The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-07
DISCUSSION IS ! ON LEADERSHIP Rivalry Over Post of Premier. DUTCH DEPENDENTS STUBBORN Proportional Representation is Now to Be Given a Trial. Cape Ceiony's Work in Exterminstias swarms of Lscusts that Iafect AL
 most wheIe of the country-
 Big Game Left |. south
 Africa.
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BY !. N. EGAN.

Cape Town. Nov. GA coalition hay ing been ruled out of court and most other political questions being dor mant for the moment, the newspapers of South Africa have found the lead ersfip of the different parties in the Union Parliament a convenient ques- ton to discuss It began with the Dutch press which, modestly assuming that the leadership of their party car. ried the Premiership with 1t. began to canvass the claims of those who might be supposed candidates for this office. It Is noteworthy that "Ons Land" the principal organ of the Bond in the Cape Colony. discreetly refrain ed from committing itself on this sub ject. Most of the other Dutch news papers. however, exercised less self restraint. They excluded Mir. Merrt- man with one voice. and, generally speaking. agreed to regard General Be- tha and ex-P President Stoyn as the only two possible candidates. Some leaned to one side, some to the other, but the balance of opinions, SO far as the press is a guide to 1t seemed to be in favor of General Botha., gf
 The game was taken up by the op- position papers. Among them there was but one opinion expressed. namely. that in the present conditions, Dr. Jameson was the only. possible leader of the United Progressive Party, whether in office or in opposition. In this case the voice of the press may be taken to represent pretty accurately the opfn- ions of its readers. pr. Jameson is the only leader on the Progressive side who is sufficiently we'll known and trusted at present over the whole or South Africa. to have any chance of leading the party successfully. SIT hn wall fin the Transvaal and he has some quai- ities which pr. JamesoA lacks. though. on the other side. he has counterbal- ancing defects. But. apart from the personal equation, he Is under the dis- advantage that his influence and rep utation are almost confined to the TransvaaL He is little known in the Cape Colony, and still less In Natal. l. Moreover, as Transvaaier, ana stiii more as a representative of the Wit watorsrand, he would be regarded at the present time with suspicious eye by a large section of the community in the two coast colonies which in past years has turned Johannesburg into d port of bogey in It's imagination . Among Natal politicians there Is no one who has suficiently proved his ca- | pacity to stand in the first rank. If such one existed. and could | iG0ncGnIrAI6 tIS n6LdA wv RCAtstfN sA@---s he would have great ,tclatmsu sto the | leadership of the Progressive Party as whole. But as he doese not exist. and as the Transvaal Progressive leader Is handicapped out of the race by the considerations already mention. ed, pr. Jameson alone Is left In the running. There is no reason to re- gret this, since personality can hardly be imagined more suited to at- tract conciliate. and to weld into a coherent party the jarring elements with which he will have to deal. It might have been thought that every one would recognize this. 4ls
 But. oddly enough. the 'volksston." the leading Dutch paper of the Trans vaal. thought 1t incumbent on itself to protest against the suggestion that pr. Jameson should lead the Progress sive Party. It justifies it's protest by raking up the history of the raid--a somewhat childish proceeding con. sidering the whole-hearted ' way in which General Bothaa and Mir. Shuts have welcomed and made use of Dr. Jameson's cooperation in the nego- tiations which led up to Union. 1t certainly has done no harm to pr. Jameson's prospects of leading the Progressive Party.
 Fresh Discusssoas.
 Following this. however, came fresh discussions on the subject of the leadership of the other side and of the Premiership. which Is supposed to be attached to 1t. The Cape Times," the principal Progressive orgsn in the Cape Colony, not wishing apparently to be left behind by the "Volksstom" in managing the affairs of the other side. began to advocate the claims of MT. Merriman to be the first Prime Minister. The scorn with which the Dutch newspapers were tt first in- clined to treat this politicians claims has died away into silence. At the
 present moment. if he Is not the fav- orite for the position. he is. at any rate. very much in the runaing. It
 looks as If MT. Hofmeyr has received
 him back into favor. and is inclined
 to support him in preference to .ien-
 eral Botha. If that Is the case his chances would be very good indeed.
 The decision is likely 10 depend on the attitude of the Orange Free State. and this Is difficult to forstell.
 Proportional representations. which was thrown overboa at the final session of the national convention in | order to appease MT. Hofmeyr and the | L. A.-N-