PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — SECTION E. 155 



of the Native Laws and Customs, the blastincr of the power of 

 witchcraft, the changing of their very psychology, and. indeed, 

 the whole process involved in the passing from communism to 

 individualism. 



It is too late to entertain questionings as to the wisdom 

 or unwisdom of these profound changes, the importance of which 

 cannot be over-estimated, for the breach in these bulwarks of 

 native national life are by now irrei)arable ; and, in any case, 

 there is no possibility of drawing back, since we are finally 

 committed to them by processes which cannot be reversed. 



In the ultimate analysis it is simply a question between 

 Truth and Ignorance ; whether civilised nations dare permit 

 a continuance of the organisation of the national life of subject 

 peoples based upon ignorance and superstition, or whether it 

 is not a moral duty to insist upon reorganisation on the basis 

 of truth and justice, trusting to truth to vindicate itself in time. 



Already, then, it is possible to note several main lines of 

 modern developments emerging out of the ancient and primitive 

 tribalism, each fundamental in character and deserving careful 

 attention in any serious study oif the process of transition 

 Among these we would specially note : — 



(i) The passing oif communal tenure. 



(2) The establishment of sound administration. 



(3) The experiment in self-government. 



(4) The beginnings of taxation. 



(5) The growth of wealth. 



Viewing these, either singh' or together, one realises how 

 far the movement towards individualism has actually gone, and, 

 still more, what profound changes in Transkeian conditions are 

 pending, since upon these hang many matters of first importance, 

 such as, inter alia, the development of agriculture, commerce, 

 improved communications, security of tenure, and the growth of 

 wealth, all of which make such a great contribution to the content- 

 ment of peoples, and a really successful Administration. And what 

 is so strikingly manifested in the economic realm does not by 

 any means stand by itself and alone, for in the other departments 

 of national life the change is every bit as real, the advancement 

 proceeding collaterally. Indeed, of all the native areas within 

 the Union of South Africa, the Transkeian Territories are 

 admittedly the most advanced and the best governed, and, 

 strangely enough, this success must be attributed largely to the 

 poli<'\- «^f laissc,': fairc. 



The Glen Grey Act, passed in 1894 by the Ca])e Parliament, 

 was extended bv Proclamation to the Transkei, and. shortly 

 after, the Anglo-Boer War so fully occupied the attention of 

 the Government that there was apparently neither time nor 

 disposition to interfere with Native affairs. Thereafter followed 

 a period of great depression in South Africa, and as things 

 •slowly improved, the question of a possible Union between the 



