108 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — SECTION E. 



have described, the spiritual stimulus, the initial drive, and the^ 

 solid successes have been provided by voluntary associations. The- 

 State has not been the pioneer of Social Reform. Such a notion 

 is the mirage of politicians. It has merely registered the insistent 

 demands of voluntary effort or given legal recognition to accom- 

 plished facts. This is the distinctive note of English social de- 

 velopment in the nineteenth century." (Fay, "Life and Labour 

 in the Nineteenth Century.") The Natives will undoubtedly form 

 their unions. Left alone they will probably act foolishly and 

 wantonly. Is it not the part of wisdom to organise humanitarian 

 groups of Europeans to guide them in the same way that the 

 various philanthropic organisations in England, such as the Anti- 

 Slavery Society, the Adult School Society, and similar groups 

 assisted the working man ? 



In church matters we are in the midst of a strong movement 

 towards separation. In the past there have been occasional seces- 

 sions of Natives from European congregations, but the movement 

 has spread considerably in recent years. The Native Affairs Depart- 

 ment knows of 106 religious denominations under Native control, 

 ranging from a flock of half a dozen with one pastor to a large- 

 organisation like the African Methodist Episcopal Church with a 

 Negro bishop and nearly seventy congregations. The unfamiliarity 

 of the names, "Natural Church of Ethiopia," "Christian Catholic 

 Apostolic Church in Zion," "Pentecostal Holiness," "King of 

 Salem" must not disguise from us the reality of their existence. 

 The paper already quoted says: "We find that there are at least. 

 one thousand Natives within the municipal boundaries of Johan- 

 nesburg who call themselves ministers, but who are unattached to 

 any recognised church, and who live on the offerings of their respec- 

 tive flocks. Many of these self -ordained ministers are known to 

 lead immoral lives, disgracing the cloth they wear and bringing 

 Christianity into disrepute. They constitute a formidable hind- 

 rance to Native progress and the Native nation suffers obloquy 

 because of them." This development of Ethiopianism deserves the- 

 sympathetic watchfulness of Europeans interested in Natives, for 

 it is so easy for such religious bodies to become associated with 

 political movements. 



Of Native social clubs there is no end. Many have but short 

 existences inasmuch as the correct management of the Society's 

 funds appears to be beyond the capabilities of most of the Native 

 treasurers. These clubs, too, find it almost impossible to refrain 

 from politics, which has become the chief interest of educated 

 Natives. 



In the urban areas the conditions under which the Natives' 

 lived were very bad. In only two of the larger cities, Bloemfon- 

 tein and Durban, had any adequate measures been taken to deal 

 with the situation. In most towns the Natives had been placed 

 in locations or allowed to squat upon the town lands, where they 

 have built themselves shacks of wattle and daub, stones, and 

 paraffin tins, which are not only an eyesore but are positive dangers 

 to the morality and health of Europeans and Natives alike. In- 



