Crucially, he shared with the Cape government the belief that the Cape's non-racial constitution was still fragile and that it was "impossible that the Cape's native laws would survive a session of bargaining with the Boer republics. Federation in 1875 would have produced the same results as Union did in 1910... Barkly was undoubtedly right to foster the nucleus of a Liberal party which was forming around Molteno. Liberal democracy was a tender plant in the climate of South Africa, but it had taken root in the Cape, and it was only the insensitive handling of Downing Street which prevented it growing, as Barkly hoped, into a force which would have been strong enough to control the other tendencies in South African politics."
Crucially, he shared with the Cape government the belief that the Cape's non-racial constitution was still fragile and that it was "impossible for the Cape's native laws to survive negotiations with the Boer republics. Federation in 1875 would have produced similar results as Union did in 1910... Barkly was undoubtedly correct to nurture the core of a Liberal party emerging around Molteno. Liberal democracy was a delicate plant in South Africa's climate, but it had taken root in the Cape, and it was only the insensitive handling by Downing Street that prevented its growth, as Barkly hoped, into a force capable of controlling other tendencies in South African politics."