DOCSLIB.ORG

Smuts: Lost in Transmission?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Smuts: Lost in Transmission? SMUTS: LOST IN TRANSMISSION? by PAUL ANTHONY LUDI Submitted as requirement for the degree MAGISTER HEREDITATIS CULTURAEQUE SCIENTIAE (HISTORY) in the Faculty of Humanities University of Pretoria Pretoria November 2016 Supervisor: Professor Karen L. Harris © University of Pretoria i Abstract This dissertation examines the transmission of the past and how it is affected by context, source materials, and the individual with regards to opinion and inherent bias. The subject of this analysis is Jan Christiaan Smuts and how he has been portrayed over the last century. Various authors are analysed with W. K. Hancock forming a kind of watershed given the access to primary material. The dissertation includes a brief discussion of South African historiography as well as a brief biographical outline of Smuts’s life. The main concern is however a literature analysis of selected material which will set out to illustrate how information is often “lost in transmission.” Keywords: Smuts; Hancock; past; historiography; biography, transmission; literature analysis; South African history. © University of Pretoria ii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my long-suffering supervisor for all the support and guidance. I would also like to thank my equally long-suffering family for their support and motivation. A word of thanks must also go to Nick Southey for the inspiration for the title of and indirect motivation for this Masters’ dissertation. © University of Pretoria iii Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... ii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale for this study .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Historiographical trends ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Biographical sketch ...................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Outline of chapters ....................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: PRE-HANCOCK LITERATURE ............................................................... 15 2.1 Non-biographies ........................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Biography-Sarah Gertrude Millin .............................................................................. 24 2.3 Biography-H. C. Armstrong ........................................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 3: HANCOCK VOLUME ONE ....................................................................... 52 3.1 W. K. Hancock .............................................................................................................. 52 3.2 Early years until the First World War ....................................................................... 53 3.3 First World War and Botha’s death ........................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 4: HANCOCK VOLUME TWO ...................................................................... 69 4.1 Smuts alone ................................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Second World War and death ..................................................................................... 86 © University of Pretoria iv CHAPTER 5: POST-HANCOCK LITERATURE ............................................................ 96 5.1 Non-biographies ........................................................................................................... 96 5.2 Biography-Anthony Lentin ....................................................................................... 130 5.3 Biography-Richard Steyn .......................................................................................... 141 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION............................................................................................ 150 © University of Pretoria v List of Abbreviations OB-Ossewa Brandwag RAF-Royal Air Force UNO-United Nations Organisation USA-United States of America ZAR-Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek © University of Pretoria 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for this study Historical writing, and indeed all forms of writing, are naturally imbued with bias for a variety of reasons. Deliberate falsification, propaganda and the error of human subjectivity account for much of the distortion in historical reporting. Error can be because of direct motives such as political ambition or unintentional through ignorance.1 Each historian looks at the past through the prism of his own time, background and culture, which is why history is continually reinterpreted leading to various accounts of the past or multiple pasts.2 Therefore the purpose of this dissertation is to illustrate that the transmission of the past is of equal, if not more importance, than the past itself; or as one historian puts it: “The point of 3 history is to study historians, not to study the past.” Or, to put it another way: “Before you study the historian, study his [sic] historical and social environment. The historian, being an 4 individual, is also a product of history and of society.” As we move into the twenty-first century, such a study seems most apt. One important task of historians is to challenge socially motivated misrepresentations of the past.5 To do this an example which has created much variety in the opinions of historians in the past needs to be used and examined. The example chosen for this study is Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts due to the vast amount of literature focused on him. Smuts is also a highly enigmatic character that resulted in many of his contemporaries, and authors to this day, either admiring or despising him. Even his nickname of “Slim Jannie” evokes different emotions among different people. Famous people are often, and quite easily, portrayed as demons or saints, and Jan Smuts is no stranger to this.6 John Tosh refers to “the towering political personalities of the past such as Oliver Cromwell or Napoleon Bonaparte who are interpreted in widely divergent ways by professional historians as well as by lay people, partly according to their own political values.”7 Such a statement could very easily include a man of the stature of Smuts and this is in essence what this study sets out to do. By investigating the literature on 1 R. J. Shafer (ed), A guide to historical method, Dorsey Press: Homewood, 1980 pp 144-5; G. R. Elton, The practice of history, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2002, p 96; M. MacMillan, The uses and abuses of history, London: Profile Books Ltd, 2009, back cover 2 R. J. Shafer (ed), A guide to historical method, p 147 3 R. J. Evans, In defence of history, London: Granta Books, 1997, p 98 4 E. H. Carr, What is history?, Houndmills, Hampshire: Palgrave Publishers Ltd, 2001, p 38 5 J. Tosh, The pursuit of history, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2002, p 21 6 B. L. Michler, Biographical study of H.