Chapter XXXIII: Straws In The Wind.
Chapter XXXIII: Straws In The Wind.
The news of Cunningham's victory and Gort's successful conclusion of the North Africa campaign returned to a Britain quite different from the nation that had sent them. The massive government spending on war materials and supplies, combined with the first fruits of the investment heavy 'Keyes Plan', had substantially boosted the economy and provided jobs where they were most needed; the industrialised Midlands and the north of England. While the depression was far from over, it would take more than a few months spending to undo the damage done, the worst depths had been plumbed and the darkest periods passed. In addition to the economic changes there were the more obvious changes in the public mood as confidence, both in the economy and the country as a whole, returned on the back of the war and the mounting victories, an outcome few would have expected scant months earlier.
The Great War had left its mark on almost every community in the country and even by the 1930s Lord Halifax's 'peace with honour' movement were merely the most high profile of the many pacifist organisations demanding that "The war to end all wars" would be just that, for Britain at least. With such wide spread anti-war feeling a strong reaction to the war was expected by the government: dissent in parliament, protests in the streets and the media up in arms. In the event when Italy declared war the press was united in it's call, in many cases demand, for the vigorous prosecution of the conflict and in general the public rallied for King and country. That is not to say there weren't dissenting voices but they were in the minority and far outnumbered by those displaying an almost jingoistic enthusiasm that the war be fought and won.
The fact that it was Italy who started the war, after what the popular press called a 'dastardly and treacherous sneak attack', is certainly a factor. The Suez raid could not, in fact, have gone much worse for Mussolini, he had angered the British public without doing any military damage and while he had completely surprised the enemy he had also surprised the majority of his own military and plunged his country into a war it was ill prepared for. For the British public the raid, and the last minute intervention by HMS Diomede, had turned the entire incident into a heroic, portentous victory and one that required Britain avenge such underhand aggression. The other oft overlooked point factor is that the Abyssinian War was, from the British view point at least, more a Victorian era 'colonial' war than anything else. Aside from the obvious African connections the war was markedly different from the country's experience in the Great War; the army contained a comparatively small British contingent so there were few 'military' families or communities, there was no threat of invasion even if things went badly and, most importantly there had been no shortage of victorious naval clashes and rapid advances to keep morale and confidence high.
It was against this broadly positive picture that the first warning signs of impending crisis became apparent and, in one of life's ironies, it was the cause of Britain emergence from one crisis that allowed the seeds of the next to be sown. The war may have been a boost to the economy and improved morale but it also provided an opportunity for rivals and enemies to take advantage of the distraction it caused. The South African offer of a military mission to East Africa had been under suspicion ever since Hertzog had made it, question being asked as to why such an avowed Boer was offering to help the British Empire. Although accepted, the presence of General Jan Smuts at its head doing much to calm nerves in the War Office, the mystery lingered on well into April. It was not until after the mission arrived on the 20th of April that the real reason for the offer became clear, for Hertzog the point was that the mission was sent not what it did when it got there. The South African mission contained, along with Smuts, many other officers turned parliamentarians who, in the main, were pro-British and affiliated with the South African People's Party wing of the coalition United Party. For Hertzog this was a golden opportunity to put his own National Party into an unassailable position politically, in essence he planned to alter the Representation of Natives Act, which had been passing through parliament when war broke out, to disenfranchise SAPP voters thus ensuring his own party could govern unaided.

General Jan Smuts, Statesman and General he had left Hertzog in sole charge of the coalition trusting Hertzog would not pass controversial or biased legislation in his absence. That trust would be utterly betrayed scant days after Smuts established his HQ in East Africa.
South African politics had become intensely polarised, hard-line Boers solidly voting National Party while the British, 'Coloured' (defined as anybody not white or a native) and the few eligible Cape Town natives supported the SAPP. As these two groups roughly cancelled each other out the balance of power was held by the so called 'Moderate Boers', Boers who did not agree with the naked prejudice of the National Party or their desire for an independent Boer Republic as soon as possible. For Hertzog this was an unconscionable compromise, forcing him to moderate his views just to gain power and limiting his options once he was in office. The act had been intended as a tiding up procedure, formalising the position of the 'Tribal' MPs who represented most native areas and confirming the historic right of all in the Cape Province, the most liberal and 'British' province, to vote regardless of their colour. Hertzog swept that away, slashing the number of 'Tribal' MPs, removing the proposed representative council and, most controversially, imposing a whites-only voting restriction on all provinces, bar the Cape which was not considered Boer homeland and in any case was strongly pro-British. The cumulative effect of these changes would be to reduce the SAPP and indeed all opposition groups, to their Cape Province strongholds and the few 'Tribal' MPs while the National Party would hold the rest of the country unchallenged.
