98 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION E. 



Elizabfth become verily a new experience to the Native. Then 

 lie iimst obtain clothing for himself, his wife or wives, and his 

 childnn. The latter dare not go to school unless they are properly 

 clothed. And thus he learns, without the aid of Carlyle, that 

 clothing ha« much to do with modern civihsation. To him, alas 

 to® often, Christianity itself becomes inseparably connected with 

 trousers. 



Again, clothing means money. And so the eternal round runs 

 on. Every new want can only be supplied by toil and labour. 

 And toil and laboui-, for others, means a new outlook for the 

 labourer upon life. 



All that we have just stated is in the way of being a parable 

 illustrating the effect of new conditions upon the habits of thought 

 and life of the Native people. We have chosen the simpler ele- 

 ments of change to exemphfy what we wish to convey. We can 

 readily enlarge our parable. Changed food, altered conditions of 

 life, new thoughts, wider aspirations (especially for the children), 

 individual possession rather than tribal and communal tenure, 

 travel, and all that travel brings, newspapers, congresses, 

 councils, new customs, and modern habits, all conspire to make 

 of the old-fashioned native a new man. It is new lamps instead 

 of the old in very deed. 



And thus there is swiftly gix>wing up in our naidst a new 

 Kafir race. I make bold to say that even in physical features 

 a great change is coming over the Native who is conforming more 

 and yet more to modem ways of civilization. Education is reform- 

 ing the features -of the children to a wonderful degree. And in 

 this direction it is interesting to state that the shape of head of 

 many of the outstanding Native leaders is quite different from 

 that of the ordinai'y kraal Native. There will naturally arise the 

 objection in the mind of not a few that the head of a Merriman 

 or a Smuts is even further removed from that of an average tram- 

 way conductor. This is true, but we insist that in the case of 

 most Natives education is producing, as we would naturally 

 expect it to do, a distinctive type of face and head. 



The writer speaks here from personal knowledge, having in 

 his own time taught three generations of pupils. And he can 

 aver with very definite certainty that in the case of many Native 

 families the softening, spiritualizing touch that the finer forces 

 of civilization bring to bear upon a race is very apparent. It 

 could not be otherwise, surely, in a people so emotional and so 

 impressionable as the Native people are. 



There are other changes going on of even greater moment to 

 the Native as a people. The steady unstoppable breaking down 

 of the tribal system all over the land, the passing of many of their 

 old customs and ways, the growing desire for individual posses- 

 sion, all mark political and social change of grave moment and 

 importance. There is, no doubt, among the older men, and 

 notably among the chiefs themselves and their immediate follow- 

 ing, a well defined desire to go back to their ancient modes of 

 government and their age-long habits of life, but this is only a 

 natural struggle, and a hopeless one, on tlie part of the old against 

 the imminence and aggressiveness of the new. 



