without a bloody civil war. You cannot create a republic unless the two races agree. And it is not possible that the English element in South Africa will want a republic. The people are playing with fire. Let us cease this nonsense. At the South African Party Congress, Pretoria, on Oct. 1, a Resolution was passed expressing readiness to secure a better understanding with the Nationalists on the basis of (1) the maintenance of the Union Constitution, (2) of carrying out the obligations connected therewith, and (3) of the maintenance of South African Party principles; but at the same time repudiating, unanimously, all republican ideas and endorsing Mr. Merriman's Resolution in Parliament.

On the same day the Nationalists held a Congress at Bloemfontein and Gen. Hertzog declared that ultimate Independence was desirable and inevitable; at the same time he maintained that the result of the Government's policy in assisting Great Britain in the War was a spirit of dissatisfaction which was almost revolutionary. At Graaf Reinet, a Cape Colony Congress of Nationalists was addressed on the same day by Dr. Malan, Editor of De Burger, who expressed similar views but declared the time not ripe and urged that the movement be not forced prematurely. In November the Transvaal Provincial Council took swift advantage of certain British speeches on Peace conditions to read into them the principle that "no peace will be possible before the violated rights and liberties, principles, nationalities, and independent existence of small nations have been recognized," and, therefore, to urge the British Government to apply this principle to South Africa!

Meanwhile the presence and career of General Jan Christian Smuts in England during these months was a living lesson in Imperialism and the antithesis of Nationalism. Coming with the éclat of victory against the Germans and of loyalty to the Empire