More speeches were delivered the same night, when George Mason said he had said at Benoni—and that detective pimps could take it down—that a scab was not fit to live while there was a pool deep enough to drown him in, or a rope left long enough to hang him with. Every man working must earn his money and we are going to see that the police earned theirs. He urged that the posts and telegraphs must be stopped, and declared that the strike would not cease till Mr. Burton was no longer Minister of Railways and Harbours nor Mr. Hoy, General Manager. They threatened that they were “going to see the police earned their pay,” and planned the march to Kazerne. He advised making the police drunk, and said that they were going to pull out the men at Park Station. Let them go and pull the drivers out, and if the police interfered, he would talk to the drivers and take other measures. Indeed, he threatened a revolution. It was quite clear that the whole grievance which remained to them was the baulking of their plans of July 5, through the intervention of the Prime Minister. Mr. Waterston at the same meeting urged them to have a general strike, and have a revolution. He said it was their duty to prevent the running of the trains. Pointing to Braamfontein Railway Station, he quoted “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” (Laughter) He urged the railwaymen to obey orders, and said that “their’s was not to reason why: their’s but to do and die.”

On the same occasion (continued the Minister) some speeches were made by a gentleman whose name was so far not mentioned, but who is also on this honours’ list that I have referred to,—.(laughter)—I refer to Mr. William Livingstone, who was one of the principal men amongst, the hooligans, and, I imagine; was not one of the more influential names amongst the philosophical Syndicalists, but who was extremely foulmouthed, and wielded a great influence amongst the hooligans of Johannesburg. On this evening, or it may be, on the following evening, he made a violent speech and said that Botha was not a gentleman or a man—(laughter)—but a murderer—a murderer;: repeating this twice, und added he would rather take the word of the lowest native on the land than his. He was not fit to be buried, and should be put in the sea and dropped, he and the whole of the Cabinet. (Laughter.) He further stated that he had heard they were calling out the Defence Force, and they should refuse to take up a rifle and say that they were not going to be murderers. That, of course; was the advice given to members of the Defence Force. On the same occasion, later on, it appears he made another speech, and said: “God help them if they fire on us. Within two hours, I will be on Market Square and I shall be armed. … I want you to bring rifles, not air rifles which are only good for shooting bottles, but rifles to shoot bluebottles— (laughter)—murder them: it is your life or theirs.”

The Minister of Defence went on: It is really nauseous to read all this, but although ordinarily one would not attach great importance to disgusting claptrap of this kind, all this was in execution of the process which I described yesterday, to set the mob mind on fire, and then to excite them to crimes of all sorts; and it was impossible to say after that what’ was going to happen. Things were taking place that no one ever anticipated. On the night of the 8th, the night after the strike had been declared, some more speeches were made. There was a meeting of the Federation of Trades, and it was said that the responsibility was to be thrown on the General Council, and that they were determined upon the strike, and in the meantime a Sub committee was appointed to take up the strike operations of the railwaymen.

Mr. Bain stated that he had to announce that as the result of the special emergency meeting a Strike Committee had been appointed to assist in running that railway trouble and fighting to the bitter end, in order that it might be won. “We want you to hold yourselves in cheek,” said Mr. Bain, “and if it is necessary to have a general strike we want you to be ready. If the railwaymen are beaten every workman in South Africa is beaten. The Government have thrown down the gauntlet and everybody must take it up; and everyone who did not would be looked upon as a danger to society, an enemy of mankind, an enemy of the country and of the working classes all the world over, and they must understand what that meant. A scab was a man who took the bread out of the mouths of their children and their wives. They must not precipitate things. … On Sunday at 4 o’clock every man must be on Market-square, and do battle for the freedom of public speech and show that they would help the railwayman to win.”

Continuing, the Minister said: Then that meeting of the General Council was held on Saturday night, and Mr. Andrew Watson subsequently announced from the window what had been decided, and said that the delegates had come to a decision for a general strike, that some Unions demanded a ballot, and there would be given an opportunity for a ballot; but there could not be the slightest doubt of the result of the ballot on Tuesday. There were voices of “Too long.” They might think it too long, but after the greatest consideration the delegates had come to the conclusion that that was the best policy. They wanted to show the public of South Africa that the grievances of the railway workers were their grievances, and that the replies from the Government were so unsatisfactory that they called for more than a general strike … they must not all go home, but have a few hundreds to form a strong picket to protect the Trades Hall. On this same evening Mr. Bain issued a message to the workers, after this fateful decision had been come to by the General Council, that it was by the workers of the world that this war had been declared, and not only a local and South African struggle but the beginning of a strike that would make the workers of the world one. “The issue i.e.” he said, “whether the workers can control the industries of the country or not. There must be no settlement until the joint control of the harbours and railways, as well as the mines and industries of South Africa, is within the hands of the workers of South Africa. … If these are the last words I may ever utter, don’t let the tyrannical action of the Government frighten you. They may throw your representatives into gaol, but they cannot prevent you carrying this fight to a glorious finish. Better to fight and die fighting for our rights, than be intimidated by a Government which is a disgrace to any part of the British Empire.”