-A, Junod: the fictional dimension, M.A. Thesis, U.P., 2003, p 17 7 J. Tosh, The pursuit of history, p 180 © University of Pretoria 2 Jan Smuts this study seeks to show how this pivotal figure in South Africa, as well as the broader sphere of Western world history, has been portrayed. This study is in essence a literature review which will be contextualized both in terms of his life history as well as the context of the range of authors who wrote about him. Thus unlike most history Master’s dissertations which include a literature survey before the main body of analysis, in this dissertation the main substance of this study is the literature survey as the focus is on how various literary sources portrayed one individual. Due to the vast body of literature available on Smuts only those texts that are focused mainly on him will be used, rather than broader general histories. A few of the latter will be noted and an explanation will be given as to why they are included within the study. Many of the authors who composed the relevant literature often had some form of bias or subjectivity, both of which are common amongst writers. According to Shafer, “subjectivity” can be described as an inescapable human quality, while “bias” is regarded as a human 8 chosen commitment. But often it is the primary documents that themselves create a bias as 9 they are also written from a particular individual’s point of view or vantage point. Moreover, the nature of the primary sources that are available, indeed accessible, also play a determining role in the historians ability to reconstruct the past. As indicated earlier, before we read the history, we need to examine the background of the historian. Therefore this approach involves the authors’ backgrounds, historiographical approaches and the contexts that they are writing in.10 Any selection of sources will create bias thus in appraising the literature on Smuts a fairly wide range of sources have been selected – both in terms of period and ideological disposition.11 In the light of the parameters of a Master’s
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jan Smuts, Howard University, and African American Leandership, 1930 Robert Edgar
    Ouachita Baptist University Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita Articles Faculty Publications 12-15-2016 "The oM st Patient of Animals, Next to the Ass:" Jan Smuts, Howard University, and African American Leandership, 1930 Robert Edgar Myra Ann Howser Ouachita Baptist University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/articles Part of the African History Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Edgar, Robert and Howser, Myra Ann, ""The osM t Patient of Animals, Next to the Ass:" Jan Smuts, Howard University, and African American Leandership, 1930" (2016). Articles. 87. https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/articles/87 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons @ Ouachita. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “The Most Patient of Animals, Next to the Ass:” Jan Smuts, Howard University, and African American Leadership, 1930 Abstract: Former South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts’ 1930 European and North American tour included a series of interactions with diasporic African and African American activists and intelligentsia. Among Smuts’s many remarks stands a particular speech he delivered in New York City, when he called Africans “the most patient of all animals, next to the ass.” Naturally, this and other comments touched off a firestorm of controversy surrounding Smuts, his visit, and segregationist South Africa’s laws. Utilizing news coverage, correspondence, and recollections of the trip, this article uses his visit as a lens into both African American relations with Africa and white American foundation work towards the continent and, especially, South Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gordian Knot: Apartheid & the Unmaking of the Liberal World Order, 1960-1970
    THE GORDIAN KNOT: APARTHEID & THE UNMAKING OF THE LIBERAL WORLD ORDER, 1960-1970 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Ryan Irwin, B.A., M.A. History ***** The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Professor Peter Hahn Professor Robert McMahon Professor Kevin Boyle Professor Martha van Wyk © 2010 by Ryan Irwin All rights reserved. ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the apartheid debate from an international perspective. Positioned at the methodological intersection of intellectual and diplomatic history, it examines how, where, and why African nationalists, Afrikaner nationalists, and American liberals contested South Africa’s place in the global community in the 1960s. It uses this fight to explore the contradictions of international politics in the decade after second-wave decolonization. The apartheid debate was never at the center of global affairs in this period, but it rallied international opinions in ways that attached particular meanings to concepts of development, order, justice, and freedom. As such, the debate about South Africa provides a microcosm of the larger postcolonial moment, exposing the deep-seated differences between politicians and policymakers in the First and Third Worlds, as well as the paradoxical nature of change in the late twentieth century. This dissertation tells three interlocking stories. First, it charts the rise and fall of African nationalism. For a brief yet important moment in the early and mid-1960s, African nationalists felt genuinely that they could remake global norms in Africa’s image and abolish the ideology of white supremacy through U.N.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Wilson-Smuts Synthesis: Racial Self
