PKi:SIDl£M-lAL ADDRESS SKCTIOX K. 93 



I put this first as it affects practically the whole race. L'ro- 

 bably the earliest impression of the white man and his ways is 

 g'aiaed from the trader who establishes himself in the neighbour- 

 hood of the kraal. In many cases these traders are men of good 

 reputati(;n, and set an examj>le of ]>robity and integrity which 

 cannot be gainsaid. In a very large miml)er of cases, however, 

 the reverse is true. Far removed from the restraining influences 

 of public opinion, and living in a strange, moral atmosphere, the 

 downfall of the man's character is sure and ra])id. The curious 

 machin.ations of the Natives' minds while engaged in barter, 

 their unjust sus])icions of the trader when he is trving to deal 

 fairly with them, the ease with which they are deceived, their 

 false ideas of value, their want of logic in some things and their 

 unfailing log'ic in others, are bewildering at first, but in the 

 end the trader jjrofits by his superior intelligence, and wins a 

 fortune from his trade by means which, viewed in the light of 

 strict morality, are at least questionable. As a race we are 

 jiroud of our traditions of morality. We are jealous of the 

 purity of our stock. The maintenance of close relations with c^ne 

 of dark-skinned race spells social ostracism ; and no taunt stings 

 more (lee]>ly than the accusation of there being " a touch of the 

 tar-brush " in a man's nature. But. far removed from the eyes 

 of their fellows, and surrounded by unaccustomed temptations, 

 sooner or later most of these men fail in their obligations to their 

 race, and instead of preserving that attitude oif aloofness which 

 exalts them in the eyes of their fellow-men, white and black, 

 they sink to the level of the savages among whom they dwell. 

 The whole problem of the imdevelo]>ed races is most seriously 

 aft'ected by the bastard race which is growing up in South Africa 

 to-day as the result of the practice of concubinage by traders 

 and others in isolated regions. The cumidative effect of the 

 example of these scions of civilization is to lower the standard 

 at which the Bantu aims. The Native does not respect the 

 white man any the less, but the standard at which he aims is 

 lower, and this is bad for him on tlie principle that 



" He who aims the sky shoots further far 

 Than he who means a tree.'' 



The consequence is that when he migrates to the towns in 

 search of employment, experience and wealth, his awakening is 

 often a very rude one. He finds he is not able to imitate the 

 white man who used to be his model at home. Any attempt at 

 familiar intercourse with a white woman may even endanger 

 his life. He soon discovers this, however, for he is an adapt- 

 able creature, and moulds himself to the ways of his employer, 

 but all the while he obserxes the habits of those around him, 

 and his education for good or for ill progresses. If he is en- 

 gaged on the mines, he probably learns to gamble and to drink. 

 Perhaps, in his ignorance, he may be convicted of a breach of 

 the strange Pass Laws, and finds himself in prison in company 

 with others more evil than himself, who teach him to regard 



