THE CHRISTIAN AFRIKANERS - The Works of F. N. Lee

Balfour Declaration. The gist of it was that South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and HerMajesty's other possessions across the seas were all given self governing dominion status. That is tosay, from this point on, they were totally responsible solely to their own locally elected and locallylegislating governments -- and no longer in any way responsible to the British government sitting inLondon.However, they still remained Her Majesty's dominions within the British Empire. (This was furtherrefined in 1931. There, by the Statute of Westminster, the British Government formally agreed toaccept the sphere-sovereignty -- over against itself -- of the governments of South Africa, NewZealand, Australia, and Canada etc.).In 1927, there was a huge tussle in South Africa about the flag. There were at least three parties.First, there were those who said that the "Union Jack" of Great Britain should be the only flag ofSouth Africa. However, the climate was then moving away from this -- and toward the re-assertionof a South African nationalism, albeit of a different type than had prevailed up till 1900.Then there was the extreme right wing. They wanted a brand new flag totally different to any thathad ever been used in South Africa previously.There was also another party. It wanted the whole of South Africa to adopt the flag of the old SouthAfrican Republic -- the Transvaal.After a lot of bickering and wrangling, all three parties agreed on a compromise flag -- the onewhich South Africa has to this very day. It is a flag with three horizontal stripes -- bright orange inthe top stripe, then a white stripe under that, and a bottommost stripe of pale blue. That is called the"oranje-blanje-blou." It is the flag that Johan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, erectedon the shores near Cape Town in 1652.However, when you come to the white middle strip of the later South African flag, there are threesmaller flags on that field. There is the Union Jack, representing the old Cape and Natal Provinces.Then, in the middle, there is the flag of the old Orange Free State Republic. Last, on the other sideof this, there is the old flag of the South African Republic.I don't think there is another flag quite like this in all the world. However, it says something for theattempts of the South African people -- standing up for principle -- finally to negotiate a settlementthat would be as acceptable as it possibly could be to all the groups of people.In 1929, South African ambassadors were appointed for the very first time to the United States,Italy and the Netherlands. Previously, there had been no South African ambassadors anywhere inthe world -- ever since the British destruction of the South African Republic and the Orange FreeState Republic in 1902.In 1931, the great depression hit. A tremendous controversy was unleashed about the gold standard.This caused such a political crisis in South Africa, that even the two former arch rivals Smuts (withhis 'South African Party') and Hertzog (with his 'National Party') now entered into coalition withone another to get South Africa moving again financially.The Song of the Flag