    The Wilson-Smuts Synthesis: Racial Self-Determination and the Institutionalization of World Order A thesis submitted by Scott L. Malcomson in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations Tufts University Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy January 2020 Adviser: Jeffrey W. Taliaferro ©2019, Scott L. Malcomson 1 Table of Contents I: Introduction 3 II: Two Paths to Paris. Jan Smuts 8 Woodrow Wilson 26 The Paths Converge 37 III: Versailles. Wilson Stays Out: Isolation and Neutrality 43 Lloyd George: Bringing the Empire on Board 50 Smuts Goes In: The Rise of the Dominions 54 The Wilson-Smuts Synthesis 65 Wilson Undone 72 The Racial Equality Bill 84 IV: Conclusion 103 Bibliography 116 2 I: Introduction When President Woodrow Wilson left the United States for Europe at the end of 1918, he intended to create a new structure for international relations, based on a League of Nations, that would replace the pre-existing imperialist world structure with one based on national and racial (as was said at the time) self-determination. The results Wilson achieved by late April 1919, after several months of near-daily negotiation in Paris, varied between partial success and complete failure.1 Wilson had had other important goals in Paris, including establishing a framework for international arbitration of disputes, advancing labor rights, and promoting free trade and disarmament, and progress was made on all of these. But in terms of his own biography and the distinctive mission of U.S. foreign policy as he and other Americans understood it, the anti- imperial and pro-self-determination goals were paramount.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lion and the Springbok
    The Lion and the Springbok The Lion and the Springbok presents a unique account of the dynamics and divergences of the ‘uneasy special relationship’ between Britain and South Africa. From the bruising experience of the South African War (1899–1902) to South Africa’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, the authors chart this relationship in all its political, economic, cultural, and geostrategic aspects. All the major disputes are discussed, including the struggle for the High Commission Territories, the crisis over Seretse Khama’s marriage, and the transfer of the Simon’s Town naval base. These issues trace, for the most part, a continuing deterioration in relations, as Afrikaner nationalist identity hardened and South African politics slid into the extremes of apartheid. The perceptions each side had of the other after 1948 are examined through representations in the media, and an epilogue considers the reasons for the return of the ‘new South Africa’ to the Commonwealth in 1994. ronald hyam is Emeritus Reader in British Imperial History, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow and former President of Magdalene College. peter henshaw is a Research Professor in History at the University of Western Ontario. Nelson Mandela after admission to an Honorary Fellowship at Magdalene College, Cambridge, 2 May 2001. Left to right: security officer, Dr Mandela, Cheryl Carolus (South African high commissioner), Professor W. R. Cornish (President), Professor Sir John Gurdon (Master), Thabo Makupula (Mandela Magdalene Scholar). Source: Magdalene
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: ROYAL SUBJECTS
    ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: ROYAL SUBJECTS, IMPERIAL CITIZENS: THE MAKING OF BRITISH IMPERIAL CULTURE, 1860- 1901 Charles Vincent Reed, Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Dissertation directed by: Professor Richard Price Department of History ABSTRACT: The dissertation explores the development of global identities in the nineteenth-century British Empire through one particular device of colonial rule – the royal tour. Colonial officials and administrators sought to encourage loyalty and obedience on part of Queen Victoria’s subjects around the world through imperial spectacle and personal interaction with the queen’s children and grandchildren. The royal tour, I argue, created cultural spaces that both settlers of European descent and colonial people of color used to claim the rights and responsibilities of imperial citizenship. The dissertation, then, examines how the royal tours were imagined and used by different historical actors in Britain, southern Africa, New Zealand, and South Asia. My work builds on a growing historical literature about “imperial networks” and the cultures of empire. In particular, it aims to understand the British world as a complex field of cultural encounters, exchanges, and borrowings rather than a collection of unitary paths between Great Britain and its colonies. ROYAL SUBJECTS, IMPERIAL CITIZENS: THE MAKING OF BRITISH IMPERIAL CULTURE, 1860-1901 by Charles Vincent Reed Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Professor Richard Price, Chair Professor Paul Landau Professor Dane Kennedy Professor Julie Greene Professor Ralph Bauer © Copyright by Charles Vincent Reed 2010 DEDICATION To Jude ii ACKNOWLEGEMENTS Writing a dissertation is both a profoundly collective project and an intensely individual one.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role and Application of the Union Defence Force in the Suppression of Internal Unrest, 1912 - 1945
    THE ROLE AND APPLICATION OF THE UNION DEFENCE FORCE IN THE SUPPRESSION OF INTERNAL UNREST, 1912 - 1945 Andries Marius Fokkens Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Military Science (Military History) at the Military Academy, Saldanha, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University. Supervisor: Lieutenant Colonel (Prof.) G.E. Visser Co-supervisor: Dr. W.P. Visser Date of Submission: September 2006 ii Declaration I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is my own original work and that I have not previously submitted it, in its entirety or in part, to any university for a degree. Signature:…………………….. Date:………………………….. iii ABSTRACT The use of military force to suppress internal unrest has been an integral part of South African history. The European colonisation of South Africa from 1652 was facilitated by the use of force. Boer commandos and British military regiments and volunteer units enforced the peace in outlying areas and fought against the indigenous population as did other colonial powers such as France in North Africa and Germany in German South West Africa, to name but a few. The period 1912 to 1945 is no exception, but with the difference that military force was used to suppress uprisings of white citizens as well. White industrial workers experienced this military suppression in 1907, 1913, 1914 and 1922 when they went on strike. Job insecurity and wages were the main causes of the strikes and militant actions from the strikers forced the government to use military force when the police failed to maintain law and order.