“This,” said the Minister, “is what these gentlemen aimed at. Bain went on to say that he was addressing those who laboured with either hands or brains. Mr. Bain, I suppose, was in the latter class— as the other leaders also appear to have been.” (Laughter.)

Well Sir, of course, at this stage the position had become a good deal more difficult. We have now arrived at Saturday night. Next day there was going to be this enormous mass meeting on the Market-square. In the meantime the general position of the situation was considerably worse. On the 8th of January when the railway strike took place, we were still able to go on with traffic in and around Johannesburg but the position got very much worse that day, and the next day it became very bad indeed. One of the first things that happened was the attempted blowing up of the Cape mail train between Johannesburg and Germiston by the use of dynamite. Dynamite was found everywhere, not only on the railway on the Witwatersrand, but in other parts of the country. Intimidation and pulling out was going on at an enormous rate. The police force and the permanent force which we had at our disposal was utterly inadequate to cope with the situation., and the railway authorities complained to me that on every hand men were being pulled out and intimidated, and that unless the situation was controlled with a very strong hand in the next few days the whole position would develop into anarchy so far as the railways were concerned.

On the same day an incident happened which throw a lurid light on what might have occurred—the outbreak of the natives at Jagersfontein. I think that—the occurrence, such as it was, was a providential flashlight on the whole situation, and although it may not have been directly connected with the strike, it showed the people of South Africa what might happen if there was a general strike, if the white people of the country started fighting and anarchy was afoot. A body of about 9,000 natives broke out of the compound at the Jagersfontein mine and invaded the town, and had it not been for the extremely gallant behaviour of the inhabitants of Jagersfontein very much more terrible scenes might have occurred. We heard the news at Pretoria that night, and we took expeditious steps to deal with the situation. Men from the Military School at Bloemfontein and members of the Active Citizen Force were quickly on the scene, and the situation was mastered and no further casualities occurred. This incident showed the people of South Africa what they might expect in the event of a general conflagration, and I think the warning was a good one for it tightened up the people for the coming struggle.

On the Saturday things got extremely bad on the railways, and the Government decided to take the step of calling out the commandoes. With them there was some chance of, at any rate, getting control over the railways. On Sunday there was this great meeting on the Market square. We did not forbid it for the reason that that was not necessary. We had sufficient forces at our disposal to cope with anything that might happen. The Krugersdorp commando, a big one, and one which only got notice that very morning, were in force very near the Market square at Johannesburg. (Cheers.) It was therefore, possible to allow freedom of speech, and some of the eloquence at that meeting I will proceed to lay before the House. Mr. Watson was extremely eloquent. He said that on behalf of the railway workers they were going to make a fight. Referring to the arrests—I forgot to say that some arrests had taken place, and that Mr. Poutsma and Mr. Nield had been arrested—he said there was a danger of all their leaders being put into gaol, but there would spring up ten from the ranks for every one that went into the Fort. … If they were treated in an unwarrantable fashion they would not take it lying down. It seems to have become a shibboleth with these gentlemen that they would only fight when they were attacked. But whatever happened they were always attacked. Even to the hon. member for Weenen everything that was done by the Government was in his estimation an incitement to the workers. Mr. Watson went on to say, in the course of his speech, that this was not war in the ordinary sense, but it was class war between two governments—the government of labour and the general government of the country. Mr. Watson also referred to the promises of the 5th of July, and said that the hand of friendship had not been held out to the worker. But now, he said, the Dutch workers would lay their hands their brothers’ hands and would atone the what had already been done in this Country.

Then Mr. Bain spoke. He said that if the Government wanted to arrest him and Mason they were on the platform and could be got at. He would plead guilty to sedition if that meant helping towards the salvation of their fellow men. He considered that civil war was better than the terms that were offered to the workers. Citizens were being governed under laws that would not be tolerated in the most ignorant parts of Russia. He cared not a jot for loyalty to the Crown but loyalty in the salvation of the human race. Not all the gaols in the country would frighten them, and the Government was not fit to govern a two-penny half-penny store in Johannesburg. The Government should know they were willing to meet them in council—with revolvers in their pockets, interpolated the Minister—and discuss the trouble from the point of pure reason. It was far better for them to have civil war … than this pest of serfdom. Other gentlemen delivered speeches, and among them was Mr. George Mason, one of the gentlemen on the list. If it came to bloodshed, he said, let them have bloodshed for something. Let them not worry about the laws, because they had not made them. It is only here in Parliament, observed the Minister of Defence, that we hear about laws and constitutions and things of that sort. Mr. Mason urged them to organise into small bands of six men and a corporal —this is the war cry, interpolated the Minister—and stand ready for anything. If they were men, went on Mr. Mason, they would stick at nothing. If they levelled the country they had men and brains to start it again. Mr. Mason also urged the workers to get hold of the members of the Defence Force and persuade them not to fire on the workers.

Continuing, the Minister said: There were many more speeches to incite the workers, but the shadow of the burghers was on Johannesburg that afternoon. In those speeches they had the guerilla principle of six men and a corporal. The fact was that when they saw these large forces of men in Johannesburg and they knew of the forces that had been brought by the Government they knew that it was difficult to fight large organised bodies, and it was very easy for them with dynamite in their pockets to go about in small batches and do an enormous amount of damage. This was the meaning of the six men and a corporal policy. The same day the General Strike Committee issued a circular to the trade unions to the following effect: “The General Strike Committee requests all your members to organise into commandoes for the purpose of greater efficiency in the Federation Forces.”

