IMPORTANT SPEECH BY JAN SMUTS - HIS OWN AUTOGRAPH COPY SENT TO THE PRESS

11pp. closely written autograph speech in ink by Smuts in his own hand. Circa 2500 words, containing many alterations, deletions and additions. Most of the manuscript is legible but some words are difficult to decipher. I have been unable to trace the exact date or venue of this speech but from the contents I can confidently date it to between 1929, when Smuts lost the election to the National Party and 1933 when he formed an alliance with Hertzog - it was most probably given in 1932 to a local gathering as part of a country wide lecture tour he did to garner support for his South African Party. This speech is not reproduced in Vol. 5 of the Selections from the Smuts Papers ed. Van Der Poel. The manuscript begins: "After some introductory remarks, General Smuts proceeded: I wish to make use of this important occasion to say a few words on a subject I know is uppermost in the minds of all of you - I refer to the depression in our country and especially among our farming community. ........". Smuts discusses in detail the economy, the drought and the lack of a policy and the failure to deal with these issues by the ruling National Party. He alludes to the policies of other African countries. He also delves in depth into Native Policy and alludes to his recent Rhodes lectures. It is not possible in this description to cover the extensive content and context adequately, but I will include scans of all 11 pages which will hopefully give a better idea. All 11 pages of the manuscript are written on official notepaper with the Union of South Africa logo and Volksraad, Kaapstad letterheads.

Smuts material of this nature seldom appear on the market.

All pages are in very good condition. Some have slight fraying of the edges not affecting the text. There is a small clip perforation at the top left of each page. A major speech which documents an important period of 20th. century South African history.