South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I: Comprising a History of South Africa and its people, including the war of 1899 and 1900Halstead, Murat
History
South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I: Comprising a History of South Africa and its people, including the war of 1899 and 1900
Halstead, Murat
South African War, 1899-1902
And so these revelations of patriotic feeling and Imperial unity have
gone on in increasing volume from day to day. To theorists like
Goldwin Smith, political economists like Mr. James Bryce, or
philosophical politicians such as Mr. John Morley, such demonstrations
of loyalty are incomprehensible. To the man who really understands the
history of the Empire and the evolution of its system, who reaches down
into the hearts of the people and comprehends the undercurrents of
sentiment, it is not so difficult to grasp the reasons. Speaking of
Australasia more particularly, Dr. W. H. Fitchett, the well-known
editor of the _Australasian Review of Reviews_, recently summed up a
part of the situation very concisely: "Why," he said, "have the
Colonies stood by the side of England? For Jingoism? Don't you
believe the men who tell you that. Our people are too hard-headed and
too businesslike to be carried away by mere Jingoism. They come
because they know that the Transvaal question is a Colonial question, a
question that intimately concerns all of them. To-day these little
settlements of white men, planted down on the coastline of great
continents, are able to remain secure, notwithstanding the earth-hunger
of every great Power, because the might of the Empire is behind them."
This, in part, is the reason. But there is more at the back of it than
the mere principle of self-interest. A liberty common to all the
Colonies has been threatened, a new-grown pride in the Empire was
struck at, a feeling of manly aversion to further dependence was
touched, an inherent but sometimes dormant love for the Mother Land was
aroused.
[Sidenote: Other Colonies Eager to Assist]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account