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181 First Campaign Speech While the exact date of Todd’s speech cannot be determined, this text represents his stump speech given when he campaigned for his seat in parliament. The text is taken from two sources: “U.P. Candidate on Native Affairs,” Rhodesia Herald, March 21, 1946, 7, and “Native Standard Should Rise,” Bantu Mirror, March 20, 1946, 1. The Rhodesia Herald serves as the base text because the entire speech is reported either by direct quote or a close paraphrase and summary of some parts of the speech. The Bantu Mirror provides some excerpts which fortunately cover some of the paraphrased or summarized sections of the Bantu Mirror. Footnotes will indicate which parts are taken from each source. There were fully 200 people present at the Hotel Nilton, Shabani, last week when Mr. Garfield Todd the United Party Candidate for Insiza District gave an address on Native Affairs. At the close of the meeting Mr. L. N. Papenfus, an 1890 Pioneer cong m gratulated the speaker on the soundness of his policy. Mr. V. E. Slater was in the chair. In the course of his address Mr. Garfield Todd said that it was unavoidable that when a large illiterate and very backward race lived in close proximity to a small civilized white community there would be many difficult m ties to overcome. The difficulties had become more pronounced as the years had passed, mainly for two reasons. The first was that the white population was now a settled community and the new generation of Rhodesians wished to be quite sure of their stake in the country of their birth. The second reason was that although the native population as a whole was still very backward, there were plenty of signs that they were capable of much advancement as they came into closer contact with western civilisation. Casey.Rhetoric.indd 195 1/9/07 11:12:03 AM 182 POLITICAL SPEECHES Economic and Political Aspects “This is the background to our first problem, which is the fear that a rising primitive race may swamp us economically,” said the speaker. “The fear is not so much that the black man may rise but that in the process of his doing so he will undermine all the economic standards of the white man. The second problem is just as serious. It is the fear that the native may soon exercise a growing political power and that eventually that power will be greater than our own.”13 “Intelligent, thinking Africans do not wish to see the European standard of living lowered. Their wish is to see the African standard raised, and anyone who argues that one must come down before the other can rise is stating that the wealth of this world is limited. If it is, then even a free and equal distrib m bution of all the wealth in this country between black and white would give none of us as much as £20 per head p.a. It is in the interests of the country that the native standard should rise.”14 The European standard, however, was guaranteed by the law of the land through the Industrial Conciliation Act. The second fear was that the law of the land might soon come into the hands of a people quite immature politically. As the franchise now stood any person who owned property valued at £150, or who had income, salary, food allowances, etc., which came to the value of £100 per annum and who was also able to fill out the form of application unaided might vote. Unsatisfactory Law “I believe that the law as it stands is quite unsatisfactory from the viewpoint of the European, but I believe that it is even more unsatisfactory from the point of view of the African,” said Mr. Garfield Todd. “The European fears the chaos which would result from the exercising of thousands of votes cast by natives just sufficiently educated to fill in a form and who are without any reasonable political experience. The native, who is much more concerned with making a living than in gaining a vote, sees in the minimum amount required to qualify more than his maximum income ceiling. Except to the very few politically-minded Africans, the vote has an over-rated value, and it is fairly obvious that most employers would not be willing to give the African a wage which would automatically make him eligible for a place on the voters’ roll. Casey.Rhetoric.indd...

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