New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-05
SOUTH AFRICA AND CANADA.

Mr.. Ford's London letter in The Tribune Of
yesterday set forth with admirable lucidity the
salient features Of the problem which Great
Britain will have on her hands in South Africa
at the end Of the war. She will possess there
five States which are now entirely separate, but
which will doubtless soon demand confedera-
ton after the fashion of Canada and Australia
Taken separately, each of the three most i'm
portant and most populous of these States has
a strong Dutch majority Of population, which
is now largely anti British. Taken altogether.
the federation Of States would have similar
majority. 1t is necessary that the States shall
be gOverned-or rather. shall govern them
selves-in a spirit of sympathetic loyalty to the
British Empire, of which they form a part and
that there shall be amity and cooperation be-
tween the two white races. Yet at the present
moment the races largely regard each other
with distrust and hostility and the race which
is dominant in numbers and therefore in voting
power is largely hostile to the British Crown
The problem of pacif1cation and unification may
we'll be deemed more imposing than that of
military conquest.
1t is hard problem. But the British Empire
has largely been built up through the successful
solution of such problems. Perhaps there is in
all its history more striking example of this
than is afforded by our next neighbor at the
north. When Great Britain conquered Canada
the population of the latter country was almost
exclusively French and racial animosities be-
tween English and French were far stronger
than now between British and Dutch, because
there not only between the colonies.
but also between the two mother countries-as
though in addition to war in South Africa there
were now war between Great Britain and Hol-
land. Moreover, the French in Canada were
q '1th bn
particularly obnoxious 10 the British Govern
ment and were, ipso facto, dsfranchised IT
seemed to be a case in which that which had
been won by the sword would have indefinitely
to be held and ruled by the sword And that
was an age of far less liberality and fiexiblty
than the present.
The act of 1Il4, however. was the saviour of
the situation contrasting by the way. strangely
with the fatuous policy pursued toward the
English speaking colonies just to the south of
Canada. 1t was recited In that act that as the
population Of Canada at the time of the con-
quest consisted of 5000 Roman Catholics, the
original act of annexation and administration
could not equitably be maintained, and that
therefore the religious Test Oath should not
he required Of any of His Majestys subjects in
Canada, but only the oath of allegiance. Thus
the Roman Catholics of Canada were enfran-
chised and endowed with full civil rights long
before any such act accomplished in their
behalf in the United Kingdom elsewhere in
the British Empire. That act was exceedingly
unpopular in England and In the English speak
ing colonies. But II was undoubtedly an act of
political shrewdnSss and statesmanlke wisdom.
as we'll OF common justice 10 the French
Canadians. 1t did more than whole army
corps could have done to hold Canada secure for