What I do think it is of value to point out is the calmness which he contrived always to preserve under circumstances which must have been particularly trying for him.  Another outstanding characteristic was the quiet dignity with which he withstood unjustifiable attacks when dealing with not-to-be-foreseen difficulties which arose while carrying on his gigantic task.  Very few would have had the courage to remain silent and undaunted whilst condemned or judged for things he had been unable to alter or to banish.  And yet this was precisely the attitude to which Sir Alfred Milner faithfully adhered.  It stands out among the many proofs which the present Viscount Milner has given of his strong character as one of its most characteristic features, for it affords a brilliant illustration of what will, mastered by reason, can do.

Since those perilous days I have heard many differing criticisms of Lord Milner’s administration as High Commissioner in South Africa.  What those who express opinions without understanding that which lies under the surface of history fail to take into account is the peculiar, almost invidious position and the loneliness in which Sir Alfred had to stand from the very first day that he landed in Table Bay.  He could not make friends, dared not ask anyone’s advice, was forced always to rely entirely upon his own judgment.  He would not have been human had he not sometimes felt misgivings as to the wisdom of what he was doing.  He never had the help of a Ministry upon whom he could rely or with whom he could sympathise.  The Cabinet presided over by Sir Gordon Sprigg was composed of very well-intentioned men.  But, with perhaps one single exception, it did not possess any strongly individualistic personage capable of assisting Sir Alfred in framing a policy acceptable to all shades of public opinion in the Colony, or even to discuss with him whether such a policy could have been invented.  As for the administration of which Mr. Schreiner was the head, it was distinctly hostile to the policy inaugurated by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, which Sir Alfred represented.  Its members, indeed, put every obstacle in the Governor’s way, and this fact becoming known encouraged a certain spirit of rebellion among the Dutch section of the population.  Neither one Ministry nor the other was able to be of any serious use to Milner, who, thus hampered, could neither frame a programme which accorded with his own judgment nor show himself in his true light.

[Illustration:  Viscount Milner]

All these circumstances were never taken into consideration by friends or foes, and, in consequence, he was made responsible for blunders which he could not help and for mistakes which he was probably the first to deplore.  The world forgot that Sir Alfred never really had a free hand, was always thwarted, either openly or in secret, by some kind of authority, be it civil or military, which was in conflict with his own.