The Trade Unions had to be formed into commandoes, in order that the two Governments might fight each other. It was a remarkable thing, although one might not infer it from their speeches alone, serious movements were really intended, and circulars were sent out to the Union telling them to organise themselves into commandoes. Some of the Unions did not understand this, and were somewhat taken aback at hearing that, they were to organise themselves into commandoes, and the question was put by the Masons’ and the Typographical Unions as to what was meant by this. A reply was sent that it meant commandoes for the greater preservation of the peace. That was the answer that was given to these stupid masons and typos. That was the order that went forth on that Sunday, and six men and a corporal was to be the basis of their organisation.

On Monday there was some more oratory. Mr. Bain appeared at the window of the Trades Hall, and said:

That Monday passed. On Tuesday night the returns had to come in from the Unions on the question of declaring a strike. The voting of the Transvaal Miners’ Association was: For the strike, 2,500—a curiously round number—and against the strike, 971. Altogether, under 3,500 men were represented in this ballot. That was a curious feature. Here we have the Witwatersrand, with a number of mining workers in the neighbourhood of 22,000, yet only 3,500 of them took part in this vote. Of this number, almost a thousand voted against the strike, and the balance of 2,500 was left to decide the fortunes of this country. This shows what, an enormous power has been exercised by the revolutionary minority amongst these people. The country was to be ruined, and everything was to be stopped, because a very small number of men was taking any interest in these proceedings. It is awful to think what might have happened because of the action of a small minority like this. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. Watson (president of the Federation), speaking from the Trades Hall, in declaring the Federation's decision to have a general strike, said:

The Minister of Defence then quoted a newspaper report of a speech by Mr. Morgan, as follows:

Mr. Morgan, whose coat was off and shirt sleeves rolled up, got to the heart o£ his subject at once. “The constitution of the Miners’ Association,” he said, “demands that there should be a two-thirds majority in favour of a strike. The result of the ballot is that, in addition to the two-thirds majority required, there are 166 in favour of supporting the railway workers. The Federation have allowed the underground workers, owing to the fact that they may have a few holes to blast to-morrow, to work until four o’clock to-morrow afternoon, after which time no man shall go underground.”

The speaker continued: “This is a war to the knife. It is absolutely a war of the classes. There is no distinction as to race, creed, or colour. The whole of the workers are against the Government, and if the railwaymen go down now the whole of recognised affiliated labour throughout South Africa will go down. If we go down this time it is the end of, us, and if the other side go down it is the end of the Government. (Cheers and laughter.)

“The Government are getting burghers and Dutchmen to come up here. They think there is likely to be, a Kafir rising —(laughter)—and when they get here and are asked to protect property they have no interest in, they are a little bit cold footed. (Laughter.)

“ I can promise you the end of, this fight will be victory for, the workers and the end of the Government, and the placing in power of a Government that will truly represent the feeling of the workers.

“ Stand shoulder to shoulder all of you here. The bars closed on Monday, but some of you who like a drink have managed to live. (Laughter and a voice: “Throw down a bottle.”) We have no bottles and no drops up here; we live on suction. ” (Laughter.)

Well, Mr. Quinn is not yet at an end. (Cheers.) To his credit, be it said, that when the men went on strike, Mr. Quinn, in spite of physical infirmities, himself donned the white apron, and with a number of well-washed natives he started baking bread. (Loud cheers.) Long may he live.(Cheers.)

Then it appeared that Generals were appointed by the Federation, one (Crawford)for the control of pickets and another (Hindman) for the control of military equipment, and so the organisation was being completed which was to fight the Government forces.

The House will look forward to receiving some account of the vastly important events which were transpiring while all the oratory was going on. On Monday, the 12th, the position had become very much worse indeed. In fact, Monday, the 12th of January, was one of the most critical in this whole movement. Bloemfontein went out on strike, and Durban went out on strike, and a very considerable number of men at the Salt River Works—thanks to the eloquence of two hon. members on the cross benches—also went out on strike. (Ministerial cries of “Shame.”) To a large extent we temporarily lost control of the railways, and the outlook was very gloomy indeed.

But while this tremendous tragedy was being enacted, a little comedy was also going on. A Congress was sitting at Bloemfontein. The hon. member for Smithfield (General Hertzog)—who can never forget his grievance against the Prime Minister—was holding another Congress, and instead of helping the Government in this enormous trouble, nothing was done but to harass and weaken the hands of the Government.

