What I Think of South Africa; Its People and Its Politics (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III WHAT I THINK OF MR. CECIL RHODES It has been said of Mr. Rhodes that he, alone of present-day politicians, thinks in continents. This is very true. Some idea of it is gathered from his public utterances, but personal acquaintance with him brings it the more directly home to one. Compared with the Premier of Cape Colony,1 other Colonial statesmen are very local, and some of them exceedingly parochial. Much the same can be said of many who aim at statesmanship in this country. The greatness of Mr. Rhodes' ideas, whilst it disturbs the slow-going order of mankind 1 This chapter was in type long before the events which caused Mr. Rhodes to resign the Premiership of Cape Colony. These events have in no way affected the estimate I had formed of the man; what I had written remains word for word as originally set up. I am not one of those who think that Mr. Rhodes' political career is at an end; on the contrary, I am inclined to believe with him that it is but beginning. Mr. Cecil Rhodes At Home. and excites the anger of the " Little Englander," has a fascination for the majority of the British race. It has certainly fascinated me from the first, and a personal knowledge of the man has but added to that fascination. To know the real greatness of Mr. Rhodes' ideas, the full extent of their practicability, and the actual greatness of the man himself, one must hear his story from his own lips. I have sat at his feet, or more correctly speaking by his side, and listened, and profited. It goes without saying that in this chapter I shall make a goodly number of enemies, for with the " Little Cape Colonist," who has much in common with the " Little Englander " and the Boer of the professional politician type, to be an admirer of Mr. Rhodes and his policy is to becom...