and Milner, all of Smuts's advice to the former was in the direction of concessions to
Milner, yet it was Smuts who drafted the ultimatum of 9 October, which led to the
outbreak of war. During the war he was one of the most famous of Boer generals, yet,
when negotiations for peace began, it was he who drew up the proposal to accept the
British terms without delay. With the achievement of peace, Smuts refused Milner's
invitation to serve in the Legislative Council of the Transvaal, devoting himself instead to
violent and frequently unfair attacks on Milner and the Kindergarten, yet as soon as self-
government was granted (in 1906) he became Colonial Secretary and Minister of
Education and worked in the closest cooperation with the Kindergarten to obtain Milner's
ideal of a united South Africa.
There is really nothing puzzling or paradoxical in these actions. From the beginning,
Smuts wanted a brilliant career in a united South Africa within a united British Empire,
within, if possible, a united world. No stage would be too big for this young actor's
ambitions, and these ambitions were not, except for his own personal role, much different
from those of Milner or Rhodes. But, as a very intelligent man, Smuts knew that he could
play no role whatever in the world, or in the British Empire, unless he could first play a
role in South Africa. And that required, in a democratic regime (which he disliked), that
he appear pro-Boer rather than pro-British. Thus Smuts was pro-Boer on all prominent
and nonessential matters but pro-British on all unobtrusive and essential matters (such as
language, secession, defense, etc.).
At the National Convention of 1908-1909, it was Smuts who dominated the Transvaal
delegation and succeeded in pushing through the projects prepared by the Kindergarten.
From this emerged a personal connection that still exists, and from time onward, as a
member of the Milner Group, Smuts, with undeniable ability, was able to play the role he
had planned in the Empire and the world. He became the finest example of the Milner
Group's contention that within a united Empire rested the best opportunities for freedom
and self-development for all men. (10)
In the new government formed after the creation of the Union of South Africa, Smuts
held three out of nine portfolios (Mines, Defense, and Interior). In 1912 he gave up two
of these (Mines and Interior) in exchange for the portfolio of Finance, which he held until
the outbreak of war. As Minister of Defense (1910-1920) and Prime Minister (1919-
1924), he commanded the British forces in East Africa (1916-1917) and was the South
African representative and one of the chief members of the Imperial War Cabinet (1917-
1918). At the Peace Conference at Paris he was a plenipotentiary and played a very
important role behind the scenes in cooperation with other members of the Milner Group.
In 1921 he went on a secret mission to Ireland and arranged for an armistice and opened
negotiations between Lloyd George and the Irish leaders. In the period following the war,
his influence in South African politics declined, but he continued to play an important
role within the Milner Group and in those matters (such as the Empire) in which the
Group was most concerned. With the approach of the Second World War, he again came
to prominence in political affairs. He was Minister of Justice until the war began (1933-
1939) and then became Prime Minister, holding the Portfolios of External Affairs and
Defense (1939-1948). Throughout his political life, his chief lieutenant was Patrick
Duncan, whom he inherited directly from Milner.
Smuts was not the only addition made to the Milner Group by the Kindergarten during
its stay in South Africa. Among the others were two men who were imported by Milner
from the Indian Civil Service to guide the efforts of the Kindergarten in forming the
Transvaal Civil Service. These two were James S. Meston (later Lord Meston, 1865-
1943) and William S. Marris (later Sir William, 1873-1945). Both had studied briefly at
Oxford in preparation for the Indian Civil Service. Meston studied at Balliol (after
graduating from Aberdeen University) at the time when Milner was still very close to the
college (c. 1884), and when Toynbee, tutor to Indian Civil Service candidates at Balliol,
had just died. It may have been in this fashion that Milner became acquainted with
Meston and thus called him to South Africa in 1903. Until that time, Meston's career in
the Indian Civil Service had been fairly routine, and after eighteen years of service he had
reached the position of Financial Secretary to the United Provinces.
Marris, a younger colleague of Meston's in the Indian Civil Service, was a native of
New Zealand and, after studying at Canterbury College in his own country, went to
Christ Church, Oxford, to prepare for the Indian Civil Service. He passed the necessary
examinations and was made an assistant magistrate in the United Provinces. From this