Well, sir, people talk of patriots, but when it comes to speaking of patriots, then I look to a man like my right hon. friend the member for Victoria West--(cheers)--who, at this time, although he did not love the Government, came forward as a special constable. (Renewed cheers.) I would give that honoured name also to the “foreign adventurer” who sits opposite me, the hon. member for Fort Beaufort. (Cheers.) On the same occasion he performed this same important function and set an example to all the rest of the country, and to all these different “patriots” who were talking about things that did not matter. (Laughter.) Well, sir, this Congress was responsible for the fact that one of the prophets of the new gospel of nationality was at Bloemfontein, and as Bloemfontein had gone on strike the hon. member for Uitenhage could not, of course, get away, and he made use of the occasion to make a speech. Hon. members have read that speech. On that date, one of the blackest days of the whole movement, when, as I say, we had temporarily lost control of the railways, he thought it his patriotic duty to go to these people, to harangue them, and to give them his support, and tell them also that they had the support of the hon. member for Smithfield.

Now we have reached the climax. The whole conspiracy had been worked up to a point. Twice it had failed—once because of the intervention of the Prime Minister and the second time because, after the most laborious efforts, the railwaymen were not unanimous. This time the railway workers had been inveigled into the net, success had been achieved and Bain and Poutsma had triumphed. I don’t want to labour that point further. I wish to turn to a much more pleasant feature of this whole matter, and that is the answer of this country after that fateful declaration of war on the evening of Tuesday, the answer of the country to this declaration of war. Well, sir, I do not think there is anything more magnificent in the history of South Africa than the response that was made by the citizens of South Africa on that important occasion. (Cheers.) As I have said, the mobilization of the Defence Forces had started on the Saturday, and on the afternoon of Tuesday, when this declaration of war took place, we had a very large force in the field. The Witwatersrand was held from end to end by at least 10,000 armed burghers, the Citizen Defence Force. Besides, we had enrolled special constables on the mines, not to take action against white miners, but in order to protect mining property from any raid that might be made by the natives in the compounds, some 250,000 of them, and the citizens of Johannesburg had enlisted as special constables to a large extent, thousands of them, as a matter of fact, and thousands more could have been got to enlist if they had been wanted. They took over from the police the ordinary policing of the town, so that the Police Force were set free for more important duties in connection with the crisis. Not only in Johannesburg, but all over South Africa there was a spontaneous movement among people generally in order to come forward and offer their services and help the country through this crisis. (Cheers.) People of all classes, rich and poor, workers, labourers, and well-to-do people, all came forward in order to assist in this great crisis, and, sir, if I may say a word for the Defence Force of this country, I would say I think that never in the history of this country has there been a mobilisation such as took place after that call on the 10th January. Within 12 hours in the district of Krugersdorp, which adjoins the Witwatersrand, 600 men were within call of Johannesburg. Take a sparsely-populated district like Wolmaransstad, within 24 hours of the summons the Commandant of Wolmaransstad was on the railway line concentrated with 1,000 mounted burghers—(cheers)—and we had such marvellous instances all over the country of rapidity of mobilisation taking place without any hitch. The whole machine worked smoothly, and, as far as the military side of it was concerned, I have never even to this day heard any serious complaints against what took place. I think that a year or more ago, when this House was asked to consider that large and important scheme for the defence of this country which I brought forward, many—perhaps the majority—in this House looked upon it as one of those jim-jams which I might bring forward—(a laugh)—but which were not of real significance to the safety of this country. Well, sir, nobody dreamt that within so short a time that whole machine would be put to such a test, and that test would be stood so brilliantly and with results so successful. (Cheers.)

Hon. members need only compare what happened on this occasion with what was the state of affairs in July last, when the Government of the country was confronted, not with the same movement but a much smaller one, a simple strike of miners on the Witwatersrand, and when, owing to the absence of this machinery, we lost control of the situation almost immediately. The concentration of our police force and of thousands of the military forces of the Empire could not stave off the disaster on that occasion, because the numbers were entirely insufficient, but, owing to this new machine which had been created, and which worked smoothly and rapidly, it was possible for us in a few days to stave off the immediate danger that was hanging over the place. (Hear, hear.) It became necessary, owing to the strike, to protect all the railway lines, and the railway lines of the Union were protected in as sufficient a measure as was necessary under the circumstances. Whether you went from Durban to Johannesburg, or Kimberley to Johannesburg, or Komati Poort to Johannesburg, whatever line you took, you saw numbers of men controlling the line, and every protection given to the railway workers who remained at work. The result, of course, was very great. If that had not been done, it was easy to paralyse the railway system, and it was only owing to the enormous concentration of men all along the various lines that Government property was protected, and that it was possible to keep trains going for the movement of coal and food, which kept the industries on the Rand to some extent going, and kept that large population alive. We had there at this time in January a very large population—more than half a million people—and foodstuffs were extremely limited. The only people that were decently supplied were the natives in the compounds, because, owing to the dangers incurred before, the Government asked the mining authorities to see that the mines were supplied with necessaries. But as regards the general population, the position was bad in the extreme—(hear, hear)—and I am sure, if we had lost control of the railways even for a week, a position would have risen on the Witwatersrand which one hesitates to contemplate. But we had sufficient protection, owing to the response of the country. Besides that, we had to keep large forces on the frontiers, to give a feeling of security to people there. It was necessary to place forces all along the routes which had to be taken by the natives when they went back from the Witwatersrand to their native areas. Well, sir, the declaration of war had come and, naturally, the Government answered it in the proper way, not only by calling out these large forces, but by proclaiming Martial Law—(cheers)—and I think if ever a declaration of Martial Law was justified it was justified under the circumstances which existed at that time. (Renewed cheers.) The ordinary law, of course, does not contemplate at all a situation such as had arisen, which was practically a situation of civil war, and it was necessary to control movements and communications to a large extent, which was not possible under the ordinary law. Well, that had to be stopped, and it was necessary to regulate all movements and to prevent the possibility of concentration at any point; and that was done by these military forces being stationed all along the reef, the Rand being partitioned off. There was one force between Benoni and Boksburg, another between Boksburg and Germiston, another between Germiston and the next area, and so on to the western extremity of the Rand. This movement could not have been effected unless the Government had arbitrary powers.

