Documents: Africans Acting Alone

DOCUMENT 48d. Report on proceedings and resolutions of the Annual Conference of the African National Congress, January 4-5, 1926 [Extracts] (Published in The Friend)

When business was resumed on Saturday morning there was some difficulty about the language that should be used by delegates. Mr. J. T. Gumede, the President of the Natal Congress, who had just arrived, chided delegates on using the language of "our conquerors," and stirringly appealed that delegates should use their own language. "We have been con­quered," he said, "but I do not admit that we are slaves yet."

Voices: We are worse than slaves.

Mr. Gumede said their compatriots in America had been carried away as slaves, and to-day could speak nothing but the language of their conquerors. They here could still speak their own language, and should use it.

The Chairman said delegates could express themselves better in their own languages, and so he ruled that delegates could use any language.

Mr. Clements Kadalie declared that inter­preted speeches were often misunderstood. The result was that delegates might be innocently made to deliver seditious speeches. He moved that the President of the Convention should speak in one of the official languages of the Union. This was agreed to.

The Rev. Z. R. Mahabane, the President, then introduced the discussion on General Hertzog's segregation proposals. The South Africa Act, he said, laid down a colour bar. The time had come when they should declare whether they were satisfied with that. They should now agitate more than ever before. By the White races they were regarded as children, who should be seen but not heard. Were they satisfied with that? He had never yet heard why a "child" should be taxed. No child could be taxed. The law said only adult males should be taxed. It was a basic principle of British justice that there should be no taxa­tion without representation. It was on that ground that the American colonies broke away from England. If the Natives must be regarded as children, then they should not be taxed, but clothed, fed and educated as children.

Tribute To Prime Minister's Courage

The Rev. Mr. Pitso, of Winburg, then moved that the Congress place on record its sincere and hearty appreciation of the Prime Minister's courage in tackling the vexed question known as the Native problem in a practical and sympathetic way, showing thereby that there were still statesmen in South Africa who recognised the fact that there is no such thing as a Black or White Africa, and that the so-called Native problem cannot be solved by any one section of the people alone.

Mr. C. S. Mabaso, the vice-president was puzzled to know why such a motion had been submitted. They should discuss segregation, he said.

The Chairman (Mr. T. M. Mapikela) ruled the vice-president out of order,

The Rev. Z. R. Mahabane seconded the motion of the Rev. Mr. Pitso. It did not commit them to the Prime Minister's pro­posals. It merely thanked the Prime Minister for placing his policy before the people. Statesmen before him would not declare their Native policy for fear of losing votes. They followed a policy of drift. But General Hertzog had had the courage to show what was the mind of the White man. The Prime Minister's policy was "a snake that has come out of the grass." They could thank the Prime Minister for bringing the snake into the open. By the motion they would approach the Prime Minister in a tactful manner.

Mr. Kadalie moved the rejection of the motion. The late General Botha and General Smuts, he declared, had been spoiled by compromise. They knew that General Hertzog wanted to take away the Native franchise altogether. It was no use beating about the bush.

Weakness, Greed And Robbery

"We have to tell the Prime Minister and the White people emphatically that we cannot and will not accept the proposals of the Prime Minister. You can pass such a resolution at the Government Conference at Pretoria, but you will not pass it at the African National Convention." (Thunderous applause.) His amendment, said Mr. Kadalie, did not issue from London or India, but from the seven millions of Natives in the Union, whom the Prime Minister wanted to place in a position of inferiority in the land of their birth. They spoke of a Native problem. This is no Native problem, but a European problem of weakness,   greed   and  robbery.  (Loud applause.) It did not behove them to congratulate the enemy of their womenfolk and wives and children. "This is a White problem of robbing the aboriginal races of South Africa of their inheritance, and we cannot congratulate the enemy of our race, our wives and children - " (the rest of the sentence was drowned in applause).

The Chairman pulled Mr. Kadalie up, saying he had spoken quite enough already.

Mr. L. T. Mvabaza (Johannesburg), in a strong speech, seconded the amendment to reject the Rev. Mr. Pitso's motion. General Hertzog's proposals, he stated, showed that they could trust the White man no longer. Black and White were to-day facing each other on the edge of a dangerous precipice. Either one or the other had to fall down it. General Hertzog had said the Native was a danger to the White man. The White man claimed to be the father, the guardian of the Native as a child. He had never yet heard that a child was a danger to his parent.

At this stage feeling was running very high, and the Chairman intimated that the Rev. Mr. Pitso had asked leave to withdraw bis motion. A large section protested against its with­drawal, claiming that they had rejected it. In the end the Chairman announced that the motion had been withdrawn, but Kadalie and his supporters contended that it had been rejected.

"Cannot Accept Defeat Like Men."

Mr. Pitso: I did not want to divide the house.

There was a good deal of confusion and several delegates wished to know where they were. "The whole trouble," shouted Kadalie, "is that some people cannot accept defeat like men."
After considering the position for a while, the Chairman adjourned the "house" for 10 minutes to allow delegates to "cool down."

When the Convention was resumed, the Chairman announced that segregation was now before them. The President said before the matter was referred to a committee to draft a concrete resolution, he would like to hear what the sense of the meeting was.

Mr. Mvabaza said the Smithfield pro­nouncement should not be dealt with piece­meal but taken in its entirety.

The President said they had seven notices of motion relating to segregation.
Mr. Kadalie said they should not rush to a Select Committee, but first discuss segregation in its broad aspects in relation to the different motions before them.

