2110-3-7-23

Government House, Cape Town.

19th. April, 1920.

My dear Colonel Buchan, I received your book on the South Africans in France a few weeks ago, as well as your covering letter.

I am very much indebted to you for sending it to me, and I delayed acknowledging it until I had had an opportunity of reading it; I have been rather specially pressed of late.

I have read it with extreme interest. If I may say so, the descriptions of the various battles can be clearly understood, even by a person like myself who has no expert knowledge. This is really a high compliment as I find it very difficult as a rule to understand detailed accounts of battles.

I need hardly say that being so intimately connected with South Africa during the whole period of the War, I have read your account of the doings of the South Africans with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction.

There are some things in your book which I shall take an opportunity of quoting in speeches.

It is a real gratification to South Africans themselves, and to anyone interested in South Africa, to know that those who went Overseas should in every way have come out so well. Apart from their courage and resource when in action, and their good morale between-whiles, I have seen and received many private accounts from people in England describing them as "good fellows", who behaved like gentlemen and made themselves popular. Again with thanks for sending me your book.

The position here is a very interesting one, but of course it is a most unstable equilibrium. The Ministerialists, if one can reckon the S.A.P. & Unionists together, have a majority of one, which may disappear when the Bloemfontein South Petition or Election takes place.

On the other hand the Labour people, partly because they have more sympathy with the S.A.P. than with the Unionists, and partly because of the Government programme of social reform, and partly because they were complimented at being asked to join the Government, are at present friendly to the Government. They will certainly not allow themselves to be used as a cat's-paw by the Nationalists; and, in present circumstances, would rather prefer to assist to keep the government in than to turn them out.

At the same time the changes and chances of the political position, when the House is sitting, are so constant and varying, that no one can foresee what may happen before the end of the session. If Smuts can get through the session matters ought to settle down a bit after that.

My job here, as you who know the Country can understand, has been enormously interesting; of course very much more interesting because of the War and the manifold developments and differences of opinion that the War raised here. I shall be very sorry to leave this fascinating Country, but I am getting fairly well exhausted.

Yours very sincerely,

[Earl] Buxton