SAIIA SOUTH AFRICAN DIPLOMATS ABROAD.pdf

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South Africa has an independent place, After the passing of
the Statute of Westminster the preamble would have been
differently phrased in this respect.
As a foundation member of the League of Nations South
Africa found itself involved in sittings and committee meetings
at Geneva and, in order to participate, it was necessary to
set up some kind of external affairs organisation. The Union
also became a Mandatory Power in respect of the territory of
South-West Africa.
s ^ / " e ' c ^ Much criticism was aroused in the Union when the provisional
Treaty of .Sevres, ending the state of war with T.urkey,
which had heen signed by the Union, was replaced by the Treaty
' °f Lausanne, because the Union-did. not participate in the
negotiations or sign the second document. It was quickly
realised that a faux-pas had been made and the Dominions
were asked to sign thejtreatyretrospcctiyely. General J. B. M.
Hertzog, always~a "protagonist of higher status for the Union,
was not satisfied and demanded something more definite to
prevent a recurrence. Another grievance was that the country's
« relations with London were still under the Colonial Office.
Britain realised that this state of affairs must be changed
( in 1925, set up a separate Dominions Office. Meanwhile
General Hertzog had become Prime Minister and was able to
give effecjtto his views on international affairs. He attended the
Imperial Conference of 1926 and there secured the famous
declaration by theJBalfour Committee that the Dominions:
*" are/autonomous communities within the British Empire,
equal in'status, in no way'subordinate one to another in any
aspect of Their^-domestic or external affairs, though united by
a*common_ allegiance to the Crown, andTreeJ!y associated as
members of the British Commonwealth of Nations",
Various other diplomatic developments had helped to
bring matters to a head. The earlier concept of the "unity of
a group" had, in the view of General Hertzog, proved a failure.
"The most convincing proof of this," he declared, "we
find in the Locarno Treaty, recently concluded. This treaty
was entered into" by the British Government in direct conflict
with the principle on which the group idea is based so that
it was found necessary to exclude the Dominions from any
responsibility arising from it, and also to give each Dominion
separately the choice.of accepting or refusing the Treaty . . . ."
Mr. L. S. Amery, as first Secretary, for Dominion Affairs,
after recognising Dominions claims to general recognition
of their status in foreign affairs and representation wrote:
"Naturally the fact that the people of the British Commonwealth
have developed by evolution has penetrated less strongly
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