From "conscience politics" to the battlefields of political activism: the Liberal Party in Natal, 1953 to 1968 http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.THE19990200.028.000 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org From "conscience politics" to the battlefields of political activism: the Liberal Party in Natal, 1953 to 1968 Author/Creator Debra Anne Fyvie Moffatt Date 1999-02-00 Resource type Theses Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa, South Africa Description A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. This thesis examines the ways in which the Liberal Party, the Natal division in particular, attempted to become an effective political force in South Africa. The Party was formed in May 1953 as a non-racial political party. Initially, it concentrated on working among the white electorate, and on achieving political change through parliamentary means. The Party gradually shifted its attention to the voteless Black majority, and took its active opposition beyond the boundaries of parliamentary politics. Members of the Natal Division played a leadng role in this shift.The Party gave expression to a distinctive strand of radical liberalism, within a broader spectrum of South African liberalism. http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.THE19990200.028.000 http://www.aluka.org option, nothing concrete developed. Liberals had looked to Hofneyr to start a new party. Since option, nothing concrete developed. Liberals had looked to Hofneyr to start a new party. Since his death, Ballinger was considered the next choice. Not all sections of the liberal establishment agreed with the idea of starting a political party, though. The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), under the directorship of Quintyn Whyte, was against liberals entering the arena of party politics.3 The SAIRR supported the UP and expected it to return as the governing political party.' However, both Whyte and Brookes saw the need for the SAIRR to adopt a more assertive political policy after 1950.' Whyte asked Alan Paton's opinion in late 1952 of establishing a 'Moderate Liberal Party'.6 Paton's reply gives an indication of the difference in liberal opinion. He pointed out that it was meaningless to have a moderate liberal party, as the UP's efforts at being 'moderately liberal' had achieved nothing. Paton approached Maurice Webb in November 1952 about establishing a liberal party after the 1953 election, but Webb felt it better to work from within the UP.7 This view seems to have been shared by others in the liberal establishment. What was clear by the early 1950s was that liberals had failed to provide a challenging liberal solution to the country's racial problems. Liberals had been active in producing programmes and reports during these years which dealt mainly with economic issues (mainly the economic integration of black people) while ignoring political ones, especially pertaining to the colour question.' These reports were largely dismissed by both the government and black leaders. Meanwhile, the Malan Administration took the first steps towards developing apartheid legislation during the early 1950s, and its policies undid any progress that had been made under the previous Smuts Ministry. The character and momentum of the Native Affairs Department began to change, too, with the appointment of Dr H.F.Verwoerd as Minister of Native Affairs in October 1950. A number of laws were passed discriminating against black people in almost every aspect of their lives, from education, through employment, to areas of residence and land 3 Everatt, *The making of a liberal programme', p. 147; P. Rich, White Power and the Liberal Conscience (Johannesburg, Ravan Press, 1984), p. 117. 4 J.D.Rheinalt-Jones, 'At the Crossroads', SAIRR Presidential Address, 20 January 1953. 5 W.B. White, 'Maurice Webb: 35 Years of Race Relations in Natal, 1921-1956', Conference Paper, Conference on the History of Natal and Zululand. University of Natal, July 1985, pp.20-21. 6 Ibid., p.23. 7 Ibid. 8 See: Everatt, 'The making of a liberal programme'. CONTENTS Page Abstract i ListofAbbreviations ii Note on terminology iii Preface iv CHAPTERONE I More than just 'Friends of the Natives'?: Liberalism in South Africa before 1950 CHAPTERTWO 38 What alternatives? Reluctant choices and liberal principles in the formation of the Liberal Party, 1950 - 1955 CHAPTER THREE 75 Choosing the extra-parliamentary option: the Natal Liberal Party's radicalisation and ascendancy, 1956 - 1958 CHAPTER FOUR 109 Testing times: Liberalism pushed to new limits in Natal and elsewhere, 1959-1962 CHAPTER FIVE 145 The final years of the party, 1963-1968: Mounting odds against survival, and Natal's resilience Conclusion 166 Bibliography 172 Appendixone 183 i) Principles and Objects of the South African Liberal Association, 1953. ii) Principles and Objects of the Liberal Party adopted in May 1953. From 'conscience politics' to the battlefields of political activism The Liberal Party in Natal, 1953 to 1968 Debra Anne Fyvie Moffatt Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg February 1999 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the ways in which the Liberal Party - the Natal Division in particular attempted to become an effective political force in South Africa. The Party was formed in May 1953 as a non-racial political party. Initially, it concentrated on working among the white electorate, and on achieving political change through parliamentary means. The Party gradually shifted its attention to the voteless black majority, and took its active opposition beyond the boundaries of parliamentary politics. Members of the Natal Division played a leading role in this shift. The party gave expression to a distinctive strand of radical liberalism, within a broader spectrum of South African liberalism. The Party was unsuccessful in preventing the entrenchment of the apartheid policies it so vehemently opposed. However, the Natal LP succeeded in developing a good working relationship with Congress Alliance, especially the African National Congress, in the region, in attracting a large number of black members through its grass-roots involvement, and in keeping liberal principles and priorities in the public eye in inauspicious circumstances. From 1960, Party leaders attracted increasing government persecution for their anti- apartheid activism. The Party deserves more attention than is commonly given to it in the South African historiography of resistance politics. The Liberal Party's continued existence as a non-racial political party was rendered impossible by government legislation in 1968. The Party disbanded, rather than compromise its non-racial principles. List of Abbreviations ANC African National Congress APC Alan Paton Centre ARM African Resistance Movement COD Congress of Democrats COP Congress of the People CPSA Communist Partyof South Africa ICS Institute of Commonwealth Studies IDAMF Interdenominational African Ministers' Federation LP Liberal Party LPSA Liberal Party of South Africa NIC Natal Indian Congress NIO Natal Indian Organisation NNALA Northern Natal African Landowners' Association NNC Natal Native Congress NP Nationalist Party NRC Native Representative Council SACP South African Communist Party SACPO South African Coloured Peoples' Organisation SACTU South African Congress of Trade Unions SAIC South African Indian Congress SAIRR South African Institute of Race Relations SALA South African Liberal Association SALG South African Liberal Group SANNC South African Native National Congress SAP South African Party TIC Transvaal Indian Congress UFP Union Federal Party UP United Party iii Note on Terminology 1. The descriptive term 'black' includes African, Indian and Coloured people. 2. Liberal used with a capital 'L' is used to describe those liberals belonging to the Liberal Party. PREFACE This thesis is concerned mainly with the Liberal Party (LP) in Natal from the Party's formation in May 1953 until its dissolution in early 1968. The Natal Division started out as the leastdistinguished and smallest of the three Divisions, but it subsequently developed a dynamic character of its own and played an increasingly significant role on a national level.' Through a process of radicalisation, the Natal Liberal Party changed its focus from