The covenant - James A. Michener [493]
'I have been accused of putting the interests of South Africa ahead of those of the empire, and to this accusation I most gladly plead guilty. I will always place the interests of my country first, for unless we are strong, and good and able to govern ourselves, we shall be no use to the empire or anyone else. [At this Krause and many others applauded.]
'Finally, I have been asked by many in authority to dissociate myself from the striking statement made some months ago by a great hero of our country, General Paulus de Groot of the Venloo Commando.
He said, while standing on a pile of manure at his farm, "I would rather be here on this dunghill with my people than in the palaces of empire." I say the same. This is my country, such as it is. This is the country of those who love South Africa. [Here Krause led wild cheering.] First, foremost and always.'
Detlev had never before heard such a speech, so rational, so carefully organized, and with such a constant appeal to the crowd's emotions. 'He must be the finest mind in South Africa,' he whispered to Piet Krause when the cheering stopped.
'He is. He will lead us to freedom.'
'What does he think about the Act of Union?'
'What I think. That it should be used intelligently as a weapon to attain our freedom.'
'Does he agree with you about the Kaffirs?'
'Absolutely. South Africa must always be a place of white supremacy.' Detlev had not heard this phrase before. 'We shall assume fatherly responsibility for the Kaffirs, who will never be able to govern themselves. But we must rule them, for they are children and we must tell them what to do.'
In these days, when Piet Krause was promoting such ideas, no one noticed that Micah Nxumalo was sometimes away from Vrymeer for the better part of a week. His wives were so capable that they kept things moving forward in his absence, assuring Jakob that their husband was over at General de Groot's, and telling the latter that he was working the far fields.
He would actually be on his way to Waterval-Boven to catch a train to Johannesburg, where he ducked down alleys to a ramshackle building. For these trips he wore an old dark suit which Van Doorn had given him, shoes, a white shirt with high collar, a four-in-hand tie and a stiff felt hat made in England. He was in his forties, and except for his good clothes, in no way conspicuous. Of medium height and weight, he looked like any of the blacks who worked in Johannesburg offices.
The dozen blacks who met with him in secret one night in 1912 looked the same. 'This is Reverend John Dube,' a man explained, introducing him to the persuasive chairman of the African National Congress.
'This is Solomon Plaatje. He served with the English forces during the siege of Mafeking.' Nxumalo nodded toward the famous newspaperman and said, 'I served with the Boers at Ladysmith.' Whereupon Plaatje, a small, nervous man, laughed. 'Two rather ugly affairs.'
Of the other ten, all men as prominent in black circles as Dube and Plaatje, Micah noticed that each spoke English with beautiful ease and pronunciation. Plaatje, of course, had worked for the London Times, so that his mastery was not remarkable, but it was curious that some of the others had acquired such fluency. Nxumalo had only the most meager vocabulary and felt himself at a disadvantage, but not when the discussions started, for by listening to General de Groot and especially young Piet Krause, he had acquired a solid comprehension of what the new laws signified.
Plaatje was speaking: 'We are in the position Thomas Jefferson was in in 1774, prior to the revolution. By that I mean, we must utilize all the legal processes open to us to protect our position and to gain such