In order to take the required arbitrary powers it was necessary to have Martial Law. It became necessary in view of the food supplies being so scarce and being so low, and as soon as it was declared the citizens of Johannesburg assisted the Government in forming a committee, which regulated the whole question of the regulation and distribution of food supplies in town and additional food supplies from the coast, in order to keep the population going. They also took care that there should be no undue raising of prices because of the scarcity of food, and all that, hon. members would understand, could only be done under a suspension of the ordinary law. Then, again, Martial Law became necessary because nobody could, at this date, foresee what was going to happen to the natives on the Witwatersrand, and in July the natives, in the background, had been the greatest trouble of all to the Government, and it was lucky that on July 5 people did not know the real state of affairs and what could have been anticipated from the natives; but a truce or peace was arranged just in time, as I explained, on that occasion. The natives on the East Rand had already struck, and I have given the evidence of Mr. Taberer to show what was their state of mind. We had information that there was seething discontent amongst other compounds, and the natives did not understand what was going on. They saw this wholesale destruction going on and saw the whites in howling mobs, going from place to place and setting fire to and destroying places, and the shooting in Johannesburg night and day; and did not know what all this meant. The result was that after peace had been arranged that Saturday afternoon nobody knew what would have happened the next Sunday. As a matter of fact, the natives were out on a number of mines on the following Monday, and police officers and officers of the Defence Force who had taken part in quelling the disturbances informed me that never before in all their experience had they seen the natives adopt so determined and truculent an attitude as on that occasion. It is possible ordinarily, as hon. members are aware, for ten or twenty armed policemen to control the natives in a compound, but one of the officers told me that you could see the dreadful spectacle of thousands of natives in the compound singing their war-song and charging up against 400 armed men—a thing which had never been done before. Assegais were being manufactured, and no less than 1,500 assegais were collected in one compound, and tons and tons of weapons were collected in the compounds when normal conditions were being returned to. What would have happened if that wild collection of savages had broken loose? The imagination shudders to contemplate it. We have seen from what happened at Jagersfontein on a very small scale what would be the result of such a development, and when we come in January to a state of affairs which was even more extended in operation than the outbreak in July, the Government felt bound to declare Martial Law. The Prime Minister took the course—and, if I may say so, a very proper and statesmanlike course —of taking the natives into his confidence —(hear, hear)—and issuing a circular to all the compounds, explaining what the position was—that there was trouble amongst the whites, but that that trouble did not in the least concern the natives, that they must keep quiet in the compounds, and as long as there was work for them it would be given them, and if there was no work for them they would still be paid. That circular must have had a most pacifying and reassuring effect on the natives, and the Prime Minister received thanks from the leading men among the natives. We did not know that the circular would have had such a far-reaching effect, and Martial Law was the only means, in the last resort, to take every precaution that was possible. We had to prepare for the worst.

Well, sir, there is another very important reason why Martial Law had to be declared, and that hon. members will understand. Thousands and thousands of people on the Witwatersrand, in the ordinary course of their business have dynamite in their possession, and it is quite impossible to control the handling of dynamite under these circumstances. A man blasts below, and he has nothing to prevent him from putting some sticks of dynamite and some detonators in his pocket. We had information that a large amount of dynamite was missing from the mines, and the Government consulted with the mining authorities whether a stop could not be put to this; but it was practically impossible. You could not be certain of what the state of affairs would be when much dynamite was about. We had seen from, the July operations what use could be made of dynamite in this movement, and I am sure that the whole idea of “six men and a corporal ” was based on the use of dynamite amongst these small bodies, and although much of this did not appear in the newspapers, you can take it from me that attempts were made, and dynamite was found in all sorts of places, to an alarming extent, and until things quietened down dynamite continued to be found in all sorts of places. I think the Government was amply justified in meeting the Federation of Trades by this declaration of Martial Law, and in doing that we helped to maintain peace. (Cheers.) The general testimony was that it was most effective. Martial Law seems to have had a marvellous effect, apart from military mobilisation on the minds of the people. The result was that Martial Law was successful, people being also in mind of Martial Law in other times, when it was much more rigorous than in times of peace. This tremendous tragedy of the country passed off without any real bloodshed. When you see that the steps taken by the Government were so completely vindicated by the turn of circumstances it is not for us to cavil at what was done. (Cheers.) Small things, of course, went wrong, and I agree with the hon. member for George Town (Mr. Andrews) that one afternoon there was rather an undue application of Martial Law at Germiston. Well, that was a small thing, and was due to the instructions that I had given in reference to Benoni. The mines on the East Rand had come out almost en bloc, and, as that had been a storm centre in July, and the dreadful Benoni law had been enacted there, it became necessary to take special precautions in that area, and I issued instructions to the officer in command of the area to stand no nonsense—(a laugh)—and see that peace was maintained at all costs. Germiston was just adjoining, and it appears that these instructions got over to Germiston, and the officer in command thought that these instructions should be applied there too; the matter was enquired into and the trouble passed over, and, on the whole, I think it did good (Hear, hear.) There may be some other small instances, but to me the remarkable fact is that no untoward thing happened. It was anticipated that there would be serious trouble with the Defence Force, but nothing happened, and these young citizens, from 17 to 21 years of age, have behaved in the most exemplary fashion, and wore a credit not only to the defence system, but to their country. (Cheers.) No doubt you will hear small complaints, hut they are not worth serious consideration. As to Bloemfontein, the Control Officer there was in a very nasty position, and had lost control of the railways at Bloemfontein, and had to endure the oratory of the hon. member for Uitenhage (Mr. Fremantle). (Laughter.) He did not wait for my Proclamation, although the instructions were on the way, and he issued a Proclamation on his own. (Laughter.) In this he called on every striker to stay quiet at home, and not to leave his home, and forbade any member of the public to approach the house of a striker. The result would be early starvation, unless a good supply of food supplies had previously been taken in. (Laughter.)