    [Show full text]
  • South Africa Mobilises: the First Five Months of the War Dr Anne Samson 
    5 Scientia Militaria vol 44, no 1, 2016, pp 5-21. doi:10.5787/44-1-1159 South Africa Mobilises: The First Five Months of the War Dr Anne Samson Abstract When war broke out in August 1914, the Union of South Africa found itself unprepared for what lay ahead. When the Imperial garrison left the Union during September 1914, supplies, equipment and a working knowledge of British military procedures reduced considerably. South Africa was, in effect, left starting from scratch. Yet, within five months and despite having to quell a rebellion, the Union was able to field an expeditionary force to invade German South West Africa and within a year agree to send forces to Europe and East Africa. This article explores how the Union Defence Force came of age in 1914. Keywords: South Africa, mobilisation, rebellion, Union Defence Force, World War 1 1. Introduction In August 1914, South Africa, along with many other countries, found itself at war. It was unprepared for this eventuality – more so than most other countries. Yet, within six weeks of war being declared, the Union sent a force into neighbouring German South West Africa. This was a remarkable achievement considering the Union’s starting point, and that the government had to deal with a rebellion, which began with the invasion. The literature on South Africa’s involvement in World War 1 is increasing. Much of it focused on the war in Europe1 and, more recently, on East Africa2 with South West Africa3 starting to follow. However, the home front has been largely ignored with most literature focusing on the rebellion, which ran from September to December 1914.4 This article aims to explore South Africa’s preparedness for war and to shed some insight into the speed with and extent to which the government had to adapt in order to participate successfully in it.
    [Show full text]
  • An Exploration of the Communication Strategies of Three Early Think Tanks
    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018-04-20 An exploration of the communication strategies of three early think tanks Hexham, Jeremy Johnston Hexham, J. J. (2018). An exploration of the communication strategies of three early think tanks (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31819 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106533 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY An exploration of the communication strategies of three early think tanks by Jeremy Johnston Hexham A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2018 © Jeremy Johnston Hexham 2018 Abstract This thesis discusses the development of communications strategies by three early think tanks. These are the British Socialist Fabian Society founded in 1884, the South African Afrikaner Broederbond founded in 1918, and the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) founded in 1929. All three are generally accepted as highly influential organizations. The Fabian Society is arguably the earliest modern think tank. Its members developed two modes of communication which are identified in this thesis as rational-scientific and cultural-identity communications.
    [Show full text]
  • Race, History and the Internet: the Use of the Internet in White Supremacist Propaganda in the Late 1990’S, with Particular Reference to South Africa
    Race, History and the Internet: The use of the Internet in White Supremacist Propaganda in the late 1990’s, with particular reference to South Africa Inez Mary Stephney A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Wits School of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree. Abstract This dissertation aims to investigate the use of History by white supremacist groups in South Africa particularly, to rework their identity on the Internet. The disserta- tion argues that white supremacist groups use older traditions of history, particu- larly, in the South African case, the ‘sacred saga’, as explained by Dunbar Moodie to create a sense of historical continuity with the past and to forge an unbroken link to the present. The South African white supremacists have been influenced by the His- tory written by Van Jaarsveld for example, as will be shown in the chapters analysing the three chosen South African white supremacist groups. The white supremacists in the international arena also use history, mixed with 1930s Nazi propaganda to promote their ideas. i Acknowledgements There are a few people who must be acknowledged for their assistance during the research and preparation of this dissertation. First and foremost, my supervisor Dr Cynthia Kros for her invaluable advice and assistance- thank you. I also wish to thank Nina Lewin and Nicole Ulrich for all the encouragement, reading of drafts and all round unconditional love and friendship that has helped me keep it together, when this project seemed to flounder. Katie Mooney for saying I should just realised I am a historian and keep on going.