Mr. Mvabaza said General Hertzog's segre­gation policy had been before them since 1913. The principle of segregation was, were they going to allow Mr. Whiteman to "divide our nose." In 1923 they had already declared they did not want segregation. If now they allowed General Hertzog to segregate them, then he would later on say they had agreed to the abolition of the Cape Native vote and the alienation of their land. They were told they were children, but at the same time they were asked to sacrifice the heritage of their posterity.

Mr. Kadalie moved that segregation be discussed in open session.

The Rev. Mr. Pitso moved that the ques­tion of segregation be referred to a Select Committee.
Mr. Kadalie's motion was carried by an overwhelming majority.

The Rev. Mr. Pitso immediately moved again that, having heard the proposals of General Hertzog, the Prime Minister, for solving the so-called Native problems read out, the Convention do now go into committee to deliberate in camera on the proposals. He took this course, he said, because the Conven­tion was without effective leadership. Before they submitted their views to the Government they should be united and speak with one voice, if that was not done, the Government might get contradictory opinions placed before them. Their enemies were taking advantage of their disunion.

"The Europeans Are Rascals."

Mr. Kadalie seconded the motion. "We Natives," he said, "have always given the game away." They were playing into the hands of their enemies. "We are dealing with rascals - the Europeans are rascals."
The Chairman asked Kadalie to withdraw this "unparliamentary expression."

Mr. Kadalie said the Europeans were very clever, and in dealing with clever people they should use high tactics. It was most desirable to exclude the Press from their deliberations, and so he supported the motion.

The motion was agreed to, and the Press was accordingly excluded from the further sessions of the Convention.

Having considered the Prime Minister's Native policy, as declared at Smithfield on November 13, 1925, the African National Congress, in special convention, resolves to re-affirm its decisions embodied in the Bill of Rights adopted at the 1923 Convention . . . [Paragraphs (1) through (5) of Document 48b, but substituting "African" for "Bantu."]

Adequate Direct Representation

(6) "Congress, therefore, seriously urges members of the great European race of the Union to take the whole question into their consideration, and calls upon Parliament to take steps in the direction of so amending the South Africa Act of 1909 as to make pro­vision for adequate representation of the Non-European races domiciled within the borders of the Union of South Africa in the Parliament of the Union and in the Provincial Councils thereof.

(7) "Further, in the event of the Union Government insisting upon the disenfranchisement of the Cape African voters, as indicated in the Prime Minister's speech at Smithfield, this special Convention of the African National Congress, held this day, January 2, 1926, at Bloemfontein, resolves to take steps in the direction of meeting the challenge thus thrown out.

(8) "That whereas this Convention is convinced that the grant and exercise of the Cape Native vote is a heritage of vital impor­tance to the Africans, which has not at any time been abused or misused, but on the contrary has ameliorated Native African con­ditions and instilled confidence in the tradi­tional justice and fairplay of civilised Christian Governments, Congress therefore resolves that the Cape franchise be allowed to continue as it has obtained since its grant in 1853, and urges for its further extension to the Northern Provinces of the Union.

Political And Industrial Segregation

(9) "In view of the fact that the supreme need of the country, as well as the world at large, is peace, good-will, harmony and co­operation among the racial groups composing the population of the land; and whereas any policy of discrimination, non-co-operation, as well as political and industrial segregation on racial or colour line, is, in the considered opinion of this Convention, calculated to produce undesirable results--such as race antagonism; and whereas the solution of the problem of the adjustment of the relations between White, Black and Coloured in South Africa is as urgent as it is insistent, this Convention is convinced that a solution that is likely to be acceptable to all parties concerned would be found if a round table conference of an equal number of the representatives of the Union Government and the African National Congress, as well as other non-European organisations, could be called together at as early a date as possible.

Propaganda Work

(10) "In order to carry out the objects of the foregoing resolutions, Congress further resolves that strenuous propaganda be insti­tuted henceforth.

(11) "In this connection, Congress resolves that it is imperative to centralise the financial resources of the African National Congress without any further delay.

(12) "The Convention desires to bring to the notice of the Government, as well as to members of the farming community, the hardships from which the Native African people, living as squatters on European-owned farms, are suffering as a result of the opera­tion of the Native Land Act of 1913, the Convention strongly urges the Government to consider the amendment of the Act so as to restore the status quo ante the passing of the Act of 1913.

(13) "The African National Congress strongly deprecates the attitude of the Gov­ernment with regard to the alienation of certain portions of Native reserves and loca­tions in Natal and the Transvaal by the Native Lands (Natal and Transvaal) Release Act of 1925; therefore, the Congress reaffirms the resolution it passed in 1923, authorising the fighting of the land question before the Courts of the land."
A Deputation Elected.

At the afternoon session yesterday the Convention resolved that a deputation be appointed to proceed to Capetown, whose duty it shall be to watch the proceedings of the forth-coming session of Parliament when the segregation proposals of the Government are laid on the table of the House, to note down any happenings affecting our people, get into touch with Parliamentary opinion and generally to watch over our interests and to report to the next Convention.

The following were appointed to serve on the deputation: The President-General (the Rev. Z. R. Mahabane), the general secretary (Mr. T. D. Mweli Skota), Mr. J. T. Gumede (President National Congress), Mr. C. Doyle Modiagotia (Free State), Mr. M. Mphahlele (Transvaal), Prof. J. S. Thaele (Capetown), Mr. J. Dlwata (Capetown) and Mr. J. M. Dunjwa (Johannesburg).

In regard to the council system, the following resolution was passed: "That the African National Congress, assembled in convention, strongly disapproves of the council system, as it is a bar to direct representation in Parliament."

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