However, my regulations arrived shortly afterwards, and the drastic Proclamation was withdrawn, and there was no further trouble. There were ups and downs throughout this conflict, and there were some very curious turns of fortune. The railwaymen in some of the more important centres of the Union held ballots every day. One day they were for a strike and the next day against; but there was always Martial Law and the enormous military force in the background. And hon. members must bear that in mind. In the important centres this wavering continued from day to day, and if there had been no such big force available, no one knows what might have happened. On January 15 there was the dramatic surrender of the Trades Hall. The place was searched, for we were very anxious to get documents, but we found only ashes—the secrets that had been held in that building were burned in the courtyard. I do not think that we need any further incriminating documents. The evidence which I have read to the House, the most of which is already public property, and other evidence which was found by the Government in other quarters, established beyond a doubt the fact that we had to deal with a great criminal conspiracy against society of a most dangerous and disastrous character, and it was only by taking the most drastic steps that the Government could hope to deal effectively with the situation. During all this time not a single man had been forced to work. That is an important point to bear in mind, because I have seen it said in some quarters that the Government, with some cuteness, during this struggle forced unwilling workers to work. We did nothing of the kind. I have given the figures in regard to the voting of the Transvaal Miners’ Association, and out of 22,000 men connected with that industry, only 2,500 voted in favour of a strike.

It was perfectly unnecessary to compel any man to work. The vast majority of the workers of the country were perfectly willing to work, provided they were given adequate protection. The men by their actions showed that, in spite of the vast machinery of the Government, there was no need to compel anybody to work at the point of the bayonet, but merely to give protection. The arrangements provided by the Government proved most satisfactory and successful, and I think it shows that the greater bulk of the workers were entirely averse to this despotism created by a coterie of revolutionaries. The Government made no movement at all against organised labour, and I wish that borne in mind, because the cry has gone forth that the Government has been trying to break down the organisations of labour in this country. There was nothing of the kind. We were trying to fight and beat a revolutionary junta.

Now I will come to the last question. Three charges have been levelled at the Government from the cross benches in the speeches that were made on Monday. The first charge was that we had incited people to all this violence. I have met that charge very fully. The other charge was that out endeavours to put down freedom of speech resulted in these developments. I have dealt with that too. There remains the last charge—that the Government had illegally deported citizens and had acted otherwise in an outrageous manner, which deserves the censure of the House and the country. Now I wish to say that, after comparative quiet had been restored in the country, the Government had to consider most seriously not only the situation then existing, but any future situation that might arise in this country. Hon. members must understand that it is impossible for the Government of the country to have to face a situation like this every six months. In the last six months we have had three deliberate attempts made to work up a general strike. I have described the three movements, the last of which was to a certain extent successful. The Government had to consider very seriously whether they could allow things to remain as they were in the interests of the country and whether they should take other steps for the future peace and security of South Africa.

That raised a very important problem. So far, we had the whole country, with the exception of a few disaffected people, with us. We knew that, irrespective of party, race and even colour, people were in favour of the measures that had been adopted, but we knew perfectly well that when it came to deporting, and deporting citizens without trial and Parliamentary authority, that then we would have public opinion very much divided and that we would run the risk of very serious misunderstanding. Well, sir, that is the point where the weak man generally fails. When you know you have achieved a great success you may rest satisfied although further distasteful and unpopular steps may be required to safeguard and secure peace and quiet for the future. (Hear, hear.) That was the problem—the very distasteful problem that remained for the Government to consider. I can assure hon. members, and my colleagues will bear me out, that never in all the time I have been a Minister of the Crown have we given as serious, as prolonged, and as anxious, consideration to any question as to this question—what had to be done with the leaders, the more prominent leaders of this great revolutionary junta ? We thought the question out very seriously, and we deliberated days and days, and it was only after the most prolonged consideration that we came to the conclusion which the House knows. I have seen attempts made in the Press, both here and elsewhere, to censure the Governor-General for the steps that have been taken. Well, I can only assure the House and the country and the world that the whole onus of this decision rests on the Government. It was a purely internal question for South Africa. It was a question that concerned the future security and peace of this country, and it was only after the most anxious and serious deliberation that the Government conveyed its decision to His Excellency, and under our system he could not object. No blame whatever can be attached to His Excellency. No responsibility whatever attaches to him in connection with this matter.