Whatever the British governments views, and the condemnation was far from universal, this was an internal South African matter and one they could not interfere with. General Smuts and his colleagues resigned themselves to not getting back in time, Hertzog had waited until they were as far away as possible and was rushing the act through, and threw themselves into the East Africa campaign. It was not until the act passed and it appeared Hertzog's audacious political coup had succeeded that the crisis erupted; The Governor General, the Earl of Clarendon, seeing the bill for what it was used his reserve powers to withhold Royal Assent, blocking the act from becoming law. As a former under-secretary in the office for Dominion Affairs Clarendon knew his constitutional position was secure and believed, like Lord Byng in the 1926 Canadian crisis, history wuuld judge him correct in invoking his powers. While he was indeed constitutionally correct, the reserve powers of the monarch, and by extension the Governor-General, existed for just such an occasion, he had failed to foresee the full political and diplomatic fall out of his actions. Hertzog, naturally furious at this impediment to his scheme, attempted to rally support both domestically and from the other dominions, hoping Earl Clarendon would fold under pressure and agree to giving assent.

James Barry Hertzog, possibly the most unprincipled and opportunistic politician of his era. His manipulations and desperate attempts to avoid their consequences would plunge the Empire into crisis.
Predictably South Africa split along its traditional Boer-The Rest fault line, both side mobilising their supporters at rally and counter-rally, clashes between supporters getting increasingly bad natured. Internationally opinions were less clear cut, the Dominion governments torn between condemnation of interference in the domestic matters of a fellow Dominion and the acceptance that Hertzog had acted unacceptably, indeed undemocratically, and there had to be some constitutional brake to stop him. Earl Clarendon did much to ease their decision by stating his opposition was not to the bill but the method with which it had been passed and he would of give assent to the bill after the whole parliament had been able to vote on so major a change to the country. With fears suitably calmed the Dominion governments united in support of Clarendon and against Hertzog, even the most pro-independence republicans forced to concede that in this case the issue was more important than the principle. Isolated diplomatically and having alienated enough wavering MPs and marginal 'Moderate Boer' voters to ensure his defeat in both a vote of no-confidence and the election that would force Hertzog's back was against the wall. He was a desperate man and it was events in the UK that gave him the chance to show just how desperate he was.
In Britain King George V has suffered another, more serious, bronchitis attack and was once again gravelly ill. With the war de facto won the King's sense of duty was satisfied and the sheer force of will that kept him going through the previous weeks began to desert him. Lord Dawson informed the cabinet that this would be the final act for the King, the question was when not if he passed on. In the intervening weeks King George had not been idle, in between regular, if short, morale raising trips around the country he had been talking with senior politicians of all backgrounds about his prime concern; the Prince of Wales and his unsuitability as heir.
The great irony of the situation was that the opposition was not to Edwards accession per se, while he didn't appear prime monarch material neither had Edward VII until upon the throne and there was a hope he would settle down after his coronation. The opposition was to his choice of consort, Wallis Simpson, quite possibly the most inappropriate choice it was possible to make. Possessing enough undesirable qualities to offend almost every strata of society, the twice married American was known by Special Branch to be having relationships with other men, was suspected of being 'too close' to the German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop and had alienated any remaining possible supporters with her almost limitless ambition and lust for power and money.
In his final weeks the King pulled together a coalition from politics, the church and even included the more trustworthy media barons. Edward would have to be removed from the unhealthy influence of Mrs Simpson and find himself a more suitable match. While orchestrating such a conspiracy against ones own son may seem cold, cruel even, it was the ultimate expression of the King's creed; Country before Family, Duty over Love. The question was whether his son would follow that creed and put the country and the empire before his love for Mrs Simpson.
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Up Next; Constitutional crisis in two countries and things only get more complicated as other opportunists jump in while the Empire is distracted.
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