IsiXhosa Intellectual Traditions (IsiXIT) Digital Archive

the Christian Express of this month appears an interesting article written by the Rev. W. J. B. Moir, one of the teachers in the Lovedale Institution. The paper was read as an opening address before the local society, and has now been given to the public. Mr. Moir's paper is chiefly concerned with what he describes ' leaders ' of the Native masses who 'are young men' and this fact throws him into a mood of grave and deep reflection on the probable results of the phenomenal movement started by these young men. He sees some good in it, however, as he believes in the principal that ' nothing is more fatal to progress than apathy,' but fears that the leaders may not be unselfish, that they may be unpractical, that personal motives may take the place of patriotic ones, that the young men may move too fast for the masses, and that the pro- gramme may be too large. 'Are,' Mr. Moir asks, ' our young men's aims merely political, pointing towards place and influence for the educated few, and leaving to the uneducated many only the pleasure of seeing other men's glory ? ' The true improvement of the Natives, observes the reverend gentleman, does not lie in this direction, it lies in the direction of ' bending all their energies, and devoting their lives to the christianizing of their heathen country, men, and the education and edifying of their already Christian countrymen The first need of the Kafir people is not a vote, nor a few matriculation passes, but the Gospel of Christ.' While we firmly believe that all the native young men may be practical teachers and preachers in whatever sphere, we doubt the possibility of producing Mr. Moir's ideal educated native. Before putting our pen down, we may say we have no knowledge of the existence of the young men who pass as leaders of the natives, though we have heard much about them of late, nor are we aware of any breach, real or apparent, such as was hinted at in the course of the paper between the Missionaries and the educated natives. As far as we can see the phenomenon of ' leaders,' and the breach is either in the nebulous state, or is purely imaginary. IN a remarkable speech delivered at Edinburgh on the 3rd February, the right Hon. G. J. Goschen, M.P., first Lord of the Admiralty in the former Ministry of Mr. Gladstone, referred, in the following terms, to the flag of England, and the native races of this and of other countries may well lay Mr. Goschen's words to heart: ' It would be a woeful day for justice for liberty, for the equal treatment of subject populations if the flag of this country (England) should be lowered, and if we should lose our influence in the whole body of the public opinion of Europe. Our flag is not, indeed, a flag under which only military glory is to be won. We must re¬member when the flag of this Empire is flaunted in different countries we know that it means constitutional liberty; we know that among all the great nations of Europe our flag means disinterested and moral in-ternational conduct; we know that it is the only flag to which subject races can look with evident expectation and hope; it is the only flag on which are blazoned, in letters of glory and light—'Justice and mercy to black and white.' LAST week we were only able to give in Kafir a report of the celebrated Cricket Match between the Alberts (representing the leading European Club in this town) and the Native Champions. The Cape Mercury of last Tuesday had a long, exhaustive, and impartial report of the match which, we are proud to say, resulted in a clear victory for the players of colour. The bowling of Gawler and Ngcumbe was simply brilliant, as was the general tone of the fielding of the Champions. We are not justified in saying this much for their batting, though Tshatshu and Gawler made their 21 and 1? Respectively from the balls of those eminent local cricketers Schermbrucker and Leary. The Natives gained the victory in the face of disadvantages. It was against the rules of cricket to allow players from clubs other than the Albert to bowl, nor was it fair to the Natives to change one of the Umpires without consulting the Champions. Inasmuch as the victory was on our side in spite or because of these disadvantages we may not give the complaints the prominence that otherwise we would. In other respects the treatment the Natives got from their opponents was satisfactory. Such friendly rivalry is more calculated to make the Europeans and Natives have more mutual trust and confidence than all the coercive and repressive legislation in the world. THE following are the sensible observations of the Cape Mercury on the match. We trust our countrymen will read them carefully :—'To all who are taking an intelligent interest in the progress of the country, the match on the Cricket Ground on Saturday between a native eleven and one of Europeans, was of service. It reminded us of the old song:—And men learn't wisdom from the past, In friendship joined their hands; Hung the sword in the hall; the spear on the wall, And ploughed the willing lands. If the last line be thought inappropriate, we may remind the reader that those who play together will not object to work together, and the manly fellows who donned the flannels last week will have a heartier feeling of respect for their dusky conquerors than they had before, if the Englishman is what his traditions teach him to be. We are glad that the natives won, because it is an encouragement to them to pit their energy, strength, and skill in social life against all competitors, and the qualities which lead to success in one direction are precisely what will win in another.