His Excellency pointed out to Ministers that it was an extremely grave step to take, and that it was only when they were justified from the criminal character of the gentlemen in question and not merely from their being of different political complexion to the Government that action might be taken. I say this because I think it is due that this misapprehension with regard to His Excellency should be removed. We first deliberated as to whether there should be deportation at all, and having settled that it was necessary for the future peace and welfare of this country, the question arose, who were to be deported. We went through this “honours list.” (Laughter.) This gave us very great trouble indeed. It was not only a question of going through the speeches of which I have been reading out extracts for the last two days to hon. members. Some of these speeches are very outrageous. It was not merely a question of these speeches, because, very often, the most dangerous man makes the mildest speech, and it is possible that the man who makes the most outrageous statement is the least dangerous. We could not alone go on the speeches that they had delivered, but you had to take into consideration the part they actually played in this was organisation of conspiracy. You had to go into the police records of these men. You had to take into consideration the facts bearing on each individual case, and it was only after this had been impartially and fairly done that it was possible to come to a conclusion in every case. That was the procedure we adopted, and out of a much longer list submitted by the police authorities, we settled on these men. (Laughter and cheers.) Of course, we incur the risk of being told that the list is too short— (laughter)—and we run the risk of being told that there should have been no list at all; but I am sure we acted in the highest interests of the country in the conclusion we arrived at. A great number of consummate scoundrels still remain in the country. (Laughter.) Not every ringleader connected with this conspiracy has been laid by the heels and sent out of this country. A good number have been left, but a blow has been struck at this conspiracy by the drastic action, which I think will deter others from venturing along the same lines. Now, with regard to the law. I pointed out we had no power except in one case, and that was Mr. Poutsma. Mr. Poutsma could be deported. We had official information from the Dutch authorities as to his record there. We had this information that he was an undesirable, that he had been in gaol previously over there for violence and incitement to violence, and therefore it was possible for us, acting in terms of the powers we have under the Immigration Act, to deal with this gentleman and to send him out of the country. But with regard to the other gentlemen, I frankly admit we could only assume arbitrary powers under Martial Law for their deportation. We have simply included Poutsma in the list because there was no reason to treat him specially apart from the others.

A curious point is that formerly adequate power did exist for deporting these people. My hon. friend opposite (Mr. P. Duncan)—who has changed so much that he may not recognise his own handiwork— in the good old days in the Transvaal passed a Peace Preservation Ordinance in which he had the following clause inserted: “It shall foe lawful for the Lieutenant-Governor, on it being shown that there are reasonable grounds for believing that any person is dangerous to the peace and good government of the country, to issue an order to leave the country within such time after service of such order as may be stated therein.” From 1903 there was this power taken by a highly enlightened Government which had taken the place of a more despotic Government. (Laughter.) It took this power to deport people who were dangerous to the peace and good government of the country.

When later on we had to pass an Immigration Act in the Transvaal we continued this salutary power. In section 6 of the Act of 1907 the following clause was inserted: “Any person who is deemed by the Minister on reasonable grounds to be dangerous to the peace, order and good government of the country may be arrested and removed from this Colony by warrant under the hand of the Minister.” The only proviso was that the Governor must sign this warrant. This Transvaal Immigration Act remained in force until August 1 last year, when it was placed by the law passed last session.

Unfortunately, the unforeseen always occurs in this country, and this very power which became so necessary for the preservation of peace lapsed on August 1, and a few months after it became necessary for the Government to have this power. All that was left to Government was to take the law into its own hands, and to deal with the situation under Martial Law as though it had this power and to look to Parliament to condone the action it had taken. (Cheers.)

The question may be raised, “Why did you not bring these gentlemen to trial?”(Opposition cheers.) I explained yesterday we had to deal in a case like this with entirely novel developments of the most recent character. Our criminal law does not really fit in with such conditions. (Cheers.) If someone were to ask me as a lawyer what is the crime of these people I would say high treason. They have conspired against society to upset the established order of society, and they have supported that conspiracy with acts of violence such as are unprecedented in this country. The only crime which fits this state of affairs is high treason. But you attempt to indict these people for high treason and see what will be the result. Our law of high treason comes from the middle ages.