    [Show full text]
  • Is There a South African Nation?
    DIE SUID- AFRIKAANSE INSTITUUT VAN INTERNASIONALE AANGELEENTHEDE Jan Smuts Herdenkingslesing Jan Smuts Memorial Lecture THE SOUTH IS THERE A AFRICAN INSTITUTE SOUTH OF AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NATION? JAMES BARBER THE JAN SMUTS MEMORIAL LECTURE programme, was established in 1984 to commemorate General J.C. Smuts as a statesman of international stature and is intended to focus on current world concerns by means of lectures delivered by speakers who are themselves of international reputation. The first Jan Smuts Memorial Lecture was given by SIR LAURENS VAN DER POST in Pretoria on 24 May 1984 on The Importance of Smuts in the Future of th e Afrikan er. This second Jan Smuts Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor J.P. Barber at Jan Smuts House, Johannesburg, on 15 January 1987. JAMES BARBER was born in Liverpool, Britain, and received his schooling at the Liverpool Institute. He then did his National Service in the RAF where he received his Wings. He went on to Cambridge where he graduated with an MA and then PhD. His fields of study were History and then later Politics and International Relations. Between 1956 and 1963 James Barber was a District Officer in the Colonial Service in Uganda and rose to the position of Assistant Secretary to the then Prime Minister, Milton Obote, at the time of independence. His academic career began in 1964, at Exeter University, followed by the University of New South Wales, the then University of Rhodesia, and the Open University in Britain, and is presently the Master of Hatfield College and Professor of Politics at Durham University.
    [Show full text]
  • Professional Historians and Political Biography of South African Parliamentary Politics, 1910-1990
    “THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY”: PROFESSIONAL HISTORIANS AND POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENTARY POLITICS, 1910-1990 FA Mouton1 Abstract Biography strengthens the historian’s attempts to decipher the behaviour of individuals and also provides a historical window on a certain era, contributing to our knowledge and understanding of the past. Biographical studies of those who were involved in parliamentary politics between 1910 and 1990, the prime ministers, presidents, cabinet ministers, party leaders, humble backbenchers and unsuccessful parliamentary candidates can help to explain why the white minority, after decades of acquiescing the abuse of South Africa’s limited democratic tradition, decided to peacefully surrender its political power. And yet, despite the proven value of political biography in the United States and Britain, the library shelves of South African universities are bare of biographies on pre-1990 parliamentary politicians by professional historians. This article explains the reasons for this dearth of biographies, as well as the reasons why it is essential for professional historians to write them and concludes with a recommendation on how such biographies should be written. 1. INTRODUCTION By deciphering the behaviour of individuals, providing in the process a historical window on societies of the past, the historian as biographer plays a crucial role to convey knowledge and understanding of our history to the reading public. Biographical studies of the lives and careers of parliamentary politicians between 1910 and 1990 are for example essential to comprehend South African history in the twentieth century. And yet, despite the internationally proven value of biography, the library shelves of South African universities are bare of biographies by professional historians on pre-1990 parliamentary history.
    [Show full text]
  • Middletemplar Extraordinary by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC, Middle Temple, London
    Jan Christiaan1 Smuts (1870–1950): MiddleTemplar extraordinary By Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC, Middle Temple, London PrologueProloguePrologue By the time that I was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in July Boer wars at the end of the 19th century, and for the British in the 1952 I had paid little or no attention to the constitutional and First World War; as an adroit politician in his homeland, twice legal problems of South Africa. But in 1958 I was asked by the becoming Prime Minister of South Africa; as one of the British newly-created International Commission of Jurists to attend as delegates at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919; as a prominent an observer, together with Fred Lawton QC (then a leading member of Lloyd George’s Imperial War cabinet; and as an practitioner in England, later to become a Lord Justice of Appeal) international statesman directly involved in the formation of both the forthcoming opening of the trial in Pretoria of 156 people the League of Nations and the United Nations. But nowadays, charged with treason. I duly attended those preliminary who appreciates that Jan Smuts was a scholar, jurist, scientist, proceedings which began on 1 August 1958 (and ultimately philosopher (he even read Spinoza during lulls in the Paris Peace were aborted), and over the following years I came here as an Conference of 1919) and the author of the classic work on holism? observer of other political trials, that is, until 1965.2 ‘Even the great’, the South African writer Alan Paton wrote, British subjects did not require a visa to visit South Africa, ‘thought he was great’.
    [Show full text]