aal, the Orange Free State, Natal and the Cape Colony which
obtained responsible government and which is to all intents and purposes
a dominion as free as Australia or Canada. England sends out a
Governor-General, usually a high-placed and titled person but he is a
be-medalled figure-head,--an ornamental feature of the landscape. His
principal labours are to open fairs, attend funerals, preside at
harmless gatherings, and bestow decorations upon worthy persons. First
Botha, and later Smuts, have been the real rulers of the country.

The Union Constitution decreed that bi-lingualism must prevail. As a
result every public notice, document, and time-table is printed in both
English and Dutch. The tie of language is a strong one and this eternal
and unuttered presence of the "_taal_" has been an asset for the
Nationalists to exploit. It is a link with the days of independence.

Following the Boer War came a sharp cleavage among the Boers. That great
farm-bred soldier and statesman, Louis Botha, accepted the verdict and
became the leader of what might be called a reconciled reconstruction.
Firm in the belief that the future of South Africa was greater than the
smaller and selfish issue of racial pride and prejudice, he rallied his
open-minded and far-seeing countrymen around him. Out of this group
developed the South African Party which remains the party of the Dutch
loyal to British rule. To quote the program of principles, "Its
political object is the development of a South African spirit of
national unity and self-reliance through the attainment of the lasting
union of the various sections of the people."

Botha was made Premier of the Transvaal as soon as the Colony was
granted self-government and with the accomplishment of Union was named
Prime Minister of the Federation. The first man that he called to the
standard of the new order to become his Colonial Minister, or more
technically, Minister of the Interior, was Smuts, who had left his law
office in Johannesburg to fight the English in 1900 and who displayed
the same consummate strategy in the field that he has since shown in
Cabinet meeting and Legislative forum. With peace he returned to law but
not for long. Now began his political career--he has held public office
continuously ever since--that is a vital part of the modern history of
South Africa.

In the years immediately following Union the genius of Botha had full
play. He wrought a miracle of evolution. Un