I would point in this connection to what happened in two cases in the Johannesburg Courts connected with this very matter. I told hon. members of this march of the mob to Park Station, which resulted in the destruction of that station on July 4. That mob was led by Crawford and Mrs. Fitzgerald. They first collected this mob on the Market Square and there they worked up and incited this mob to fury, and they made speeches for which they were indicted. The matter is reported on page 125 of the Minutes of Evidence given before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry. Evidence was given before the Commission by C. A. Mynott, who said:

They got guns and ammunition. They shot a number of people at Park Station, killing some and wounding others. Mrs. Fitzgerald was indicted for inciting to violence. The case was taken by the Crown to Pretoria, but a lenient Judge thought a Johannesburg jury was good enough for this case and the case was ordered back to Johannesburg, and Mrs. Fitzgerald was acquitted.

According to the evidence given at the Commission, Crawford said to the mob:

The mob supported these two very eminent leaders. Crawford was also indicted for inciting to violence, and under the same circumstances as in the previous case he was also acquitted.

Are we to continue this farce of having men who have conspired against society, of men who have launched a struggle such as this, being treated like Mrs. Fitzgerald and Crawford? No, Sir, I do not think in matters of this kind the question is really one for the ordinary courts. The question in the present case is one rather for the public authority, the Government, to decide whether these people are political undesirables in the country—(loud cheers) —whether from the criminal actions they have committed, and the struggle they have launched they are not really political undesirables.

Take a case that occurred not long ago in British East Africa—that of Mr. Galbraith Cole. One night Cole shot a native whom he found trespassing on his property and stealing sheep. The native was running away, and Cole seemed to have fired and the native was killed. Cole was indicted and got off. After that the present Secretary of State in England issued an order—dated October, 1911—for the deportation of Cole on the ground that his conduct and continuance in the country would be provocative of racial animosity. Here you have the honest fear that racial enmity, might result through a native being shot by a white man, and the Secretary of State issues an order for the deportation of the gentleman concerned on that ground. That was a case far weaker. But here we have a case in which a large number of people were shot and the whole society of South Africa wag convulsed from top to bottom. If there ever was a case where people were politically undesirable and should be deported and violently expelled from the community this is the case. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Cole was violently deported from East Africa, and he is still wandering about the world. Although he had been found not guilty by a jury, this action was taken.

I find that the Prime Minister of England on that was presented with a memorial. It was as follows:

This memorial was presented to Mr. Asquith by Mb. Ramsay Macdonald. (Laughter and cheers.) I find that it was signed by members of the Radical and Labour parties in England. That is an extraordinary state of affairs. Now because the Government have taken action which is no more drastic in a case far more important, we have to be condemned and we are to have the British Constitution thrown at us for having deported these men. No; I think that the Government have acted properly and in the public interest, and that the Government were the best judges of the public interest in a case like this, far better judges than any judge or jury in a court of law could possibly be. (Cheers.) It may be said, “Why didn’t you wait for Parliament, why didn’t you wait till Parliament gave you the necessary authority to deport these men?” That, now, is the suggestion. You could not keep these men in gaol, their comrades are out on £50 bail, as Mr. Bain had been when he conducted negotiations in July with the Prime Minister and myself. You could not keep these people in gaol; they would have been out on bail, and what would have been the result? Parliament would then have been asked in cold blood, long, after these events had taken place, to pass this legislation under which these people were to be deported. Do hon. members think for a moment that Parliament would have passed this legislation? (Voices: “No.”) No, sir; my view is this, and I submit it was the correct view, that it was necessary in the public interest to expel these people, that it should be done while these events were occurring, and, as a matter of public necessity, by the authorities, and not wait until the fires had gone down, until a different state of feeling had arisen, and when it would become possible to take a step like this. In January I felt that the deportation had to take place while the country was still in arms and the revolutionary state of affairs was prevailing or not at all. To suggest that there was another course, that we should wait until Parliament met and passed ex post facto legislation of this kind, was to suggest an improper course and one that certainly would have failed. I do not think I need labour this point very much. I think hon. members will agree with me that the Government were, under the circumstances, the best judges of the whole situation, of the dangers that existed, and of the remedies that they should apply in order to remove those dangers, and the Government took their courage in both hands and did their duty. It has been said, “To-morrow you will be deporting us to-morrow South Africans will be deport ed.” I do not think there is any danger of a case like that arising. It is only the “foreign adventurer ” whom you can deport. (Laughter.) It is impossible to expel citizens born in your own country, and I do not know of a law which would justify an action like that.

The precedent which is established here is this: that where people born elsewhere come to this country and create a state of affairs such as we have seen in this country during the last month or two, then they ought to be declared undesirables, and ought to be dealt with on that basis. (Ministerial cheers.) No action has been taken against law-abiding citizens, but simply against these revolutionaries that were holding the country up, and I think that in this of all countries, the public authority in cases of this kind should be most amply vindicated. This is not a country where we can allow a state of anarchy to prevail. We are a small white colony in a Dark Continent. Whatever divisions creep in among the whites are sure to be reflected in the conduct of the native population, and if ever there was a country where the white people must ever be watchful and careful, and highly organised, and ready to put down with an iron hand all attempts such as were made on the present occasion, that country is South Africa. The Government felt that, and has acted accordingly. So far, we have had the support of the people, and I feel sure that we can with confidence submit our case to Parliament, and that Parliament will support the action which was taken. I beg to move the second reading of this Bill. (Loud cheers, during which the Minister of Defence resumed his seat.)