New Age, Vol. 14, No. 16, Feb. 19, 1914
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Vol. XIV. No. r6. THURSDAY,FEB. 19, 1914. r NOTES OF THE Week . READERSAND WRITERS. 13p R. H. C. CURRENTCant . EARLYSPRING IN Damascus By R. €3. Curlc . Foreign AFFAIRS. Hy S. Verdad . THELAST OF THE Urbanasians By -4. F. Thorn , MILITARY NOTES. By Romney . VIEWS ANI) REVIEWS. By A. E:. R. THE FATEOF Turkey AXD Islam By Ali Ancient Town-Planning By R. B. A. Fahmy Mohamed . THEMINER. By A. GascoigneRichards . THECABINET COUNCIL. By Conclavist . PASTICHE.By R. A. IC;., P. Selver, H. E. Foster- PORTRAIT OF A Gentleman By D. \V. Y. Toogood, IV. J. T. TOWARDS THE PLAYWAY. By H. Caldwell Cook . LETTERSTO THE EDITORfrom A. D. Lewis, J. W. A NOTEON SECOND CHAMBERS.By S. Verdad . O'Leary, T. R. Coulson, C. \V. Wilkinson, ART AND NATIONAL GUILDS. By A. J. Pent- . PRESENT-DAYCRITICISM . A. hf. Ludovici, P. Reid, Press-Cutter, F. J. TESSERAE.By Beatrice Hastings - Merry, J. S. Oxley, R. A. F. TEMPLE01; THE Sibyl By FredRichards . LORDMURRAY. By Tom-Titt . demands, everymember of a trade union in England deserves to behung, drawn and quartered. -x- -x- * To concealtheir passion forrevenge, the Boer generalsnot onlylaid their plot and thenput it into the Labour nest to hatch, but theygave out through the medium of our Press that the Labour movement in South Africa wascapable of evenworse things than IT mighthave beenexpected that alter sneering at conspiracyagainst the State. There was the native the South African Trade Unionists for being driven to peril, for example ; there were also dynamitards among rely uponhis political assistance, Mr. MacDonald in theTrade Unions. We are amazed that even so cor- Parliament last week would have made the most of his rupt a Press as our own should have given credence to opportunity. The caseagainst the South African these lies about their own flesh and blood, for the truth Governmentwas so strong as to be unanswerable,he is that there is not and never was a word of truth in had the secret or open support of a good deal of public the reports.Had there been anynative peril, it is and politicalopinion, and, inaddition, there was his monstrous to supposethat in themidst of thestrike chance to show those damned Syndicalists how a poli- the white Trade Unionists would not have joined even tical expert like himself sets to business. All these ad- with theirmasters against it. They too have lives to vantages, however,proved to be of no value to Mr. loseand wivesand children to defend-as dearto MacDonald ; for in the end he not only ruined his case, themas the livesand wives of thecapitalists are to but he has added to the difficulties of the whole situa- theirclass ; and in theface of a commonperil, had tion and knocked another nail in the coffin of political such existed, the strikers would have put by their griev- actioninto the bargain. The case against the South ances as they have done thousands of times in history AfricanGovernment was of thesimplest. There not before.As for thedynamitards among them-where only wasno plot on the side of themen, but all the were they? We knowthat the very first offer of the evidence goes to show that the boot was on the other Transvaal Federation was of police to keep order. Did leg. Look, forexample, atthe admissionsmade and this seem like encouraging dynamite ? We know also that the defence offered by GeneralsBotha and Smuts. Is short work was made of the only Labour speaker who it possible for any reasonable being, to read it and not ventured to hintat sabotage. If thiswas the kind of conclude that we have here to do with a pair of slim spirit among the men, the charges brought against them liars if they are not lunatics?They admit that after by the Boer generals are not only without foundation, their capitulation to Labour last July they swore such butthey are calculated criminal libels. It is a bad a situationshould never recur ; and they admitthat sign for England when even the stupidest of our public theyset about preparing for it. That, in ouropinion, can be persuaded to believe them. is quite sufficient evidence of the existence of the plot, *** forit unmistakably establishes motive. Nor was there 'The dastardlyplot having, however, got itself be- anythingto compare with it on theLabour side. We lieved, the South African Government could t.hen make know that there was no Syndicalist plot on the side of use of it for their strokes of revenge. Martial law, as the men. Sucha nightmare has neverentered their weall know, was declared and, in addition,imprison- heads. From first tolast their movement hadfor its ment of all. theleaders, and deportations for some of object the satisfaction of one of the legitimate demands them,were resorted to. And herein the Act of In- of any trade union in the world-protection of its mem- demnity proposed in the South African Parliament and bers and a guarantee of security. What plotcan !be requiringto be endorsed in our own, wasMr. Mac- made out of this? If the South African Trade Unionists Donald'sopportunity. The indemnity against all the wereguilty of Syndicalistconspiracy in making these crimescommitted under martial law we should our- 482 selves have been prepared to see Mr. MacDonald accept SouthAfrican Government, if hisintention had been and to have refrained from criticising him for it. After to defendGeneral Botha? Itstands to our reason, dl, thething was done, it related to thepast, and we must say, that under those circumstances he would nothing said by our own Parliament could have altered not only have concealed the fact (hadit been a fact) matters.But the case was very differentwith the de- that neither he nor Lord Gladstone had been consulted, portations. There, as anybody can see, it is no longer but he would have given Parliament to suppose that he hn act of oblivion and indemnity that is in question, but approved of them.But he did neither, and inunmis- ;t fresh act of commission. The very gravest, questions takable terms. He not only did not conceal his ignor- of politics are raisedby anattempt to slip a Bill of ance of the doings of the South AfricanGovernment, Attainder referring to the future through the body of a but heexpressly denied thateither he or Lord Glad- Bill nominally referring only to thepast. That there was stoneapproved of them.Mr. MacDonald may draw a clear distinction to be drawn between the martial law whatinferences he likes from this evidence; but the andthe deportations not even Mr. MacDonaldcould inference we draw is that neither Lord Gladstone nor fail to see. Indeed he observed that the South African the Cabinet at home, however they might agree about Parliament was ‘ actuallylegislating by means of the martial law, could or would have consented with their Indemnity Bill, and squeezing a profit, so to say, out of foreknowledge to the deportations. an apology for a loss. Rut to have observed this was ,*** not only not enough, itinvolved the necessity of remark- And there are reasons for this attitudeof theirs, quite ing a gooddeal more. Among other things, it cer- apartfrom the sentimental reasons that fools may tainlynecessitated, in our opinion, anamendment of attributeto them. The deportations are inthemselves the resolution by means of which, while the Indemnity the veryfoolishest act of which a self-governing clauses could be accepted, the clauses referring to the dominioncan be guilty. They cannot bring industrial deportations could have been either formally censured peace, but are, on the contrary, a sure means of keep- or even deleted. ingindustrial war alive.Deported leaders are nearly **+ always powerful leaders, and in their very absence lies Mr. MacDonaldwould probably reply that even so their strength. Our Cabinet is not so ignorant of his- amended hisresolution would nothave been carried. tory that it does not know this; nor is it so stupid as But, in the first place, its mere publication would have not to be aware that the reaction will come in South indicated pretty clearly to South Africa where precisely Africa when the complaisance of England with the de- the line of censure was to be drawn ; and, in the second portations will appear in thelight of treachery. For place, we are almost certain that the resolution, if not Africa, be it. noted, is already divided upon the subject. carried, would at least have been better supported than GeneralHertzog, for one, a mostpowerful politician the actual resolution. Such a professional politician as and anti-British at heart, was opposed to the deporta- Mr. MacDonald might have been supposed to be capable tions. So is Mr. Merriman. It is probable, we should of readingthe signs of opinionin this direction Iong say,that at thecoming Autumn elections the South before the debate itself took place ; and their manifesta- African Government may be dismissed in consequenceof tion during the debate was nothing shortof remarkable. the deportations-and how will the British Government The “Times,” for example, from the first news of the appear then? Further than this, it is certain that there deportations, did more even that reserve judgment until will bereaction in England. Unless every Liberal is General Botha’s defence should appear ; it declared that a hardenedand abandoned liar, a largepart of the only themost proven perilcould justify such a step. party cannot stand by and see the principles of Liberal- And when General Botha’s defence was published, the ism smashed by the creature of their legislation. They ‘‘Times’ ” commenton the deportations was to the cannot forget, if even the Tories can, that two hundred effect that theirnecessity was,to say the least, very millions of money and thirty thousand British lives were doubtful Is Mr.MacDonald so ignorant of histrade spent to compel Kruger to refrain from doing no more that he is not aware that a hint like this was a hint to than a quarter of what General Botha has done.